| Saturday, August 28, 2010 For Immediate Release |
Contact: Jesse Goldberg-Strassler ( 517) 485-4500 ext. 233 |
Dragons rally in 3rd for 7-6 win, Lugs fall four games back
LANSING, Mich. – The Dayton Dragons (19-41; 49-80) scored five runs in the third inning to reverse an early deficit, dealing the Lansing Lugnuts (28-33; 64-66) a crushing 7-6 loss before a Saturday night crowd of 9,812 at Cooley Law School Stadium.
With the defeat, the Lugnuts fell four games behind the West Michigan Whitecaps for the Eastern Division's final playoff spot.
After Dayton scored a pair of runs off of Egan Smith in the top half of the first inning, Lansing's first five batters all scored in the home half against Dragons starter Clayton Shunick. Clean-up hitter Brad Glenn supplied a three-run triple and Kevin Ahrens followed with a two-run homer to give the Lugs a 5-2 lead.
Mark Fleury's two-out, two-run double in the third shaved the score to 5-4. Center fielder Jake Marisnick dropped Tommy Nurre's subsequent fly ball, opening the door for three more unearned runs.
An Eric Eiland RBI single in the bottom of the third closed out the scoring, with both teams posting goose eggs for the final six frames.
Both starting pitchers, on the ropes early, finished strong. Shunick (3-1) persevered for six innings to earn the win, while Smith (6-4) posted 5 2/3 innings in shouldering the loss.
Blaine Howell pitched a perfect ninth for his third save.
The Dragons' victory snapped a 12-game Lugnuts winning streak in the season series. Lansing is now 12-4 against their rivals from Dayton.
Nuts right-hander Dave Sever (6-9) heads to the mound for a 2:05 p.m. Sunday Kids Day against Dragons right-hander Tim Crabbe (3-6, 4.18), the second game in the four-game series.
Tickets to all Lugnuts home games are available for purchase online at www.lansinglugnuts.com, at the stadium box office, and by calling 517-485-4500.
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