Collier and his teammates want to give Dayton its first Midwest League championship.
Day Air Ballpark will be sold out and the overflow lawns might be full, too, because the fans believe this Dragons team might be the one. The players want to reward the fans who have made the Dragons the toughest ticket in minor league baseball since they started in Dayton in 2000.
If they are to become historic, the Dragons’ journey begins with the first pitch Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. against Lake County. The Dragons, the East Division second-half champion, must win the best-of-three series to advance to the best-of-three championship round, a level they’ve never reached.
“I’m anticipating that we come out here strong and we come out here to win the ball game,” said Collier, the No. 5 rated prospect in the Reds’ organization. “Come out here with something to give the crowd to cheer about, win the game, and then go to Lake County, win the first game and keep going.”
Lake County dominated the division in the first half, and the Dragons won only two games in a six-game series at Lake County. But the teams split six games early in the second half, and the Dragons won four of six at home in early August. That series began an 18-7 stretch that put the Dragons in control of the division until they clinched last Monday at Great Lakes with five games left.
That series win over the Captains, of course, means nothing now. But manager Vince Harrison Jr. said at the time that series proved to his team that they were good enough to win the second half.
“Knowing what they did in the first half, our guys took that as a challenge,” Harrison Jr. said. “The cool part about it is, their players were seeing the difference in us and saying, ‘Man, we’re going to meet you guys in the playoffs.’ So they saw it coming.”
To make it, Harrison Jr. and his coaching staff had to mold the youngest lineup in the league into consistent performers who would make fewer mistakes, win close games and learn what it means to be a professional ballplayer.
“I have to put a ton of credit with the coaching staff,” said outfielder Ethan O’Donnell, who was named the Reds minor league player of the month for August. “The most important thing is they get to know the player, the person, when they understand the person and how they operate.”
From early in the season, it was clear that the players liked playing for Harrison Jr.
“I like playing for him because he likes coaching for us — simple as that,” O’Donnell said. “Vince puts belief in everyone, and that cohesion is really what we respect the most.”
Belief was strong during the final weeks of the season as Collier, O’Donnell and others swung hot bats and the pitching staff gave the team a chance to win almost every night. That confidence was never more apparent than the 1-0 division-clinching win at Great Lakes.
The Dragons’ only hit was a bunt single in the first inning. Their run came later without benefit of a hit. And inning after inning the belief never wavered.
“Once we scored that one run, I kind of had the feeling that we’re going to win this game because it was one of those game that one run wins the game,” Collier said.
And when the Dragons have led in the ninth inning this season it’s almost been a guarantee. Twelve relievers have combined for 46 saves. One of the save leaders, Simon Miller, was on the mound and retired the Loons in order.
“When we had Simon out there, I really felt confident in us finishing this game pretty fast,” Collier said. “And when it happened, it was as experience I never felt before being able to clinch in professional baseball.”
If the Dragons win the championship, it will happen at Day Air Ballpark next Tuesday or Wednesday. And the fans will feel something they’ve never felt before.
About the Author