Dragons win fifth straight, but playoff hopes end

Dayton's Vin Timpanelli fires a pitch plateward from Tuesday night's game vs. Fort Wayne. Jeff Gilbert/CONTRIBUTED

Dayton's Vin Timpanelli fires a pitch plateward from Tuesday night's game vs. Fort Wayne. Jeff Gilbert/CONTRIBUTED
Sports
By Jeff Gilbert – Contributing Writer
Sept 19, 2021
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Mariel Bautista hit a three-run home run and Allan Cerda added a two-run double as the Dayton Dragons won their fifth straight game, an 8-5 victory over the Fort Wayne TinCaps on Saturday at Day Air Ballpark.

Despite the win, the Dragons playoff hopes came to end as Cedar Rapids defeated Peoria 6-3. Cedar Rapids leads the Dragons by two games with one game to play in the race for the No. 2 playoff seed.

The Dragons took a 3-0 lead in the first. Cerda’s two-run double got the scoring started, and James Free added a run-scoring single. The Dragons added another run in the third on Matt McLain’s RBI single to make it 4-0.

Fort Wayne cut the deficit in half with two runs in the top of the fourth, but the Dragons responded in the bottom of the inning when Bautista blasted a three-run home run to right field. Another run scored in the inning on a wild pitch to make it 8-2.

Fort Wayne scored single runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth and had the tying run at the plate with no one out in the ninth when the Dragons summoned Vin Timpanelli from the bullpen. Timpanelli retired three straight batters, including two on strikeouts, for his fifth save.

Andy Fisher (5-1) pitched two scoreless innings of relief to earn the win. 

The Dragons host Fort Wayne at 2:05 p.m. Sunday in the last game of the season.

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About the Author

Jeff Gilbert