Dragons end season with a win

Grand Rapids, Mich. (WDTN) - Sean Buckley hit a home run and drove in three runs and starting pitcher Ismael Guillon struck out a team season-high nine batters as the Dayton Dragons defeated the West Michigan Whitecaps 7-3 in the last game of the 2012 season.  The Dragons finished the year with a record of 60-78.

Guillon (2-0) worked seven strong innings to earn the win.  He allowed six hits and three runs (two earned) with one walk to go along with the nine strikeouts.  He struck out all three batters he faced in his final inning to top the Dragons previous team high for 2012 for single-game strikeouts of eight recorded by several pitchers.

The Dragons trailed 2-0 when Buckley belted a two-run home run to left field in the fourth inning to tie the game.  It was his 14th homer of the season.  In the fifth, the Dragons picked up the lead when Taylor Wrenn doubled down the right field line to drive in two runs.  Junior Arias followed with a single to bring in Wrenn and make it 5-2.

The Whitecaps responded with one run in the sixth, but the Dragons added one in the eighth on Jefry Sierra’s RBI double and added one more in the ninth on a run-scoring single by Buckley to close out the scoring.   

The Dragons finished with 16 hits including at least one by all nine players in the batting order.  Sierra went 3 for 4 to lead the way.  Wrenn, Buckley, Arias, Sammy Diaz, and Yovan Gonzalez each had two.

El’Hajj Muhammad followed Guillon with a perfect eighth inning and Ryan Kemp pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.

The Dragons will open their 14th season in the Midwest League in April of 2013 and will play host to the Midwest League All-Star Game next June at Fifth Third Field.  A complete 2013 schedule will be released in the upcoming days.