Grand Rapids, Mich. — Austin Hendrick, Michael Trautwein, and Mat Nelson blasted home runs and three Dayton pitchers combined on a four-hitter as the Dragons defeated the West Michigan Whitecaps 8-2 on Sunday afternoon.
The win gave the Dragons a split of the six-game road series with West Michigan, a team that entered the set tied for first place in the East Division of the Midwest League.
The Dragons got the scoring started in the top of the first inning when Hendrick blasted a solo home run to right field, his first homer of the year. After West Michigan scored two runs in the second to take a brief 2-1 lead, the Dragons responded with two runs in the third to regain the lead. Austin Callahan’s two-out, two-run double to the gap in left-center field brought in Edwin Arroyo and Blake Dunn to make it 3-2.
The Dragons added three more runs in the fourth. With one out, Trautwein drilled a home run to right field, his second in the last two games, to make it 4-2. Justice Thompson followed with an infield single on a one-hop screamer off the body of the third baseman, and Thompson scored when Jack Rogers tripled to right field to make it 5-2. Rogers eventually scored on a balk to make it a three-run inning.
In the fifth, Austin Callahan led off with a base hit to right field, and Nelson followed with a two-run home run to right, his team-leading third homer of the year to make it 8-2.
Dragons starting pitcher Jose Acuna threw a very economical 64 pitches over five strong innings, at one point retiring nine straight batters. Acuna allowed just two hits, two runs, with one walk and five strikeouts. Braxton Roxby replaced Acuna to start the sixth and allowed a single to the first batter he faced before retiring the next six hitters. He struck out three in his two scoreless innings.
The Dragons finished with 11 hits, matching their season high. They collected 31 hits over the final three games of the series. Arroyo, Thompson, and Austin Callahan each had two hits. The Dragons had six extra base hits in the game by six different players. In addition to the home runs, Rogers had a triple while Arroyo and Austin Callahan had doubles.
Notes: The Dragons established season highs in runs (8), home runs (3), extra base hits (6), and margin of victory (6).
Up Next: The Dragons (6-9) do not play on Monday. They will return home on Tuesday, April 25 to host the Lake County Captains (8-5) at 7:05 p.m. at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District. For ticket information, go to daytondragons.com or call (937) 228-2287. Hunter Parks (1-1, 3.72) will make his third start of the year for Dayton.
