Dragons wrap up first half with walk-off win

The Dayton Dragons wrapped up the first half of the Midwest League season in dramatic fashion.

Jon Matthews’ two-out single in the 11th inning gave the host Dragons a walk-off 3-2 win over the Lake County Captains on Sunday at Fifth Third Field. Matthews’ single scored Daniel Pigott from second with the winning run in front of a Father’s Day crowd of 8,982.

The Dragons (36-32) finished third in the Midwest League’s Eastern Division. The top two teams — South Bend and West Michigan — earned playoff spots.

Six different players hit one hit apiece for the Dragons, including catcher Brandon Dailey, who cracked his third home run of the season. Jeff Gelalich added an RBI single and Carlton Daal had two stolen bases.

Nolan Becker (1-0) pitched the 11th inning to pick up the win.

Eric Haase had two hits for Lake County (27-43).

Four Dragons — Daal, Ismael Guillon, Nick Travieso and Sal Ramano — are scheduled to play in the Midwest League All-Star on Tuesday night in Comstock Park, Mich.

Dayton opens the second half of the season Thursday night on the road at Great Lakes. The game is the start of a second-game road trip. The Dragons return home June 27 against Lake County.

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