Dayton Dragons game story by Kimberly Garlick

Dragons win division, clinch playoff berth

By Kimberly Garlick

There’s nothing like baseball on a Sunday afternoon. And for any team, there’s nothing like making the playoffs. For the Dayton Dragons, Sunday, Aug. 28, was the combination of both of these ideals.

The Dragons clinched the Midwest League Eastern Division second-half title with a 6-0 victory over West Michigan at Fifth Third Field even after much question of their play during the first half of the season.


“I always knew we were going to be a better second-half team,” manager Delino DeShields said.

DeShields and his players attributed this improvement to the players coming together as a team. It was this close bond between teammates on and off the field that gave them a calm confidence.

Even with the possibility of clinching a playoff berth in the air, shortstop Billy Hamilton said that the atmosphere of the dugout was pretty relaxed during the game.

“You don’t try to think about [the playoffs],” catcher Chris Berset said. “You just try to go out there and play baseball.”

Playing the game is easier when a team has enthusiastic fans behind them, and the Dragons certainly have a strong fan base, boasting a record for consecutive sellouts.

“It’s just special coming out here and playing in front of 9,000 people every night,” Berset said. “You want to play for somebody, and so you play for that crowd who’s enthusiastic about it and it’s always nice; always really nice.”

The fans certainly got their money’s worth, seeing their team make the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Sunday also marked the setting of a record for shutout victories for the organization at 14. With the win, the team tied the record for most wins in a month (20) and are one away from most wins in a half (44, first half 2007).

On the individual level, starting pitcher Josh Smith (13-7) became only the third pitcher in Dragons history to win at least 13 games in a season. He allowed three hits, no walks and no runs in six innings while throwing six strikeouts to bring his league-leading total on the season to 159.

Reliever Daniel Wolford extended his scoreless streak to 34 1/3 innings with a scoreless ninth. It is this kind of pitching that DeShields says will carry his team in the postseason.

“In the playoffs, it’s going to come down to pitching and defense,” he said. “Runs are going to be scarce in the playoffs.”

The runs scored on Sunday afternoon all came relatively early. With two outs in the
first, Donald Lutz singled home Kurtis Muller from second. The next batter, David Vidal, hit a two-run homer to put the Dragons up 3-0. He later gained a third RBI when he brought home Muller on a sacrifice fly.

Juan Duran was 2-for-4, hitting a solo home run in the second inning. Muller also went 2-for-4, walked once and scored twice. Berset batted in the final run of the game in the third
inning.

Though the Dragons have come this far with their pitching and hitting, they say they won’t let up in their play now.

“We made the playoffs, but we’re not going to stop until the end of the season,” Hamilton said. “No days off for nobody.”