Jorge's Home Run in 12th Inning Lifts Dragons to 7-6 Win in Marathon Game

Dragons 7, Great Lakes 6 (12 innings)

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Dayton (R-H-E): 7-11-1; Great Lakes (R-H-E): 6-14-3

Win: Braxton Roxby (4-4); Loss: Lucas Wepf (0-3); Save: Brooks Crawford (3)

HR: Dayton: Cade Hunter (5^th, 0 on base in first inning); Carlos Jorge (2^nd, 1 on base in 12^th inning). HR: Great Lakes: None

Midland, Mich.—Dayton’s Carlos Jorge blasted a tie-breaking two-run home run in the top of the 12^th inning and the Dragons held on to defeat the Great Lakes Loons 7-6 on Saturday night. The 12-inning game matched the most innings played by the Dragons under current extra-inning rules that began in 2018. Saturday’s game lasted three hours, 52 minutes.

The Dragons win and an extra inning loss by West Michigan left Dayton three and one-half games out of first place in the Midwest League East Division standings. There are seven games to play in the second half season.

Saturday’s game was tied 5-5 through 11 innings. In the top of the 12^th, Dayton’s Justice Thompson drew a walk with two outs and the bases empty, and Jorge followed with a home run to right field to give the Dragons a 7-5 lead. Jorge had also homered in the final inning on Tuesday night in Great Lakes for the deciding runs in a Dragons comeback victory. His two homers this week against the Loons were his first two with the Dragons.

Dragons reliever Brooks Crawford entered the game to pitch the bottom of the 12^th. Crawford allowed a hit to the first man he faced but retired the next two as the free runner scored to make it 7-6. With the tying run at second, Crawford recorded a game-ending strikeout to bring the marathon to a close.

The game was tied 4-4 through eight innings when Dayton’s Cade Hunter delivered a two-run run-scoring single to bring in Hector Rodriguez from second and give the Dragons a 5-4 lead. Great Lakes scored one run in the bottom of the ninth to tie the score and send it to extra innings.

With Braxton Roxby on the mound for Dayton, Great Lakes had the winning run at third with no outs in the bottom of the 10^th. But Roxby pitched out of trouble and extended the game to the 11^th. Once again, Great Lakes had an opportunity to win it against Roxby, but with the bases loaded and two outs, Dayton left fielder Allan Cerda made a diving catch to end the inning and keep the Dragons hopes alive, setting up Jorge’s heroics in the 12^th.

Hunter hit a solo home run for the Dragons in the first inning, his fifth with Dayton and 15^th in the Reds organization in 2023. Great Lakes battled back to take a 4-1 lead, but the Dragons scored three in the fourth, keyed by Jorge’s two-run triple to tie the game at 4-4.

The Dragons finished the night with 11 hits. Jorge was 3 for 6 with four runs batted in. Hunter and Sal Stewart each had two hits.

Notes: Since the extra inning free-runner rule was implemented prior to the 2018 season, only one other game had gone beyond 11 innings. The Dragons played a 12-inning game at Bowling Green on August 14, 2019…The Dragons have hit 10 home runs in the five games of the current series at Great Lakes, their highest homer total in any series this season.

Up Next: The Dragons (30-29, 63-62) close out the six-game road series at Great Lakes (28-31, 73-51) on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. Carson Rudd (4-7, 5.14) is scheduled to start for the Dragons.

The Dragons will open their final homestand of the regular season on Tuesday, September 5 at 7:05 p.m. against the Fort Wayne TinCaps at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District. The six-game home series with Fort Wayne will continue through Sunday, September 10. For ticket information, go to daytondragons.com/tickets or call (937) 228-2287.

On the Air: All Dragons home and road games are broadcast on radio on FOX Sports 980 AM WONE. Games can be heard on smart phones, iPads, and other mobile devices via the free Dragons Mobile App, or on a computer at wone.com. Games are also available on HD Radio on 104.7 WTUI HD 2.