The Dragons took the lead with a run in the top of the first inning. Victor Acosta opened the game with a base hit to center field to extend his hitting streak to 14 straight games, longest of the year by a Dayton player. Acosta stole second and went to third on a single to center field by Carlos Jorge. Acosta scored on Yerlin Confidan’s ground out to the first baseman.
The Dragons added another run in the second inning, getting back-to-back walks to start the frame to Peyton Stovall and Anthony Stephan. A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, and Jack Moss’ sacrifice fly to center field brought in Stovall to make it 2-0.
Beloit sent eight batters to the plate in the fourth inning, scoring four runs on three hits with a costly throwing error by Dragons third baseman Carlos Sanchez. Beloit’s big inning gave them a 4-2 lead.
The Dragons produced their own big inning in the seventh, sending nine batters to the plate to score five runs. Sanchez started the rally with a lead-off single, ending Brink’s string of 15 straight retired. With one out, Anthony Stephan singled Sanchez to second, and Moss delivered a run-scoring single to make it 4-3. Connor Burns had a single to right to load the bases, and Stephan scored from third on Acosta’s ground out to tie the game. With two outs, Jorge followed with a single to left to drive in Moss and give the Dragons a 5-4 lead, and Leo Balcazar followed with a double to left-center to score two more runs and make it 7-4.
Beloit scored a run in the bottom of the seventh and had a chance for more. Trey Braithwaite entered the game with the bases loaded and two outs with Dayton leading 7-5 and got an inning-ending fly out to strand three.
The Dragons scored in the eighth when Sanchez singled, stole second, and scored on Peyton Stovall’s single to make it 8-5 and close the scoring. Braithwaite went the rest of the way without allowing a hit or run to earn his second save. The victory went to Will Cannon (1-1), the second of three Dayton pitchers.
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