For the second time in the series, the Dragons scored four runs in the top of the first inning. Elly De La Cruz had a run-scoring single before Cerda belted a three-run home run. In the second, Justice Thompson connected on a solo homer, his third of the season, to make it 5-0.
Cedar Rapids battled back, scoring one run in the second before former Wright State star Seth Gray hit a two-run homer in the third to make it 5-3. But Cerda hit his second home run of the game in the fifth, a two-run shot, and his 12th of the year, to push the Dragons lead to 7-3.
Dayton scored three more runs in the eighth, keyed by a pair of RBI doubles by Mat Nelson and J.V. Martinez, to extend their lead to 10-3. Cedar Rapids responded with three in the eighth to make it 10-6, and they scored one in the ninth, getting the tying run to the plate, before falling short for the 10-7 final.
Dragons starting pitcher Connor Phillips (4-2) earned the win, going six innings and allowing three runs on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts.
The Dragons collected 14 hits. Nelson had three. Cerda, De La Cruz, and Ruben Ibarra each had two.
The Dragons play at Cedar Rapids on Friday at 7:35 p.m. in the fourth game of the series. Joe Boyle (3-0, 0.84) is expected to start for Dayton.