Dragons blanked by South Bend

People sit social distanced during opening day for the Dayton Dragons at Day Air Ballpark in Dayton May 11, 2021. Contributed photo by E.L. Hubbard

Credit: E.L. Hubbard

Credit: E.L. Hubbard

People sit social distanced during opening day for the Dayton Dragons at Day Air Ballpark in Dayton May 11, 2021. Contributed photo by E.L. Hubbard

Four South Bend pitchers combined on a six-hit shutout as the Cubs defeated the Dayton Dragons 3-0 on Wednesday night.  The two clubs have split the first two games of the series.

South Bend scored the only runs they would need in the first inning, getting a pair of two-out run-scoring singles from Chase Strumpf and Nelson Velazquez to take a 2-0 lead.  There was no more scoring until South Bend plated one more run in bottom of the eighth to account for the final score.

Brian Rey and Quincy McAfee each had two hits for Dayton.  Rey’s double with one out in the first inning was the team’s only extra base hit.  Rey lifted his league-leading batting average to .447 by going 2 for 3 with a walk. 

Dragons starting pitcher Graham Ashcraft (1-1) settled down after a rough first inning when he was on the verge of being removed from the game due to a high pitch count.  He finished the night with five innings of work, allowing two runs on four hits with one walk and six strikeouts but was charged with the loss.

Johnnie Schneider replaced Ashcraft to start the sixth and tossed two scoreless innings, allowing no hits with two walks and three strikeouts.  Karsen Lindell worked one inning, allowing a run while striking out three.

The loss dropped the Dragons (9-5) out of a first place tie with Lake County, who defeated Great Lakes on Wednesday night.  The Dragons had held at least a share of first place after the first 13 games of the season.