Dragons fall 7-1 at West Michigan

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich - West Michigan pitchers Marcelo Carreno and Slade Smith combined on a record-setting 20 strikeout performance as the Whitecaps defeated the Dayton Dragons 7-1 on Saturday night.  The game was the opener to a season-ending three-game series and the final night game of 2012 for both clubs.

Carreno (9-8) struck out 13 and walked no one over six scoreless innings, allowing only four hits.  Smith earned the save by working the final three innings and notching seven more strikeouts.  The 20 strikeout night set a Dragons franchise record for a single game and also established a new Whitecaps record for most strikeouts in a nine-inning game.

West Michigan took advantage of two costly Dragons errors in the second inning to score six runs and grab a commanding 6-0 lead.  Five of the runs in the inning were unearned.  Jason King’s two-run single capped off the inning.

The Dragons trailed 7-0 when they scored their only run of the game in the eighth.  Yovan Gonzalez led off the inning with a base hit and eventually scored on Yorman Rodriguez’s two-out single.

Dragons starting pitcher Radhames Quezada worked the first two innings.  He allowed six hits and six runs (one earned) with one walk and one strikeout to suffer the loss and fall to 5-9.  Jimmy Moran replaced Quezada to start the third and worked four solid innings.  He allowed two hits and one run with one walk and three strikeouts.  El’Hajj Muhammad and Ryan Kemp each pitched a perfect inning to close out the night for Dragons pitchers.

The Dragons finished with eight hits.  Joe Terry went 3 for 4 with a double to lead the way.  Yovan Gonzalez had two hits including a double.

The Dragons (29-37) battle the Whitecaps (35-33) on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in game two of the three-game series.  Robert Stephenson (2-3, 3.86) will start for Dayton against West Michigan’s Jeff Ferrell (6-5, 3.83).  The season ends on Monday with another 1:00 p.m. game.

Notes:  Two Dragons players were ejected in the game.  Shortstop Sammy Diaz was tossed by plate umpire David Marcoe after he was called out on strikes in the sixth inning.  Left fielder Juan Silva was ejected in the eighth.  In an unusual play, Silva was hit by a pitch that umpires ruled he swung at for strike three, and he was called out.