June 18, 2008 | LISLE, IL On Monday night, the DuPage Dragons were able to pound out 15 hits, scoring nine runs in handing the Springfield Sliders their first home loss. Wednesday night in Lisle, the Sliders returned the favor, handing the Dragons their first home loss by a score of 8-1. With first place in the Central Illinois Collegiate League on the line, the Sliders improved to 7-3 on the year, while the Dragons fell to 6-5.
After a perfect first inning by Dragons starter Andrew Beatty (Southern Illinois-Edwardsville), the Sliders started off the second inning knocking out three consecutive singles to plate their first run of the game. After a sacrifice bunt gave the Sliders runners on second and third with one out, Billy Schroeder hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score the second run of the inning. Bo Kinder followed that up with an RBI double and Springfield ended their half of the second leading 3-0.
The Dragons quickly got to work on cutting the lead in the bottom half of the inning. DuPage catcher Ryan Duffy (Mississippi State), playing his first game of the season for the Dragons, started things off by wrapping a double to left. He was able to score on an RBI groundout by second baseman Jordan Tokarz (Eastern Illinois), and the Dragons cut the lead to 3-1. It would prove to be the only run the Dragons would score all night.
The Sliders added to their lead in the sixth. Vincente Cafaro lead things off with a double and he came around to score on a Jimmy Swift single to bring the score to 4-1. Eric Wyman (Illinois-Chicago) relieved Beatty in the seventh inning. After retiring the first two hitters he faced, Wyman gave up consecutive singles to Elliot Soto and Ryan Ashe that put runners on the corners. Soto crossed the plate on a throwing error when Ashe stole second and the throw went into centerfield.
The Dragons were able to sweep their three-game homestand last week by having three late-game rallies. With the score now 5-1, the Dragons looked to start another one of those rallies, but were denied by the stellar pitching of Springfield starter Bryce Butt. Bryce was outstanding the entire night, giving up only one run and six hits in his eight innings of work. He also struck out seven without walking a batter. After the second inning, his toughest inning was the eighth when the Dragons put runners on first and second on consecutive singles by rightfielder Pete Capetta (Illinois) and leftfielder Mark Noth (Belmont). However, Bryce was able to get a groundball to start a 6-4-3 double play before striking out the next hitter and escaped the inning unscathed.
Springfield put the game away in the ninth, scoring three runs. The biggest hit came off the bat of Ryan Ashe. Ashe wrapped a 2-RBI double to left, then came around to score on a single to center by Vincente Cafaro. The Dragons went down in order in the bottom of the inning, bringing the final score to 8-1 in favor of the Sliders.
Andrew Beatty looked good in his outing, but the Dragons defense couldn’t back him up on this night, as they committed four errors. Bryce Butt picked up the victory for Springfield to improve his record to 2-0.
The DuPage Dragons continue their nine-game homestand Friday night, June 20th, when they take on the Danville Dans at 7:05 pm at the Village of Lisle Sports Complex at Benedictine University. The Dragons have partnered with the Boy Scouts Three Fires Council group for the evening. They have also teamed up with the Naperville Morning Kiwanis Club to benefit the Diveheart Foundation. Please visit the community section on the Dragons website (
www.dupagedragons.com) and go to fundraising event section to download the ticket order form for either the Three Fires Council night or the Naperville Kiwanis night. Tickets can also be reserved by contacting either Naperville Kiwanis or Diveheart. Tickets start at $6 with kids five and under admitted free, and half the proceeds will go towards either the Boy Scouts Three Fires Council or the Diveheart Foundation. Group rates are available by calling the Dragons’ ticket office at 630-241-2255.
