July 14, 2008 | QUINCY, ILThe DuPage Dragons came into Monday night’s game looking to rebound from their tough loss the night before. The Quincy Gems had other ideas, and in the end, defeated the Dragons by a score of 8-5. The loss dropped the Dragons to a 3-3 record in the second half and a tie for second place in the CICL.
Things started off rough for the Dragons in the first inning. Despite loading the bases without an out, they were unable to score a run, and that’s when the Gems went to work. Oliver Palmer led off things in the bottom half with a walk. A sacrifice bunt advanced him to second, and that’s when a single by Kurtis Muller knocked him in. After stealing second and third, Muller would eventually score on a two-out two-run homerun by Jon Myers, his tenth of the season. At the end of one, the Gems held a 3-0 lead.
The Dragons would start to claw back in the next inning. First baseman Dave Reynolds (Northern Illinois) would start the inning off with a single, and would advance to second on a sacrifice bunt by designated hitter Nick Popescu (Bradley). After a groundout advanced him 90 feet, third baseman Justin Wilson (Oakland) would knock in Reynolds on a single for the Dragons first run.
After giving up a leadoff single, Dragons starter Brian Stroud (Western Michigan) would get the next hitter to pop out before getting a double play to end the inning. It would be his last inning of work as he gave way to Tom Filip (Baylor) at the beginning of the third inning. The Gems would score an unearned run in the inning when, with Muller on second and two outs, Myers would reach base on an error and the runner would come all the way around. After three complete, the score would sit at 4-1 in favor of Quincy.
The Dragons would score another run in the top of the fourth with two outs. Rightfielder Pete Capetta (Illinois) would start the rally with a single through the left side of the infield. A single through the right side by Wilson would allow him to move to third and put runners on the corners. Leftfielder Mark Noth (Belmont) would single up the middle to bring across Capetta and cut the Quincy lead in half.
The Gems would take control in the bottom of the inning when they scored three more runs, all with two outs. With the bases loaded, Muller would reach base again, this time on an error that allowed two runs to score unearned. Another error on a ground ball off the bat of Tyler Goodro would allow another unearned run to score before Filip would strike out the next hitter and get the Dragons out of the inning. After the fourth, the Dragons were trailing by a score of 7-2.
The Dragons would plate three runs over the sixth & seventh innings in their effort to make a comeback. Reynolds would single to right-center to start the sixth. After a groundout advanced him to second, Capetta would walk, followed by a Wilson single to centerfield that would load the bases with one out. A walk to Noth would score the first run in the inning for the Dragons, and then a ground out by shortstop Kevin Tokarski (Illinois State) would score another run. In the seventh, a one-out walk to Reynolds would start the rally for the Dragons. He would steal second with two outs in the inning, and then an error on a single by Capetta would allow both runners to advance, scoring Reynolds. When the inning finally ended, the Dragons only trailed by two.
The Gems would put the nail in the coffin in the eighth inning when they were able to score one more run. A leadoff single by Palmer was negated on a double play. But a walk and a single put runners on first and second with two outs, before the Dragons would commit their fourth error of the game, allowing another unearned run to score and bring the score to its final resting place at 8-5.
Brian Stroud took the loss lasting only two innings while giving up three earned runs. Tom Filip lasted the game’s final six innings, giving up seven hits and five runs, all unearned. He struck out four in the outing. Justin Wilson was the star offensively for the Dragons, going 5-for-5 with an RBI. He is the second Dragons player with a five-hit game after Dave Reynolds accomplished the feat back on June 16th against the Springfield Sliders.
The Dragons will now head to Springfield to take on the Sliders in the second game of their road trip. Game time is scheduled for 7:05 pm on Tuesday, July 15th. The next home date for the Dragons will be Saturday, July 19th, when they take on the Springfield Sliders for a doubleheader. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 pm at the Lisle Sports Complex. Tickets start at $6 with children five and under admitted free. Group rates are available by calling the Dragons' ticket office at 630-241-2255.
Fans can listen to all the DuPage Dragons home and away games this season by going to our website and clicking the microphone [ here ].
