July 3, 2008 | DUBOIS, IL After Wednesday night’s loss, the DuPage Dragons looked to bounce back Thursday night. Against the Dubois Bombers, the Dragons bounced back in a big way, winning 10-2. The win put the Dragons back above .500 for the season at 11-10. The Bombers dropped to 7-16.
The Dragons got things started in the second inning. Designated hitter Matt Behren (Northern Illinois) led off the inning with a double. He advanced to third on a fielder’s choice, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Dave Reynolds (Northern Illinois). Second baseman Kevin Tokarski (Illinois State) drew a two-out walk, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Centerfielder Justin Wilson (Oakland) drew another walk to put runners on first and second, and then both runners scored on a double by leftfielder Mark Noth (Belmont). By the end of the inning, the Dragons had a 3-0 lead.
The Dragons took complete control over the middle three innings. They stole a run in the fourth when, with two outs, Reynolds was able to score from third when Wilson got into a rundown on a stolen base attempt. In the fifth, catcher Ryan Duffy (Mississippi State) reached base on an error by the Bombers’ first baseman. Shortstop Jordan Tokarz (Eastern Illinois) smacked a single and the Dragons had runners on first and second with one out. They advanced to second and third on a fielder’s choice, then Behren hit a two-out single scoring both runners. The sixth inning was the biggest inning for DuPage. Wilson reached second on an error by the shortstop. He advanced to third on a single by Noth, and both runners were knocked in on a double by Duffy. After a single by Tokarz put runners on the corners, third baseman Phil Wunderlich (Louisville) hit into a fielder’s choice, scoring Duffy. By the end of the sixth, the Dragons held a commanding 9-0 lead.
In his first start of the season, Tom Zelasko was lights out. Through the first six innings, he had only allowed one hit and five total baserunners. He finally ran into trouble in the bottom of the seventh. The first two Bombers reached base on consecutive walks. A balk call advanced the runners to second and third. Jared Baehl hit a sacrifice fly to leftfield to score the Bombers’ first run. A groundout advanced the other baserunner to third, and then Daniel Nichols hit a two-out single to score the second run and end the night for Zelasko. Tom Filip (Baylor) came on in relief for the second consecutive night and looked great again. He got a groundout to end the seventh, and only gave up a single in his one and 1/3 innings pitched.
The Dragons scored once more in the top of the eighth. They got the bases loaded with one out in the inning, and rightfielder Nick Popescu (Bradley) hit an RBI fielder’s choice to bring the score to 10-2. Andrew Estes (Oakland) came on to pitch in the ninth to finish up the ballgame for DuPage. He gave up a walk and struck out one in the inning to close out the victory.
The DuPage Dragons return home Monday night, July 7th, when they take on the Quincy Gems at 7:05 pm at the Lisle Sports Complex at Benedictine University. Tickets start at $6 with kids five and under admitted free. Group rates are available by calling the Dragons' ticket office at 630-241-2255. |
