(WNFL) DAYTON, OH – Nick Senzel showed why his was the number two overall pick in the 2016 MLB Entry Draft. The Dayton Dragons third baseman went four-for-five with two singles, a triple, a stolen base, a home run, and four RBI to lead the Midwest League affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds to an 8-3 win over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
Isan Diaz put the Timber Rattlers (46-49 overall, 12-13 second half) up 1-0 in the top of the first inning with a two-out solo home run. The homer was the thirteenth of the season for Diaz. He leads the Midwest League in that category.
Dayton (30-64, 9-15) answered with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Shed Long doubled with one out. Senzel’s liner to right was lost in the setting sun for a triple to knock in Long. Senzel would score on a wild pitch by Rattlers starter Thomas Jankins to put the Dragons up 2-1. Later in the inning, Tyler Stephenson blooped a single to right with a runner on first. An error on the play allowed a run to score.Senzel added an RBI single in the bottom of the second with two outs and Dayton went up 4-1.Wisconsin rallied in the top of the fifth inning. Sthervin Matos hit a solo homer with one out in the inning. The Rattlers loaded the bases on a single and two walks. Jake Gatewood drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and the Rattlers were within a run.But, Dayton got both of those runs back in the bottom of the fifth and added two more in the sixth.In the fifth inning, Chris Okey singled and Stephenson doubled to put runners at second and third. A wild pitch allowed Okey to score. Reydel Medina had a sacrifice fly to drive in Stephenson. In the sixth, Senzel hit a two-run homer. The blast was his first as a professional and put the Dragons up 8-3.Neither team threatened to score after the sixth inning.The loss denied the Rattlers a three-game sweep of the Dragons at Fifth Third Field. The loss also means the Rattlers went 2-4 on their six-game road trip to the Eastern Division.
