July 24, 2008 | LISLE, ILThe DuPage Dragons came into Thursday night’s game with Danville tied for first with the Dans in the second half standings of the Central Illinois Collegiate League (CICL). The Dragons continued on their hot streak, defeating the Dans by a score of 6-1 for their fifth straight win. They improve to 21-16 on the season, 8-5 in the second half and sit atop the standings for the first time this year.
The Dragons started the scoring in the top of the first. Second baseman Jordan Tokarz (Eastern Illinois) led off the game with a single, and moved to second on a groundout. All-star MVP third baseman Phil Wunderlich (Louisville) drew a walk, and then leftfielder Dave Reynolds (Northern Illinois) smacked a RBI single to score Tokarz. Rightfielder Matt Behren (Northern Illinois) followed that up with another RBI single before a strikeout gave the Dragons two outs in the inning. Shortstop Pete Capetta (Illinois) ended up on third after a double and an error scored two more runs, and the Dragons held a 4-0 lead after only one-half inning of play.
DuPage starter Brad Riegler (Illinois-Chicago) had another good outing for the Dragons. He had a shaky start giving up two hits in both the first and second innings, but both times he escaped without giving up a run. He held the Dans scoreless all the way until the fifth inning, when Danville was able to plate a run with one out. John Dishon knocked a single, and then Chris Lewellyn ripped a double that scored the Dans first run. Riegler got the next two hitters on flyouts to end the inning.
The Dragons got the run back in the top of the sixth. Behren drew a leadoff walk, and advanced to third on a one-out single by Capetta. With runners on the corners, designated hitter Scott Sexton (Oakland) grounded out to short, but Behren was able to score on the play. They would get another run in the eighth on back-to-back extra base hits with two outs. A two-out triple by Capetta was followed up by a Sexton double for his second RBI to bring the score to 6-1 in favor of DuPage.
After giving up the run in the fifth, Riegler settled down, at one point retiring eight Dans in a row. He got through the eighth inning giving up only the one run without walking a batter and striking out one. Anthony Manville (Iowa) came on in the ninth to finish out the game and close out Riegler’s fourth victory of the season. Pete Capetta was the offensive star for the Dragons, going 3-for-4 on the night with a run scored and two RBI. He missed hitting the cycle by only a homerun.
The DuPage Dragons will now get a day off before facing the Dans once more on Saturday, July 26th. Game time is scheduled for 7:05 pm in Danville. Their next home game is Monday, July 28th, when they take on the Springfield Sliders again at 7:05 pm at the Lisle Sports Complex at Benedictine University. Tickets start at $6 with children five and under admitted free. Group rate are available by calling the Dragons’ ticket office at 630-241-2255.
