Dayton Dragons: Benches clear, 4 ejected in 9th-inning loss to Lake County

May 16—A resilient, fight-back gene lives in the Dayton Dragons' DNA. They showed it with the bat in the eighth inning Friday, May 15, they showed it when challenged by a bad call in the ninth inning, and they showed it after an opposing pitcher's demonstrative reaction to the ensuing strikeout.

The Dragons still lost, 6-4 to Lake County, and trail the series 1-3. But the Dragons, win or lose, will be fired up to split the series this weekend and settle some scores. And not just because they lost. But because of the drama of the ninth inning.

Dragons manager Julio Morillo, catcher Alfredo Duno and two Lake County pitchers were ejected. The benches emptied. A lot of players were itching for a fight, but enough teammates kept them from scratching that itch.

Before the fans got more than their money's worth in the ninth, Yerlin Confidan hit an unexpected home run in the eighth to tie the score 4-4. The left-handed Confidan lined his third homer of the season to left off a left-hander. Confidan bats .233 against left-handers and .319 against right-handers.

But the Captains answered in the ninth on a two-run double by Jace LaViolette.

The ninth inning went sideways when plate umpire Eli Cox said a pitch that hit the Dragons' Esmith Pineda in the left elbow was a foul ball. The Dragons immediately objected. Cox consulted base umpire Brice McCormick, but he didn't have a different opinion.

But everyone else knew Pineda had been hit. Replays couldn't be more conclusive that he was hit. Dragons manager Julio Morillo sprinted to Cox and argued with everything he had, sticking up for his team and earning an ejection.

"Obviously they make a big mistake, and I think they have to own that," Morillo said. "It was a clear hit by pitch — can't miss that ... can't miss that ... both of them can't miss that."

Morillo was further angered because the pitcher, Donovan Zsak, immediately told the umpire that the pitch in question was a foul ball.

"They can't just rely on what the pitcher says after he hits somebody," Morillo said. "I hope they go back and watch the video, and they gotta own that, they gotta know that they made a mistake."

In the age of replay at the big-league level, old-school arguments like Morillo's are rarely seen in baseball. Even though Cox didn't have the benefit of replay, Morillo knew he had to have his team's back.

"It's not like I feel proud of that," Morillo said. "I want to stay in the game as long as possible. I have to be there to make the decisions. Nobody can manage the game better than me. That's why I'm in the job."

But ...

"This is professional baseball," Morillo continued. "So when something like that happened — and no matter how much you argue they're not going to change the call — at that point I made my mind up and I knew I had to go. I have to, especially with something clear like that."

With Morillo watching on the TV in his office, the drama had two more acts.

Pineda, now faced with a 3-2 count instead of standing on first base, struck out swinging for the first out of the inning. Zsak came stomping off the mound, fired up, gesturing and saying things. He walked just enough toward the Dragons' dugout to spark outrage.

Led by Duno, the Dragons rushed the field. The Captains followed suit. No punches were thrown. Duno and others were restrained. Duno was ejected, and so was Zsak as the instigator.

"It's a tough situation," Morillo said of the bench clearing. "As the Reds organization, we don't preach that. It's competitive, and it's equal on both parts. If I have somebody telling me something, it's hard not to respond. Guys responded the way that they need to respond. We're not proud of that, but I understand."

Dragons outfielder Kien Vu accepted the ninth-inning drama as part of the game.

"We're all competitors, they're trying to do the same thing as us, and so things like that are bound to get out of hand once in a while," he said. "There's no one to blame for that. We're all just trying to compete our ass off, and sometimes it gets a little fiery. And honestly, I like it."

When Pineda struck out and Cox saw what was about to happen, he issued bench warnings to both teams. That set up the next ejection.

Left-hander Luis Flores warmed up and hit Johnny Ascanio with his first pitch. The dugouts didn't empty, but Cox immediately ejected Flores because of the bench warnings. Flores pleaded his case that he didn't hit Ascanio on purpose, but no way were the umpires going to lose further control.

After another new pitcher warmed up, Jack Moss flew out and Carolos Sanchez struck out to quietly end the night.

"I don't think those hit by pitches were on purpose," Morillo said. "Because the game is still a close game."

The Dragons and Captains resume the series Saturday night. Will there be any residual effects?

"If a little bad blood forms, then it will be maybe even a little more exciting to play them, but like I said, at the end of the day, we're all competitors, and I think they all recognize that too," Vu said. "We're not going to try to fight each other off the field. If we try to fight each other on the field, then I'd say pack the seats and get ready for a good game."