DAYTON, Ohio — Judge Thompson lined up a 3-2 pitch into center field to drive in the winning run with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Dayton Dragons to a 10-9 victory on the Whitecaps of western Michigan. The Dragons scored three runs late in the ninth after West Michigan broke a 7-7 tie with two runs in the top of the ninth.

A crowd of 8,370 was in attendance at the Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street neighborhood.

The win puts the Dragons seventh in their last eight games. They set a season high for runs in a game in a contest that included seven home runs and 14 extra hits between the two teams. Dayton improved to 10-4 on the season with the win.

Game Summary: The Dragons scored six runs over the first three innings to take a 6-4 lead. They scored two in the first, three in the second and one in the third. Elly De La Cruz connected on a two-run homer in the second, her second homer of the year, and Alex McGarry hit a long solo homer in the third measured at around 431 feet. It was McGarry’s fifth home run of the year. Garrett Wolforth added another home run for Dayton in the fifth, his second of the season, as the Dragons extended their lead to 7-4.

Western Michigan fought back with three runs in the sixth to tie the game, and they took the lead in the top of the ninth on a two-run homer from Colt Keith to take a 9-7 advantage in the bottom of the ninth inning. . .

Ashton Creal opened Dayton’s half of the ninth with a double to left field, and Jose Torres singled right to move Creal to third. De La Cruz hit the pitcher on the ground, moving Torres to second. A wild pitch brought Creal up to make it 9-8 and advanced Torres to third, and Allan Cerda walked. McGarry followed with a hit to right field to drive Torres to tie the game, and Cerda raced for third. After pinch hitter Nick Quintana struck out, Wolforth received an intentional walk to load the bases. Thompson ran the full count before fielding a shot past shortstop into left center field to drive Cerda and end the game.

The Dragons finished with nine hits, including six extra hits, a season high. Thompson, Torres and McGarry each had two hits.

Notes: The Dragons improved their record in one-point games to 6-0. They’re 8-0 in games decided by two runs or less… The Dragons are 4-1 in the series with West Michigan that ends Sunday.

Up Next: The Dragons (10-4) wrap up the homestand when they host West Michigan (7-7) Sunday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. at Day Air Ballpark. Cincinnati Reds star pitcher Luis Castillo is set to start for the Dragons in MLB rehab against West Michigan’s Wilmer Flores (0-0, 0.00).

On the Air: Saturday and Sunday’s game will be televised in the Miami Valley on Dayton’s CW (Channel 26; Spectrum Cable channels 13 and 1013).