River Dragons’ late-inning explosion leads to another loss for Doggy Paddlers

QUINCY — The Quincy Doggy Paddlers seemed poised to snap their four-game losing streak on Sunday, but the Alton River Dragons’ rally in the late innings thwarted that chance. The River Dragons scored eight straight runs in the eighth and ninth innings to turn a 5-4 deficit into a 12-5 win in Prospect League action at QU Stadium.

Jameson Johnson’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh gave the Doggy Paddlers their 5-4 lead. In his Doggy Paddlers debut, right-hander Carter Jones worked a 1-2-3 seventh before the wheels came off in the eighth.

The River Dragons sent eight batters to the plate and scored three runs. Matt Graf gave the River Dragons a 6-5 lead with an RBI double, then Michael Budorick singled in another run off of Jones before Preston Kaufman retired the final two batters of the inning.

The River Dragons did not stop there. They scored five runs in the ninth off of Kaufman, all with two outs, to take a 12-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth, which left-hander Lukas McGill preserved.

The Doggy Paddlers also led 3-1 after the first inning but had a chance for more in that inning. They had runners at first and second with nobody out after already scoring those three runs, but Harrison Boushele struck out three of the next four batters. The Doggy Paddlers had just three hits and were outscored 11-2 after that.

Tommy Harrison went 3 for 5 with two RBIs for Quincy (14-23, 5-9 second half). Tyler Butina had two hits and reached base three times in his final game with the Doggy Paddlers. The River Dragons (19-20, 8-5 second half) have now won four straight games.