Mistrial declared on 8 other counts against Winslow Jr.
Contributing Writer
For the second straight night, Pabel Manz anero was the hero for the Dayton Dragons.
The Midwest League AllStar’s two-run double in the sixth inning helped the Dragons erase an early deficit and they held on to beat the Fort Wayne TinCaps 3-2 in front of 7,802 people on Monday night at Fifth Third Field, sweeping the fourgame series.
With the victory, Dayton won its eighth straight game. The Dragons are the hottest team in the Midwest League, improving to 25-39 on the season.
“I’m so excited for the team, for the guys,” Manzanero said. “We’re getting better. We’ve changed our mind. We’re keeping focus and doing the little things on the field that’s going to help us win.”
Dragons center fielder Michael Siani had two hits and stole his 19th base of the season, while second baseman Randy Ventura also had two hits in the win. Dayton’s pitching staff combined for 15 strikeouts in the game, including five by Moises Nova, who picked up his first win of the season.
With each victory, the Dragons gain more and more confidence, Dragons manager Luis Bolivar said. They hope to carry that momentum into the Midwest League’s second half, which starts June 20.
“They’re building confi- dence and they know how to win games now,” he said. “They know what to expect. Heading into the second half, hopefully that same confi- dence will carry over.”
After four scoreless innings, the TinCaps finally broke open the game in the top of the fifth. With one out, Juwuan Harris walked and moved to second base when Dayton first baseman Bren Spillane missed a pick- off throw. After TinCaps sec- ond baseman Tucupita Marcano flew out to center field on a diving grab by Siani, Lee Solomon walked, putting runners at first and sec- ond with two outs. TinCaps catcher Blake Hunt smashed a double to left field, scoring Harris from second.
The Dragons took the lead for good in the sixth inning. Ventura led off the inning with a single and moved to second on an overthrow at first by TinCaps pitcher Gabe Mosser. The next batter, Siani, singled off the second baseman’s glove, scoring Ventura to tie the game.
Siani stole second base and moved to third on an overthrow by TinCaps catcher Blake Hunt. With the infield playing in, Gordon hit a ground ball to the second baseman Marcano, who threw out Siani at home plate.
But the Dragons weren’t finished. Gordon moved to second base on a single by Brian Rey, setting up Manzanero’s two-run double that gave Dayton a 3-1 lead.
The TinCaps pulled to within one on a 385-foot home run by Michael Curry in the top of the eighth inning.
In the ninth inning, the benches cleared after TinCaps third baseman Kelvin Melean got into an argument with Dragons catcher Morgan Lofstrom at home plate, but neither team had a player ejected from the game.
“It’s a good thing,” Boli- var said. “The guys are in the game. They’re putting in a lot of effort and it means a lot to them, so that’s why emotions come out like that.”
With one out and a runner at second base, Dragons closer Connor Bennett entered the game and struck out Jawuan Harris and forced Marcano to ground out to second base to seal the victory and earn his seventh save of the season.
Dragons starter Jared Sol- omon pitched two scoreless innings, striking out three, but was pulled as a precaution in the third inning after feeling discomfort in his shoulder, Bolivar said.
Alexis Diaz pitched three innings, allowing one run on one hit with four strike- outs. Nova earned the win by striking out five in two scoreless innings, while Adrian Rodriguez earned his third hold of the season, allowing one run on two hits in 1 1/3 innings of work.
Give back game: The Dragons and the Reds Community Fund have partnered on a special fundraising event next month as part of the Reds’ 150th anniversary.
The Dragons are offering $12 tickets to their Sunday, July 14, game against the Beloit Snappers, which includes a Dragons hat. The Reds Community Fund will be giving back $6 of every ticket to assist tornado recovery efforts in the Dayton area. The deadline to order tick- ets is June 28.
A California VISTA, CALIF. — jury that convicted former NFL player Kellen Winslow Jr. of raping a 58-year-old homeless woman was unable to break a deadlock on eight other counts Tuesday and a judge declared a mistrial on those charges.
The judge earlier denied a defense motion to dismiss the undecided charges involving the alleged rapes of a 54-year- old hitchhiker and an unconscious teen.
Prosecutors did not imme- diately say whether they would retry those charges. Winslow currently faces up to nine years in prison. Conviction on all charges could bring a life sentence.
The San Diego County Superior Court jury on Monday found the son of a Hall of Famer guilty of an attack last year on the homeless woman in his picturesque beach community of Encinitas, north of San Diego.
The jury also found the 35-year-old former tight end guilty of indecent exposure and lewd conduct involving two other women, but jurors found him not guilty of one count of a lewd act.
The jury told the court Monday it was deadlocked on the other charges but the judge had ordered them to resume deliberations on Tuesday.
All five women testified during the nine-day trial. Winslow, who played for Cleveland, Tampa Bay, New England and the New York Jets, did not take the stand.
Defense attorneys pointed out inconsistencies in the accusers’ testimonies and argued the women invented the allegations to prey on the wealth of Winslow, who reportedly earned over $40 million during his 10 seasons with the NFL.
The five women testi- fied that they didn’t know Winslow was famous when they met him.
Prosecutors said the son of Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow felt empowered by his fame to abuse the most vulnerable.
Prosecutor Dan Owens told the jury of eight men and four women that Winslow is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
The homeless woman in Encinitas, who was 58 at the time, testified that he befriended her and attacked her next to his vehicle after inviting her for a coffee in May 2018.
A 54-year-old hitchhiker said he drove her to an Encinitas shopping center parking lot and raped her in his Hummer in March 2018.
A 57-year-old woman said he exposed himself to her while she tended to her garden in May of 2018. The jury found him guilty of that charge Monday.
After news of the attacks broke, a woman came forward and said Winslow had raped her when she was a 17-year-old high school student in 2003. He was 19 at the time and had come home from college for the summer.
A 77-year-old woman who went to the same gym as Winslow in the nearby beach community of Carlsbad said he committed lewd acts in front of her, including touching himself, while Winslow was free on $2 million bail in February. The jury found him guilty of touching himself in front of the woman while she exercised, but not guilty of committing a lewd act in front of her on a separate occasion in the gym’s hot tub.
Defense attorney Marc Carlos questioned the credibility of the women’s claims, saying they had lied, misconstrued things or were unable to initially identify him correctly.
Defense lawyers also said the sex was consensual and that Winslow had cheated on his wife repeatedly with no-strings-attached sex.