25-GAME TELEVISION BROADCASTS ON DAYTON’S CW SPONSORED BY DP&L

WONE 980 RETURNS AS RADIO FLAGSHIP HOME OF DRAGONS

DAYTON, OHIO—The Dayton Dragons announced today that 25 Dragons home games will be televised live from Fifth Third Field on Dayton’s CW during the 2018 season, including the Dragons Opening Day game on April 7.  All games will be broadcast live and in high definition on the following outlets:

• Over the air Channel 26.1
• Spectrum Channels 13 and 1013
• Direct TV and DISH Network Channel 26.

All Dragons television broadcasts are sponsored by Dayton Power & Light.

Dayton’s CW reaches approximately 500,000 households and over 1.2 million potential viewers in a 10-county area.

Dragons Director of Broadcasting Tom Nichols will handle the play-by-play for each telecast.  WDTN Sports Director Jack Pohl will serve as color commentator on Saturday and Sunday broadcasts.  Hutch Konerman, weekend sports anchor and weekday sports reporter at WDTN, will handle the commentator duties for Friday games that are televised.

Tom Nichols returns for his 11th season with the Dragons and 31st year in Minor League Baseball.  He will serve as the play-by-play announcer on all 25 television broadcasts and all radio broadcasts for games that are not televised.  He has broadcast over 3,800 minor league games since beginning his career in 1988 and has worked at every level of Minor League Baseball.  He is a Ball State University graduate and a native of Muncie, Indiana, where he was inducted into the Delaware County Athletics Hall-of-Fame in 2009.

Jack Pohl has served as WDTN-TV Sports Director and Anchor since 2002 and has been with WDTN-TV since August 1995.  Jack is a Dayton native who attended Wright State University.  He began his broadcasting career at Centerville High School station WCWT.   He later moved on to work at various Dayton area radio stations, but is best known for his time as the Z-93 morning show personality with Kim Faris.  Jack is proud to have learned the TV business from WDTN’s legendary Omar Williams.  Jack was honored with the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s Sportsmanship and Ethics Integrity Media service award.

Hutch Konerman joined WDTN-TV in 2004 as the Weekend Sports Anchor and Sports Reporter for 2 NEWS. He began his broadcasting career in public radio as a news and sports reporter for WVXU-FM in Cincinnati. He also served as a news reporter and producer at WGEM-TV in Quincy, Ill. and as Sports Anchor and Reporter for WHIO-TV in Dayton. Hutch received a regional Emmy for his sports feature in 2006.

Dragons 2018 Television Broadcast Schedule

DRAGONS RADIO BROADCASTS ON FOX SPORTS 980 (WONE)

For the eighth straight year, all 140 Dragons home and road games will be broadcast on radio on the Dragons flagship station, Fox Sports 980 (WONE 980 AM) in Dayton.  All games are also streamed on-line at www.daytondragons.com andwone.com and can be heard via the Dragons mobile app (free download at iTunes or Google Play).  Each broadcast begins with the pre-game show 30 minutes before the first pitch of every Dragons game, featuring game previews, interviews, and lineups.  Each Dragons game is followed by an extensive post-game show featuring game recaps, interviews, and out of town scores.

Tom Nichols and Josh Hess will serve as the Dragons broadcasters on radio.

Josh Hess replaces Jason Kempf as the Dragons #2 announcer after Kempf was hired as the primary voice of the Quad Cities River Bandits.  Hess is a product of the acclaimed communications program at Syracuse University.  The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse has produced many national broadcast talents including Bob Costas, Mike Tirico, Dick Stockton, Marv Albert, Sean McDonough, Beth Mowins, and Ian Eagle.  Hess spent the 2017 season as the primary broadcaster for the Batavia Muckdogs of the New York/Penn League (Miami Marlins affiliate).  In 2016, he gained experience as a broadcaster in the Cape Cod League, a college summer league featuring many top-level professional prospects.  In 2015, he gained his first exposure to Minor League Baseball as a media assistant with the Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals.  Hess is a native of Woodbridge, Connecticut.

Hess has been added to an impressive list of young broadcasters who have served as the #2 announcer with the team since the Dragons inception in 2000. Several Dragons #2 announcers have gone directly from Dayton to primary announcing positions with other Minor League Baseball clubs.

Mike Couzens (2011 Dragons) is currently an ESPN Television basketball and football play-by-play announcer and can be seen frequently calling top national games on the ESPN family of networks.  After his season with the Dragons, he spent three years as the voice of the Fort Wayne TinCaps in the Midwest League before moving full-time to ESPN.

Bill Spaulding (2013 Dragons) is a play-by-play announcer for numerous events of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad for NBC and NBC Olympic Channel.  He also calls women’s basketball for Boston College.

Owen Serey advanced from the Dragons #2 slot in 2008 to become the voice of the South Bend Silver Hawks in the Midwest League and spent three seasons in that role.

Alex Vispoli (2009 Dragons) served as the voice of the Class-AA Frisco Rough Riders for four seasons from 20012-’15.  Vispoli moved from Dayton to become the voice of the Winston-Salem Dash in 2010 and remained there for two seasons before advancing to Frisco.  He currently works as a freelance broadcaster based in Massachusetts and calls a variety of sports for area universities and conferences, including the Ivy League.

Nick Anastos (2010 Dragons) currently serves as the play-by-play announcer for men’s basketball at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Brendan Gulick (2014 Dragons) advanced from the Dragons to become the play-by-play voice of the Delmarva Shorebirds, the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles in the South Atlantic League.  He currently works as a sports anchor with “The Fan” WKRK in Cleveland.

Keith Raad (2015 Dragons) spent the 2017 season as a broadcaster with the Frisco RoughRiders in the Texas League after a season with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League.

Jason Kempf (2016-17 Dragons) will serve as the primary broadcaster for the Quad Cities River Bandits in 2018.

Two previous announcers who worked as Dragons # 2 broadcasters, Mike Benton (2004 Dragons) and Nick Brunker (2005 Dragons) have enjoyed long careers in hockey. Benton is the voice of the Everett Silvertips and has called more than 900 professional hockey matches. Brunker completed his fifth season as the voice of the Cincinnati Cyclones in 2015 before accepting a new position outside of sports.