CLEARWATER, FL - Freshman McKenna Smith had six hits in
seven at bats as Toledo's softball team defeated Kennesaw State 6-2 and lost a
narrow 4-3 decision to Fairfield at the Under Armour Showcase on Saturday.
Smith had a career-high four hits in the morning loss to the
Stags and on the day drove in five runs.
In game two action against Kennesaw State, senior Hannah Rockhold picked up her first win of the season after hurling seven innings of
six-hit ball, allowing two runs while fanning five without issuing a walk.
Junior Kate Ricchio had two RBI, while sophomore Brooke Gates and freshman Erinn Wright both had RBI hits as well. Freshman Lindsey Tobias had a pair of hits, as Toledo scored single runs in the first and second
innings before putting the game away with a four-run sixth.
Full details from that contest will be available later on
www.utrockets.com.
The Rockets pounded out a season-best 14 hits against
Fairfield, but stranded 15 runners in the 4-3 setback. The Stags jumped out to
a 4-1 lead in the early innings and the Rockets could not rally all the way back.
Smith put Toledo on the board with a bases-loaded single in
the second that cut the Stags' lead to 2-1. However, the Rockets would do no
further damage as the next three hitters struck out.
After leaving the bases loaded again in the fourth, the
Rockets trimmed the deficit to one run with a pair of tallies in the fifth.
With two out and nobody on, Tobias and Wright singled to the left side, and
Smith drove them in with a double to right-center.
But that would end the scoring for the Rockets, who recorded
five more hits in the sixth and seventh innings but left the bases loaded in
both innings.
Ricchio and Wright both had a pair of hits for the Rockets,
while Smith's three RBI were also a season-high. The team's 14 hits were the
most since Toledo also had a 14-hit effort against Akron on May 2, 2008.
The Rockets (3-13) conclude their spring break trip on Sunday with
an 11:15 a.m. matchup against Boston University and a 1:30 p.m. contest against
host South Florida.
Contact: Scott Miles
scott.miles@utoledo.edu
