TOLEDO, OH - Hannah Rockhold struck out eight over seven innings of work and Erinn Wright had three hits as Toledo's softball team defeated Southern Utah 7-3 in game one of a doubleheader Wednesday. The Rockets fell 8-5 in game two at Scott Park.
The senior right hander threw her fifth complete game of the season and picked up her second win of the year. She shook off a two-run homer in the first and allowed just three hits and one run the rest of the way.
The Rockets put a run on the board in the first, as Brooke Gates ripped a double to center to score Kate Ricchio. The score remained 2-1 until the fifth when Wright blasted a home run - the first of the season - to right center. Jillian Spink followed with a single to center, and strolled around the bases following a bizarre sequence that featured five consecutive illegal pitches. Spink, in fact, received new life as she had originally flied out to right, but was brought back to the batter's box after the illegal pitch.
Spink's run put Toledo in front 3-2, and the Rockets salted the game away with a four-spot in the sixth, all coming with two outs. Gates' second double of the contest scored Sam Toy, and Wright sent a single into center to bring in Gates.
Toledo wasn't finished, though. Spink laced a double into the gap in right-center that scored pinch runner Ashley Herr, and Morgan Smith's baseknock to center brought home Spink to close the frame and give the Rockets a 7-2 edge.
The Rockets pounded out 10 hits, as Gates and Spink both had multi-hit efforts. Spink scored twice, while both Gates and Wright had a pair of RBI to pace Toledo's offensive attack.
Game two wasn't as kind to the Rockets as several defensive miscues helped put them in an 8-0 hole. The Thunderbirds scored a single run in the third, three times in the fourth and four times in the fifth to build their lead, though just five of the eight runs were charged as earned.
Toledo's offense came alive in the late innings. With two outs and no one on, three straight singles courtesy of Gates, Wright and Spink brought in Toledo's first run. Mica Sanchez stepped to the plate and smacked a double down the left field line that scored Wright.
In the seventh, Lacey LeVier drilled her third home run of the season - a three-run shot - that brought the Rockets to within 8-5 with nobody out in the inning. But Toledo could not crack the scoring column again as the Rockets dropped the second half of their home opener.
The offense had its second-straight effort with double-digit hits, coming away with 12 in the second game, but the Rockets stranded 10 runners on base. Gates went 3-for-4, while Wright, Sanchez and LeVier each had two hits.
Gates is on a six-game hitting streak, LeVier has hit in five-straight, and Ricchio has hit in 11 of the last 12 contests for Toledo.
The Rockets have a quick turnaround with five games scheduled this weekend in Oxford, OH at the Miami Invitational. Toledo squares off with Robert Morris at 2 p.m. Friday.
Contact: Scott Miles
scott.miles@utoledo.edu
