Box Score TAMPA, Fla. - Toledo led after three innings but could not hold on as the Rockets were defeated 6-3 by South Florida in the series finale at the USF Baseball Stadium.
The Rockets (1-10) were paced offensively by sophomore
Ross Adolph, who went 3-for-5 with three singles and an RBI. Adolph accounted for three of Toledo's seven hits in the contest.
South Florida (10-1) jumped on the board first in the bottom of the second inning. The Bulls combined a two-out RBI single with a run-scoring double to go ahead 2-0.
Toledo responded in the next half inning, taking the lead with a three-run third. Sophomore
Riley Campbell started the rally with a one-out single up the middle and moved to second when junior
Matt Hansen walked.
Junior
AJ Montoya hit a sharp ground ball to first bases which was fielded cleanly but thrown off of Hansen's back sliding into second. Campbell took advantage of the errant throw and scored on the play.Â
Adolph laced a single to right, scoring Hansen and advancing Montoya around to third. Adolph was erased trying to advance to second but Montoya scored later in the inning on a wild pitch.
USF took the lead back for good in the fourth inning. Again, the Bulls put together a combination of two-out hits to plate three runs, making the score 5-3.Â
Both teams put runners on base in the middle innings but could not come up with a clutch hit to push across a run. South Florida added an insurance run in the eighth to make the final count 6-3.
Senior
Sam Shutes takes the loss, dropping his record to 0-3. The Rockets received effective bullpen pitching from seniors
Josh Cales and
Jordan Kesson. Cales pitched a scoreless inning and Kesson threw 3.0 innings and allowed a run on one hit.
Toledo heads south to Port Charlotte for the Snowbird Classic. The Rockets will play as the away team against Boston College on Tuesday and serve as the home team when playing Northeastern on Wednesday.