Toledo, Ohio— The Toledo baseball team dropped its series opener against Central Michigan on Friday, 5-3.
Originally scheduled to take place in Mount Pleasant, Mich., the game was played at Scott Park though the Chippewas were still the home team.
CMU scored in the bottom of the first to take an early 1-0 lead and plated two runs in the second on a Toledo throwing error. The Rockets got back one of those runs in the top of the third, but Central Michigan extended its lead with two-out runs in the fourth and sixth innings. Toledo scored twice in the top of the ninth to make it closer, but it was too little too late.
Senior
Casey Gose had two hits on Friday while senior
Brad Boss and freshman
John Servello drove in runs for UT. Boss also tallied three walks at the plate. Junior
Michael Jacob started on the mound and threw 5.1 innings, and junior
Nate Haugh pitched 2.2 scoreless frames after entering the game in the sixth inning.
Toledo and Central Michigan are preparing to play again on Saturday at 3:05 at Scott Park and conclude the series on Sunday at Mercy Field in Toledo. Any further changes to the schedule this weekend will be announced here on utrockets.com and on Twitter at @ToledoBaseball.
How it Happened
- The Chippewas wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard, tallying the game's first run on a sacrifice fly to center field to take a 1-0 lead.
- Toledo allowed two runs to score on a two-out error in the bottom of the second. An errant throw allowed CMU to take a 3-0 lead after two frames.
- UT got on the board in the top of the third. Sophomore Michael Ryan scored on a bases-loaded ground ball double play.
- CMU scored a run each in the fourth and sixth innings to take a 5-1 lead. On the play in the sixth, a single to right field brought in a run, but Servello threw out a runner trying to score to end the inning to prevent any further damage. The freshman also doubled off a runner at first base on a failed hit-and-run play by the Chippewas in the eighth inning.
- The Rockets attempted to mount a comeback in the top of the ninth. Boss' double to right field allowed freshman Trace Hatfield to score and Servello's fielder's choice ground out brought in senior Corey Tipton. It was not enough, though, as Central Michigan came away with a 5-3 win.