Dayton, Ohio— The Toledo baseball team trailed by seven runs at one point in its game against Dayton on Tuesday, but came back to win 10-9 thanks to some late-inning clutch hitting.
With a runner on first in the top of the ninth, sophomore
Trace Hatfield launched a two-run home run to left field that gave the Rockets their first lead since the second inning.
Toledo trailed 8-1 at one point after a six-run third inning from the Flyers, but chipped away at UD's lead until scoring five runs in the final two innings to complete the comeback.
Freshman
Kyle Jones was terrific on Tuesday, throwing 5.1 innings in relief and not walking anyone while recording three strikeouts to keep UT alive while the bats put together a seven-run comeback. Sophomore
Chris Meyers, freshman
Darryn Davis, and senior
Brad Boss all drove in two runs, while freshman
Thomas Eitniear scored twice. The Rockets drew 12 walks and were hit by a pitch twice.
Toledo visits Michigan State on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. before traveling up to Eastern Michigan this weekend for a conference series.
How it Happened
- Meyers led off the game with a double off the wall, then later came around to score on an RBI groundout to give Toledo a 1-0 lead after the top of the first.
- Dayton tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second after a ball hit into the right field corner turned into an RBI triple.
- The Flyers took a 7-1 lead in the third after a six-run inning. After the leadoff hitter reached with a walk, the second batter of the inning put a homer over the fence in right field to give UD its first lead of the afternoon. Four more runs came in to score and put the Rockets in a six-run deficit.
- UD added another run in the fourth on a two-out RBI single to take an 8-1 lead.
- Sophomore John Servello added another run to the Rockets' total in the fifth, singling to left field to bring home Eitniear. Meyers then launched another double deep into the gap that bounced off the wall and brought home two runs, and Hatfield drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to make it 8-5.
- Dayton added a run to its total in the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run to left field.
- The Rockets made it a one-run game in the eighth, with Boss driving in a run and Davis driving in two to make the score 9-8. Boss tallied his RBI with a bases-loaded ground ball and Davis laced a single through the right side of the infield to bring home two.
- Hatfield had the big swing in the top of the ninth, taking a pitch deep to left field for a two-run home run to give Toledo a 10-9 lead. It was Hatfield's third home run of the season.
- Jones sent the Flyers down in order in the bottom of the ninth to secure the win for Toledo.
Head Coach Cory Mee