SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The Toledo baseball team brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, but couldn't complete the comeback in an 8-5 loss to UTSA.

"Today was a tough one to swallow," head coach Rob Reinstetle said. "Our team played a solid game. We got a quality start from Layne (Schnitz-Paxton), our relievers threw the ball well, but UTSA got a few good swings off that hurt us. Offensively we got out to a hot start with the bats, but let their starter settle in and never added to our lead."

The Rockets put two runners on base in the bottom of the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate, but stranded both runners to end the game. Toledo scored four of its five runs in the first inning and scattered eight hits throughout the afternoon. Junior Zach Schwartzenberger had the lone multi-hit day for the Rockets and drove in a run. Juniors Lorenzo DeBrecht and Matt Kirk as well as sophomore Darryn Davis were all credited with RBIs on Friday.

Senior Layne Schnitz-Paxton threw five innings while allowing two runs and striking out six. Sophomore Kyle Jones struck out five and walked none across 3.1 innings of work.

"Every game is a learning experience," Reinstetle said. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, winning is not easy in baseball. A pitch here, a swing or play there can mean the difference between winning and losing. The results haven't been there, but we're playing hard, learning from our mistakes, and laying the foundation for future success. I told the team you can look at it like we are 0-5 or have 51 more chances to win a lot of games. I'm going with latter because there is no quit in us."

Toledo's stay in San Antonio will wrap up on Saturday with games against Incarnate Word and Notre Dame. The matchup with UIW will start at 1:00 p.m. ET and the contest against the Fighting Irish will follow at 4:00 p.m. ET.

How it Happened

• UTSA struck first on Friday, putting a run on the board with an RBI single in the top of the first inning.
• The Rockets took the lead with a four-run bottom of the first. Davis plated two runs on an RBI single through the right side of the infield; the first run scored easily, the second run came in on a UTSA throwing error. DeBrecht drove in Davis with a line drive RBI single to left field and Schwartzenberger's RBI single to right field put Toledo ahead, 4-1.
• A two-out single up the middle put the Roadrunners within two, 4-2, in the top of the fifth inning.
• UTSA tied the game at 4-4 in the top of the sixth with a two-run home run to right-center field.
• Another two-run homer from the Roadrunners gave them a 6-4 lead in the top of the seventh inning.
• UTSA pitchers stifled the Rockets' bats for much of the game. Toledo went 6.1 innings without a hit at one point, from the end of the first inning through the seventh.
• For the second time in two days, Winterstein provided a pinch-hit, extra-base hit for Toledo. He tripled to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning and later scored on junior Matt Kirk's ground ball to second base to make it 6-5.
• The Roadrunners added two runs in the top of the ninth to extend their lead to 8-5. One run came in via a Toledo fielding error and another scored on an RBI triple into the gap in right-center field. 
• Schwartzenberger and Wright recorded back-to-back singles in the bottom of the ninth, but both ended the game standing second and first base, respectively.