SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The Toledo baseball team wrapped up play at the Alamo Irish Classic on Saturday, beating Incarnate Word, 11-10 in extra innings, before dropping game two to Notre Dame, 9-2.

The win over the Cardinals was the first of the season for the Rockets and the first for rookie head coach Rob Reinstetle.

"It certainly wasn't an easy win, but I'm glad we got one in that column finally," Reinstetle said. "The offense carried the day and my hat goes off to all the hitters, they never gave in and never quit. They answered every call and found a way to outscore our opponents. Everyone in the lineup contributed to this win, I'm so proud of the way they battled. Nate Haugh worked his way through some tough spots on the mound and did a good job. We didn't pitch the way we're capable of or play great defense, but baseball is a team game and the offense picked us up today."

Next up for Toledo is a four-game weekend series at Alabama State.

Game One – Toledo 11, Incarnate Word 10 (10 Innings)

Game one was a wild, back-and-forth affair that went to extra innings. Toledo led 9-6 heading into the bottom of the eighth, but UIW scored four to take a 10-9 advantage.

Junior Zach Schwartzenberger drove in the tying run in the top of the ninth, and junior Lorenzo DeBrecht tallied the game-winning RBI on a base hit in the top of the 10^th.

The Rockets pounded out 17 hits against the Cardinals, led by sophomore Darryn Davis and junior John Servello who had four hits apiece. Davis, Servello, and junior Chris Meyers accounted for all five of Toledo's extra-base hits and combined for six RBIs.

Junior Nicky Winterstein started the game on the mound for Toledo. Freshman Connor Brandon, sophomore Jamie Myers, and senior Nate Haugh all saw time out of the bullpen. Myers contributed 2.1 scoreless innings and Haugh pitched the final 3.2 innings, earning the win.

How it Happened

• The Rockets struck first against UIW. Hatfield's RBI single in the top of the second gave Toledo a 1-0 lead.
• The Cardinals answered back with two runs in the bottom have of the inning to take a 2-1 advantage. A two-out single into right field brought in the tying run, and the go-ahead score crossed home plate on a Toledo throwing error.
• Davis scored on a wild pitch in the top of the third to tie the game at 2-2, then put Toledo back on top with a two-run double in the top of the fourth. Schwartzenberger reached on a bunt single and freshman Trey Wright smacked a base hit to left field, then both scored on Davis' two-bagger to put the score at 4-2.
• Incarnate Word tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run single to left field. There could have been more damage, but Wright threw a runner retreating to third after a pitch in the dirt. The go-ahead run later scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-4.
• Servello's two-out single to center field allowed Kirk to score and once again tied the game, this time at 5-5.
• The Cardinals retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI groundout, putting the ledger at 6-5.
• Meyers' two-run home run in the top of the seventh put the Rockets back on top, 7-6. Davis led off the inning with a double, his second of the day. Servello tacked on another run with an RBI single up the middle to push the lead to 8-6.
• Toledo added a run on a bases-loaded walk in the top of the eighth. Four straight Rockets reached base with two outs to bring in the ninth run of the game for Toledo and extend its lead to 9-6.
• UIW scored four in the bottom of the eighth to take a late 10-9 lead, the biggest offensive inning for either team all day. A pair of two-run doubles did the damage for the Cardinals.
• Schwartzenberger's sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth tied the score at 10-10 and DeBrecht's RBI single in the top of the 10^th brought in the game-winning run to seal Toledo's first win of 2020.

 
Game Two – Notre Dame 9, Toledo 2

The Fighting Irish struck first, but Toledo scored two in the top of the third to take a 2-1 lead. Notre Dame answered by scoring one in the fourth, three in the fifth, and two in the sixth to jump ahead 7-2. The Rockets were unable to get the bats going against ND's pitchers, managing just one baserunner from the fourth inning through the end of the game. Davis had two of the Rockets' four hits and drove in one of their runs, with Kirk tallying the other RBI.

Junior Jordan Power started the game and turned in five innings. Junior Kyle Bischoff, senior Billy Todorowski, and junior Sam Prince each pitched one inning out of the pen, with only Todorowski throwing a scoreless frame.

"Jordan Power threw the ball really well, which was great to see," Reinstetle said. "We were in a close game into the fifth inning, but it just got away from us. They had a couple lucky hits fall in and we couldn't make some plays to limit the damage.  We knocked their starter out early, but their reliever did a good job of silencing our hot bats."

How it Happened

• Notre Dame scored the first run of the game on a wild pitch in the bottom of the first.
• Toledo took the lead with a two-run third inning. Davis tied the game with a line drive base hit to left field, then junior Matt Kirk drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk to give the Rockets the lead.
• The Fighting Irish pulled away in the middle innings, scoring six runs combined in innings four through six.
• Three of those runs were scored in the fifth inning. An RBI double and two run-scoring groundouts contributed to ND's lead.
• Notre Dame scored twice in the bottom of the eighth on a single to the right side, pushing its lead to seven. Those would be the final two runs in Saturday's 9-2 decision