A 2020 Retrospective: Toledo Baseball
3/31/2020 2:10:00 PM | Baseball
TOLEDO, Ohio— The Toledo baseball team was in the midst of an 11-day road trip when everyday life came to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On a Wednesday March 11, the Rockets played at No. 6 Vanderbilt, just a few days after winning a weekend series at UAB. The next morning they were loading a bus to head to Kennesaw State, looking to end the long trip on a high note. By Thursday night the Mid-American Conference had announced that all spring sports were immediately canceled. It was a sudden jarring end to the season.
"Nobody expected our season to end so abruptly," said head coach Rob Reinstetle. "We were at Kennesaw State getting ready to practice when the call came in to pack up and get back to Toledo. It was a very tough moment to address the team and tell them that the season was over."
Reinstetle was in his first year coaching the Rockets and, despite the team's final record of 3-13, he had seen plenty of positive changes within the program.
"On paper, the record doesn't look good, but I don't think it gives the full picture," Reinstetle said. "We made significant jumps within the program. There is no doubt in my mind that the overall culture has changed in a positive way. The way we practice and go about our everyday business is so different than the way it was in the past. The players truly enjoyed coming to the field every day, and they worked really hard for me and the coaching staff. I really liked this group and the record doesn't change that."
The story of the 2020 Toledo baseball season unfortunately featured plenty of late-game heartbreaks. The Rockets were walked-off five times in 16 games this year, and saw several other late leads slip away.
"We played outstanding baseball in innings one through seven and carried leads late into about 12 of the 16 games we played," Reinstetle said. "We were walked off five times and blew leads late in five other games. We could easily sit here and be 12-4 or 13-3. But we're not, and we have to figure out how to get better for next year and beyond."
There was still plenty to celebrate for Toledo in 2020. Sophomore Darryn Davis was electric at the plate, batting .400 while slugging .550 and reaching base at a .532 clip. Davis led the Rockets in all three of those categories as well as RBIs (17), hits (24), and runs scored (14). His 20-game hitting streak that stretched back to 2019 was the longest streak by a Rocket in 10 seasons. Davis was recently ranked as one of the best sophomore hitters this past season by D1Baseball.com.
Other offensive standouts include junior Chris Meyers, who blasted a team-best four home runs and slugged .516 while walking a team-high 15 times. Junior John Servello hit .323 and freshman Trey Wright hit .306 and struck out just three times in 36 at-bats.
"I think our offense was a bright spot this year," said Reinstetle. "As the season went on we got better and better and at the time we stopped playing we were swinging the bats really well. We were starting to click and figure out multiple ways to score runs."
While the pitching staff had its low points, there were also several highlights there as well. Senior Wyatt Jefferson, posted a team-best 2.77 ERA in three starts, holding opponents to a .186 batting average. Junior Kyle Bischoff proved to be a weapon out of the bullpen, striking out 18 hitters in just 9.2 innings while opposing hitters managed just a .143 batting average against him. Senior Layne Schnitz-Paxton and junior Jordan Power both starter four games for the Rockets, leading the team.
"Our pitching was up and down, especially at the end of the games obviously," Reinstetle said. "But we did have some good moments too. I thought we got some really good starting pitching, and some guys in the bullpen started to come to the front of the pack and gave us some solid outings."
It was not the season Reinstetle or any of the other Rockets imagined. But for now, when it comes to baseball, Toledo must focus on coming back strong for 2021.
"We return almost our entire offense, but did add a few key pieces to that mix in recruiting," Reinstetle said. "I think our defense will only improve next year with everyone a year older. I feel really good about the arms we have coming back and the new guys we are adding. Next fall will be really exciting to see the competition and depth we have. Iron sharpens iron, and the only way to get better is to keep recruiting at a high level, teach and develop players, and then let them battle it out on the diamond."Â
