HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Toledo baseball team opened its weekend series at High Point with a convincing 8-1 win on Friday.
 
The Rockets controlled the game at the plate and on the mound on Friday. The eight runs are a season high, and once again junior Kyle Jones had an excellent Friday start on the rubber. He struck out nine and didn't allow a walk in seven innings of work, allowing just two hits and one run to help lead Toledo to its second win of the season.
 
"It felt good to get back into the win column today," head coach Rob Reinstetle said. "Kyle Jones was dominant all night. After giving up a home run in first inning, he didn't allow a runner to reach second base all night. The bullpen with Cal McAninch and Yianni Skeriotis was equally as good. We played another solid game on defense as well. The best thing that happened today was our bats came alive. Pretty much every hitter in the lineup contributed on the day, highlighted by Trey Wright's 3-for-4 day."
 
Wright was one of four Rockets to drive in two runs on Friday. Senior John Servello, junior Mason Sykes, and sophomore Jeron Williams all tallied two RBIs as well. Wright also slugged the first home run of the season for Toledo, a solo shot in the fourth inning. Sophomore Scott Mackiewicz had a two-hit day in the leadoff spot and scored twice.
 
McAninch and Skeriotis combined to throw two shutout innings out of the pen, and neither allowed a hit or a walk.
 
The Rockets will look to keep rolling on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at noon.

"I told the guys I was proud of them in all areas, but we were in this spot last Friday," Reinstetle said. "I challenged them to come back tomorrow and do it again. I think they will."
 
How it Happened

• High Point's Blake Sutton launched a two-out, solo home run in the bottom of the first inning to give his team an early lead.
• Jones allowed a two-out single in the bottom of the second inning, but proceeded to retire 16 straight batters before leaving the game following the bottom of the seventh.
• Wright responded in the top of the fourth, blasting the first pitch he saw over the fence in right field for a homer to tie the game at 1-1.
• Toledo's bats hung five runs on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth. Servello's sac fly brought in the go-ahead run, then Sykes and Williams recorded back-to-back two-run singles to push Toledo's lead to 6-1.
• Servello drove in his second run of the day in the top of the seventh on a base hit that brought home Mackiewicz. Wright followed that up with an RBI double that easily scored Servello and made it 8-1.
• With the game in hand and one out away from a victory, Servello robbed Sutton of his second home run of the day to put an exclamation point on Toledo's 8-1 win.