TOLEDO, Ohio – Saturday was an exciting day at Scott Park for the Toledo baseball team as it swept its doubleheader against Kent State, winning both games in walk-off fashion. The Rockets won game one, 8-7, before taking game two, 5-4, in 10 innings.
 
Toledo had just one hit through the first five innings of game one and trailed Kent State 4-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth. The Rockets' dry spell ended with a five-run sixth inning that gave them a 5-4 lead, but Kent State answered with three runs in the top of the seventh to go up 7-5. UT rallied in the bottom half of the inning to win in thrilling fashion; junior Mason Sykes doubled in a run to trim the deficit to one, then junior Kade Wroot ripped a liner down the line in left field to bring in the tying and game-winning runs.
 
The Rockets controlled game two from the get-go, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first to take an early lead. Sykes homered in the sixth to make it 3-0, but the Golden Flashes' bats woke up in the top of the seventh with back-to-back homers to take a 4-3 lead. A fortuitous wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth allowed freshman Garret Pike to score and tie the game, then in the bottom of the 10th Pike sent a ball deep into the gap in left-center field that scored Sykes and capped off a wild doubleheader.
 
"What a great day to be a Rocket Baseball fan," head coach Rob Reinstetle said. "I'm so proud of the team and how they battled all day long. Two walk-off wins is hard to do, but it's a credit to the guys in this program. Everyone on the roster had a hand in today's success. The starters played well and all the guys off the bench did their jobs. Even the guys who didn't get on the field played a big role in these wins. No doubt these were team wins today. In terms of MAC play, these wins put us in a favorable position, but we have one more hanging out there to get. Yesterday I talked to the team about this being a four-round boxing match. Round one went to Kent, we got rounds two and three, and tomorrow we go for the knockout."
 
Wroot, Sykes, and freshman Caden Konczak all drove in two runs in the first game, with sophomore Scott Mackiewicz tallying the other RBI. Sykes smacked the first of his two home runs on the day in the first contest. Four pitchers saw time on the mound in the first game, with redshirt freshman Yianni Skeriotis tossing a scoreless fifth and sixth to keep the Rockets in the game.
 
Pike had an excellent game two, going 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of RBIs and two runs scored, touching the plate on the game-tying run an inning before driving in the game-winner. Sykes went 2-for-5 with his second home run of the afternoon, his 10^th of the season. Junior Darryn Davis went 1-for-4 at the plate with an RBI. Senior Jordan Power threw 6.1 innings and struck out five, starting his outing off with six shutout innings. Redshirt freshman Patrick Dillon and sophomore Gavin Starcher both saw time out of the bullpen.
 
The series between Toledo and Kent State concludes on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at Scott Park. Admission is free to Sunday's series finale.
 
How it Happened (Game 1)

• The Golden Flashes opened the game with a two-run top of the first to take an early lead, scoring on a wild pitch and a two-out double.
• Kent State added a run in the second and another in the third to extend its lead to 4-0.
• Sykes broke Toledo's scoreless drought with a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to halve the deficit and make the score 4-2.
• Sykes' dinger would kick off a five-run inning that saw the Rockets go up, 5-4. Mackiewicz put UT within one with an RBI single into center field, then Konczak came off the bench to deliver a pinch-hit, two-run single that brought in two runs to give Toledo a 5-4 lead. Senior Nicky Winterstein had come off the bench the prior at-bat to pinch hit and ripped a double down the right field line, setting up Konczak's game-changing hit.
• Not to be outdone, Kent State scored three runs in the top of the seventh to take a 7-5 lead.
• Down to their final three outs, Toledo put together a game-winning rally in the bottom of the seventh. Sophomore Jeron Williams led off the inning with a walk, then Pike was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base. Sykes then doubled down the line in left field to bring home Williams and make it a 7-6 game, and Wroot followed with a base hit into left field that allowed Sykes and Pike to score and hand the Rockets a thrilling 8-7 win.

How it Happened (Game 2)

• Toledo scored a couple runs with two outs in the bottom of the first to take an early lead. Pike's RBI single brought home the first run of the game, then Davis laced a single into left field that brought home Pike and made it 2-0.
• Power started the game with six shutout innings, allowing just two Kent State hits in that span.
• Sykes blasted his second home run of the day in the bottom of the sixth to extend Toledo's lead to 3-0.
• Josh Johnson and Jacob Casey flipped the script with back-to-back home runs in the top of the seventh to put Kent State ahead, 4-3. Johnson crushed a three-run homer to left-center, then Casey hit the first pitch he saw over the fence in right.
• The Rockets tied the game at 4-4 in a wild bottom of the ninth. Pike led off the inning with a walk, then advanced to second on a sac bunt and third on a fielder's choice. He would score on a wild pitch with Mackiewicz at the plate to tie the game at 4-4.
• Starcher induced a clutch 5-4-3 double play to end the top of the tenth inning after allowing a single to the leadoff batter.
• In the bottom of the tenth, Sykes ripped a double off the wall in right-center to put a runner in scoring position with one out. Pike then stepped to the plate and hit one deep into the gap in left-center field that allowed Sykes to score easily and provide the Rockets with their second walk-off win of the day.