TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo baseball team played its final home game of the 2022 season on Sunday, defeating Northern Illinois by a score of 4-1.
 
The Rockets (31-21, 22-14 MAC) and Huskies were tied heading into the sixth inning until senior John Servello drove in the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth. Freshman Garret Pike and junior Mason Sykes drove in crucial insurance runs in the eighth inning to help seal the deal. Sophomore Camryn Szynski and junior Cal McAninch were both terrific on the mound, holding NIU to five hits and one run.
 
The win strengthens Toledo's grip on third place in the Mid-American Conference standings heading into the final weekend of the regular season. Central Michigan (35-15, 27-6 MAC) holds a slim lead over Ball State (33-17, 27-7 MAC) for the top spot in the conference standings, and Ohio (26-20, 18-13) sits in fourth place above Miami (22-29, 17-18 MAC) and Kent State (21-26, 16-17 MAC). The top four teams will advance to the MAC Tournament, which will be hosted by the regular season champion.
 
"We really had to grind out that win today," head coach Rob Reinstetle said. "NIU's starter was really good today, but so were our pitchers. Camryn Szynski gave us a quality start and Cal McAninch was outstanding the rest of the game. They both kept NIU's hitters at bay while our offense found ways to score. We had to manufacture some runs in the middle of the game before tacking on some insurance runs late. I'm just really proud of this group. We've eclipsed the 30-win mark for only the 10th tome in school history and we protected our home turf, going 17-6 at Scott Park. As proud as we all are, we still have work to do and a big series coming up at Central Michigan to wrap up the regular season."
 
Szynski threw five innings of one-run ball before McAninch entered the game and shut out the Huskies for the final four innings, striking out five and allowing just two baserunners.
 
Pike went 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI, while Servello, Sykes, and redshirt freshman Trey Wright all drove in runs as well. Senior Zach Schwartzenberger provided a spark off the bench, singling in a pinch-hit appearance and later scoring on Pike's double. Junior Darryn Davis went 2-for-4 at the dish and sophomore Jeron Williams contributed without recording an official at-bat, registering two walks and a sac bunt before being plunked in his final plate appearance. Williams stole two bases as well, bringing his season total to 21.
 
Toledo will visit Central Michigan for its final four regular season contests this week for a series in Mount Pleasant beginning on Thursday, May 19.
 
How it Happened

• Northern Illinois opened the scoring with a run in the top of the second to take an early lead. A two-out, RBI single by Jack Blazevich put the Huskies ahead, 1-0.
• Wright tied up the game at 1-1 with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth.
• Servello drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth to give Toledo a 2-1 lead. Senior Nicky Winterstein led off the inning with a double, advanced to third on a ground ball, then scored easily on Servello's fly ball to right field.
• The Rockets scored a couple runs in the bottom of the eighth to help secure their 4-1 win. Schwartzenberger singled through the right side of the infield then later scored on Pike's double to make it 3-1. Sykes followed that up with a base hit that scored Pike to increase Toledo's lead to three.
• NIU led off the top of the ninth with a single, but McAninch induced a 5-4-3 double play on the next pitch before getting the final out of Sunday's victory.