BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Toledo and Bowling Green split their doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Stellar Field in Mid-American Conference baseball action. The Rockets won game one, 1-0, before dropping the second game by a score of 7-1.
Senior
John Servello provided the deciding blow in game one. His solo home run in the top of the fourth inning was the only run of the game as sophomore
Camryn Szynski, redshirt freshman
Patrick Dillon, and junior
Cal McAninch combined to blank to Falcons in the shutout victory.
The Rockets (28-19, 19-13 MAC) also scored just one run in the second game, but Bowling Green's bats plated seven runs on 10 hits to split the doubleheader and send both teams home with a series split.
"Much like yesterday, we played well in game one and got the win," head coach
Rob Reinstetle said. "Our pitching carried us in that first game;
Camryn Szynski,
Patrick Dillon, and
Cal McAninch were all outstanding. Bowling Green's starting pitcher was just as good, but
John Servello got one good swing off, which ended up being the difference. But game two was just an ugly and frustrating game. We couldn't get anything going offensively all day. We come out of the weekend splitting the weekend series, and now Tuesday's game at Fifth Third is magnified. While it doesn't count in the MAC standings, we still have a chance to win the overall series against our rivals down south, which is very important to us. Beyond that, we are still firmly in third place and need to finish strong these last two weekends and get into the MAC tournament."
Game one saw eight combined hits between the two teams in the seven-inning contest. Servello's solo shot was the big blow, and freshman
Garret Pike tallied the other two hits for Toledo in a 2-for-3 performance. Szynski got the start and threw four shutout innings, while Dillon and McAninch both kept the Falcons at bay long enough to preserve the shutout.
Bowling Green's bats tagged Rocket pitchers for seven runs on 10 hits in the second game. Toledo managed just one run, an RBI single by junior
Darryn Davis in the eighth inning. Freshman
Brayden White went 2-for-3 at the plate after getting the start at catcher. Servello reached base three times in the second game, going 1-for-2 at the dish with a pair of walks.
The Battle of I-75 returns to Fifth Third Field on Tuesday, May 10. Toledo and Bowling Green will play at the home of the Toledo Mud Hens at 7:00 p.m. that night in non-conference action. Tickets for Toledo's game at Fifth Third Field are on sale now and can be purchased through the Toledo Mud Hens ticket office online
by visiting this link. General admission tickets will be $8.00, with discounted tickets available for high school and college students.
How it Happened (Game 1)
- Bowling Green nearly broke open the scoring in the bottom of the third after loading the bases with one out, but Szynski worked his way out of trouble to keep the game scoreless.
- With one out in the top of the fourth, Servello launched the first pitch he saw over the fence in left field for a solo home run to put Toledo on top, 1-0.
- Szynski once again worked his way out of a jam in the bottom of the fourth. BGSU had runners at second and third with one out, but Szynski retired the next two batters to keep the score at 1-0 through four innings.
- Dillon shut out the Falcons in the fifth and sixth, then McAninch sent BGSU's hitters down in order in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the 1-0 win.
How it Happened (Game 2)
- Bowling Green scored a run in the second and another in the third to take a 2-0 lead through three innings.
- The Falcons extended their lead to 5-0 with three runs in the bottom of the fourth.
- Toledo loaded the bases in the top of the seventh, but wasn't able to capitalize as the score stayed at 5-0.
- Davis laced a singled through the right side of the infield in the top of the eighth to bring in the first run of the game for the Rockets and put the score at 5-1.
- Bowling Green answered with a couple runs in the bottom half of the eighth to bring the score to 7-1, which would hold as the final score.
