JOHNSON CITY. Tenn. – The Toledo baseball team wrapped up its weekend series at East Tennessee State on Sunday with a 3-2 loss to the Bucs.
The lowest scoring game of the weekend, Toledo used a pair of solo home runs to tie the score twice on Sunday. However, an eighth-inning rally by ETSU pushed across the game-winning run in the rubber match between the Rockets and Bucs.
"That was a good college baseball game today," head coach
Rob Reinstetle said. "Both teams battled like crazy and unfortunately we came out on the wrong end of it. I'm not one for moral victories, a loss is a loss and this one stings. We had multiple chances to blow it open but just couldn't get that elusive big hit. The long ball kept us in the game, but other than that we didn't do much at the plate today. We had some guys show promise on the mound but overall we walked too many guys and gave them a chance to win."
Junior
Scott Mackiewicz and senior
Daunte DeCello provided the offense for Toledo, each hitting a solo home run. Junior
Jeron Williams reached base twice out of the leadoff spot and stole a base on Sunday afternoon.
On the mound, redshirt freshman
Dane Hall made the first start of his career and struck out four in 3.2 innings of work. Four pitchers saw time in relief as well: junior
Jack Walker, sophomore
Patrick Dillon, junior
Kyle Music, and junior
Camryn Szynski.
Next up for Toledo is the OneSpartanburg, Inc. Baseball Classic next weekend. The Rockets will face Presbyterian, USC Upstate, and Gardner-Webb.
How it Happened
- East Tennessee State loaded the bases in the bottom of the first, but Dane Hall worked his way out of trouble to escape unscathed.
- The Bucs struck first in the bottom of the third with a two-out RBI single to make it 1-0.
- Scott Mackiewicz tied the game at 1-1 with a solo home run in the top of the fourth, driving an 0-2 pitch over the fence in left-center field to make things all square.
- ETSU retook the lead on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fourth.
- Another Toledo home run tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the sixth, this time off the bat of Daunte DeCello.
- Ashton King drove in the game-winning run for East Tennessee State on a two-out single up the middle in the bottom of the eighth.