YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Toledo baseball team returned to the win column on Tuesday evening with a 18-9 victory at Youngstown State
The Rockets (15-16) slugged a season-high seven home runs on Tuesday, their most in a game since 2010. UT led for the first three-and-a-half innings until the Penguins scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 6-3 lead. Toledo didn't stay down for long, scoring nine runs in the top of the fifth to blow the game wide open. The offense never took the pressure off as the Midnight Blue and Gold pulled off a convincing win.
The seven home runs are the most by a MAC team in a game this season and one off the high watermark for home runs in a game by a Division I team this year.
"It feels good to get back on the winning side of things," head coach Rob Reinstetle said. "The offense and the long ball carried the day. So many guys performed well and the bench was awesome giving us great energy. Before the game we talked about this being a start to a new season within the season. Being at the halfway point we need to keep playing good baseball and win as many games as we can down the stretch."
Junior Trey Wright and senior Marcus Strother both had two-homer days, the first multi-homer game for either player in their Rocket career. Senior Mason Sykes also homered, the 33rd home run of his career. He is now just two home runs away from tying Dan Sherwood's school record of 35 career home runs. Freshman Troy Sudbrook and senior Kade Wroot rounded out Toledo's home run hitters on Tuesday.
Strother led the way with a career-high five RBIs, and Wright and Sudbrook both drove in three runs. Freshman Wesley Parker hit cleanup and went 3-for-5 with two RBIs, reaching base four times vs. the Penguins.
Eight different pitchers saw time on the mound at Youngstown State. Freshman RJ Shunck made the start and struck out three in 3.1 innings, and sophomore Brennan McCune turned in the best performance with 2.0 perfect frames and three punchouts.
Toledo returns home to host Wright State on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday's game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and televised locally on BCSN.
How it Happened
- Wesley Parker provided the first two runs of the game. His RBI single in the top of the first gave UT an early lead, and his two-out RBI double in the top of the third pushed the lead to 2-0.
- Troy Sudbrook later scored on a wild pitch in the third inning to make it 3-0.
- Youngstown State got on the scoreboard in the bottom half of the third on a two-out RBI triple to make the score 3-1.
- The Penguins plated five runs on four consecutive hits in the bottom of the fourth to take a 6-3 lead.
- Marcus Strother hit his first home run of the day in the top of the fifth, a three-run bomb to tie the score at 6-6.
- Strother's homer kicked off a nine-run inning that ended with Toledo leading 12-6. Trey Wright and Troy Sudbrook also hit home runs in the fifth inning, and Scott Mackiewicz scored on a wild pitch.
- Mason Sykes made it 14-6 with a two-run home run in the top of the seventh.
- Kade Wroot and Trey Wright went back-to-back in the top of the eighth to push the lead into double digits and make the score 16-6. It marked the first time the Rockets hit back-to-back home runs since Wright and Brian Fry accomplished that feat last season against Eastern Michigan (April 24, 2022).
- Strother hit his second home run of the game in the top of the ninth, a two-run shot that made the score 18-7.
- The Penguins scored runs in the eighth and ninth innings that proved inconsequential to the final result.
