DAYTON, Ohio – The Toledo baseball team wrapped up a stretch of eight straight road games with a 9-3 win at Dayton on Tuesday.
Junior Jeron Williams made history in Tuesday's game, tallying two stolen bases to bring his total this year to a record-breaking 37. Williams' new single-season school record tops the old mark of 36 set by former Rocket Tyler Grogg in 2013. The Archbold, Ohio native entered Tuesday's game leading all of college baseball in stolen bases and only added to his lead against the Flyers. His 37 stolen bases are the most by a MAC player since Bowling Green's Brandon Howard recorded 42 thefts in 2015.
Toledo (19-21) and Dayton (14-27) found themselves knotted at 3-3 after the fourth inning, but neither squad found the scoreboard again until the top of the eighth. The Rockets plated four runs in that inning to take a commanding lead, which proved to be enough as the bullpen completely silenced the Flyers' bats for the rest of the game
"Good bounce back game for our guys," head coach Rob Reinstetle. "After losing a tough one Sunday we challenged them to bounce back and they did. The offense was good again and put runs up on the board. Numerous guys had very productive days at the plate. The story of the day was our bullpen the last six innings of the game. Cal McAninch and RJ Shunck were both excellent. Combined they threw six innings of no-hit baseball. That's really exciting as we head down the stretch. Now we turn our sights to a non-conference mid-week matchup against our rivals down south."
Senior Cal McAninch was masterful out of the bullpen, throwing 4.0 perfect innings to shut down Dayton's offense. He entered the game with a runner on first in the bottom of the fourth and sent down all 12 UD hitters he faced. Freshman RJ Shunck was terrific as well, ending the game with 2.0 scoreless innings in relief.
In addition to stealing two bases, Williams went 3-for-4 at the plate and scored three of the four times he reached base. Sophomore Caden Konczak reached base five times, going 3-for-3 with a walk and hit by pitch and scored three times. Freshmen Wesley Parker and Troy Sudbrook both drove in two runs to help the cause, and sophomore Garret Pike slugged a two-run homer, his 11th of the season.
The Rockets return home on Wednesday to host Bowling Green at 4:00 p.m. in non-conference action.
How it Happened
- Jeron Williams' baserunning helped the Rockets score a run in the top of the first. After leading off the game with a base hit, Williams stole second and advanced to third on an errant throw to get into scoring position. He scored on Garret Pike's ground ball to the first baseman to make it 1-0.
- Trey Wright made it 2-0 on a two-out RBI single in the top of the second.
- Dayton took a 3-2 lead with a three-run bottom of the second.
- Owen Jackson's RBI single in the top of the third tied the score at 3-3.
- Cal McAninch entered the game in the bottom of the third and shut down the Flyers' offense, throwing 4.0 perfect innings to help keep the game tied.
- Troy Sudbrook broke the tie in the top of the eighth with a two-run single to put the Rockets up 5-3. Caden Konczak led off the inning with a single and Wesley Parker's base hit on the very next pitch put two runners on base. Wright's sac bunt moved both runners into scoring position, and Sudbrook brought both home on a single through the right side.
- Later in the top of the eighth, Williams tallied his record-breaking stolen base and jogged home on Garret Pike's two-run home run that put Toledo ahead, 7-3.
- Wesley Parker made it 9-3 in the top of the ninth with a two-run single.
- RJ Shunck picked up where McAninch left off, shutting down the Flyers in the eighth and ninth innings to complete the win.
