ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Toledo baseball team dropped a close non-conference matchup at Oakland on Tuesday, falling to the Golden Grizzlies, 4-3.
Two home runs accounted for all three of the Rockets' (23-25) runs in Tuesday's game. The bats were unable to produce any other offense outside of the two long balls, and Oakland's bullpen held UT to just two hits over the final five innings.
Junior Jeron Williams went 2-for-4 with a home run, his 10th of the season. Sophomore Garret Pike provided the other dinger for the Rockets, a two-run shot in the fifth inning. It was Pike's 13th home run of the season.
Sophomore Patrick Dillon made his fourth start of the season and set career highs in innings pitched (5.0) and strikeouts (5). Junior Matt LeLito and senior Cal McAninch saw time out of the bullpen, with the latter striking out four over two scoreless frames.
Toledo returns home this weekend for a big conference series vs. Central Michigan.
How it Happened
- Jeron Williams led off the game with a home run to give UT an early lead.
- Oakland tied the game in the bottom of the second on a wild pitch to make it 1-1.
- The Golden Grizzlies made it 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI double that dropped just inside the right field line.
- Another Rocket home run put them back on top in the top of the fifth. Brian Fry led off the inning with a double and three at-bats later Garret Pike sent one out of the park for a two-run shot to make the score 3-2.
- Oakland's Reagan Paulina answered with a solo homer in the bottom half of the fifth to tie the game at 3-3.
- A successful squeeze bunt in the bottom of the seventh gave the Golden Grizzlies a 4-3 lead.
- Toledo put two runners on with no outs in the top of the eighth, but couldn't push across the tying run. The Rockets were sent down in order in the top of the ninth to end the game.
