MACON, Ga. – The Toledo baseball team concluded the opening series of its 2024 season on Sunday afternoon with a 13-3 setback at Mercer (2-1). The Rockets (1-2) opened the weekend on Friday with a 5-4 (10 inn.) victory before falling by a 5-2 margin on Saturday.

"Today was the exact opposite of what I was expecting," Head Coach Rob Reinstetle said. "After playing two really solid games against a good team, we simply did not compete at a high enough level today. It all starts on the mound. The first two games we got quality starts, but today we got smacked in the mouth and didn't respond well."

Junior Garret Pike led UT offensively with two hits. Senior Owen Jackson also slugged his first home run of the year after tying a school record last season with 16 homers.

Sophomore RJ Shunck (0-1) took the loss for the Rockets. Junior Logan Danzeisen came on in relief and threw 4.1 innings in his Toledo debut.

Mercer's Garrett Lambert (1-0) picked up the victory by fanning six batters and allowing just four hits and two runs in 5.1 innings. Noah Best and Ben Olson each collected three hits apiece to pace the Bears' 16-hit attack.

Reinstetle said the season-opening series provided him and his coaching staff a good gauge of where the Rockets stand.

"We learned a lot about our team this weekend," he said. "We got a lot of guys onto the field and many of them really played well. No doubt we have things to work on, and we'll hit those things this week in practice. We have more than enough to win and compete at a high level. I have a lot of confidence we will make it happen."

Toledo will return action next weekend when it travels to Rock Hill, S.C. to face Winthrop in a four-game series on Friday-Sunday, Feb. 23-25.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Mercer jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening frame. Three of the Bears' runs came home on two-out singles.
• Toledo yielded two more runs with two out in the third on Brandon Prince's two-run single to left-center.
• Owen Jackson's blast over the left-field fence in the fourth cut the Rockets' deficit to 6-1.
• Mercer added three more runs in the fifth with two of them being unearned.
• UT added single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to close out their scoring. Scott Mackiewicz scored on a wild pitch in the sixth, while JP Wagner's first career hit in the seventh resulted in the Rockets' final run.