Rockets Explode for Season-High 11 Hits to Defeat Winthrop, 7-1

Sunday, February 25

Rock Hill, S.C.

1:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

3-4

Winthrop

2-6

TOLEDO

WINTHROP

Sophomore RJ Shunck fanned a career-high eight batters in Toledo's 7-1 win over Winthrop.

Rockets Explode for Season-High 11 Hits to Defeat Winthrop, 7-1

2/25/2024 4:31:00 PM | Baseball

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Sophomore RJ Shunck fans career-high eight batters in four innings

ROCK HILL, S.C. – A season-high 11 hits and a strong outing from sophomore starter RJ Shunck propelled the Toledo baseball team to a 7-1 triumph at Winthrop on Sunday afternoon. The victory earned the Rockets (3-4) a split of the four-game series with the Eagles (2-6).

Junior Brayden White paced the Rockets with three hits, with redshirt freshman Luke Walton, freshman Nate Hill and senior Scott Mackiewicz each collecting a pair of hits. Sophomore Wes Parker added a three-run homer, the fourth of his Rocket career.

"Today is what I have been expecting from us all weekend," Head Coach Rob Reinstetle said. "It was a rough weekend offensively, but after a little mental adjustment we performed much better today. I'm really proud of the hitters and how they came out ready to compete."

Shunck benefited from UT's offensive outburst and did his part by not allowing the Eagles to get anything going offensively. He fanned a career-high eight batters and allowed just one hit and one walk in a scoreless four innings.

"Everything starts on the mound and RJ Shunck was really good today," Reinstetle said. "Giving up one hit over four innings is a great way to set the tone. The bullpen did another great job for us too. We need to build off this for next weekend, especially on the offensive side of things."

Freshman lefty Jacob Tabor earned the win in relief by striking out four batters in 1.2 innings of work.

The Rockets return to action next weekend with another four-game series. Toledo will travel to Cape Girardeau, Mo. to face Southeast Missouri State on Friday-Sunday, March 1-3.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Toledo jumped on the Eagles early with a pair of first-inning runs thanks to Luke Walton's RBI double and Brayden White's run-scoring single.
Wes Parker increased the Rockets' advantage to 5-0 with a three-run shot over the center field fence.
Walton and White collected RBI singles in the fourth to account for UT's final scoring for the day.