KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Toledo baseball team nearly rallied from a pair of large deficits at Western Michigan on Saturday afternoon but had to settle for a doubleheader split against the Broncos. The Rockets (8-12) came back from being down 7-0 in the opener to notch a 21-14 victory. In Game Two, UT fell behind 5-0 and clawed back to within 7-6 until WMU (9-9) ultimately prevailed by a 15-6 margin.

"Today was a rough day for our pitching," Head Coach Rob Reinstetle said. "We were constantly behind in counts, didn't execute pitches, and gave them way too many free base runners. WMU is a solid offensive team and that much free traffic on the bases leads to undesired outcomes. On the flip side our offense excelled today. We had great at-bats up and down the lineup and they saved us in game one. We just wouldn't be denied that win."

Toledo now holds a 4-2 record in Mid-American Conference play after playing its first two weekends on the road. The Rockets had an opportunity to win Friday's opener against the Broncos but allowed four eighth-inning runs en route to a 7-5 setback.

"To be in the hunt for a championship, you always want to avoid being swept in college baseball especially when you're on the road," Reinstetle said. "We did that today and had a chance to win the series had we held on yesterday. As rough as the pitching was for us this weekend, we can't forget that this group of pitchers carried us and pitched well during the first month of our season while we were figuring out the offensive piece to our team."
 
Junior Garret Pike and senior Owen Jackson produced monstrous days at the plate in the opener. Pike hit a pair of homers and drove in a career-high eight RBIs, while Jackson also slugged a pair of long balls in addition to collecting a career-high five hits and five RBIs. 

Sophomore Wes Parker spearheaded the Rockets' nine-hit attack in the nightcap with a 3-for-4 day that included the first two-homer outing of his career. 

Freshman Jacob Tabor (2-0) earned the win in relief in Game One, with junior Brennan McCune picking up his first save of the season with 1.1 scoreless innings.
 
Toledo will play its first home game of the season at Scott Park on Wednesday, March 20 with a non-conference matchup vs. Wright State at 3:00 p.m. The contest vs. the Raiders is the first of a nine-game homestand that will see the Rockets host a pair of three-game conference series vs. Ball State (March 22-24) and Northern Illinois (March 28-30).

HOW IT HAPPENED

GAME ONE

• The Broncos jumped out to a 7-0 lead with three runs in the first and four more in the second.
• Scott Mackiewicz led off the third with a homer down the right-field line for UT's first run.
• The Rockets took advantage of four walks, an error and a passed ball in the fourth to even the score at 7-7. Owen Jackson registered Toledo's only hit in the inning with a three-run blast over the right-field fence.
• Jackson's two-run homer and Brayden White's solo shot in the sixth gave UT its first lead of the day at 10-7.
• Greg Budig's two-run double in the bottom of the frame helped the Broncos score three runs in the bottom of the frame to even the contest.
• The Rockets exploded for nine runs in the seventh to blow the game open. Garret Pike blasted two home runs in the inning, including a grand slam for the final runs of the frame. Luke Walton also homered in the inning, while JP Wagner added a two-run single.
• After WMU plated two runs in both the seventh and eighth innings, Toledo added some insurance in the ninth on Pike's RBI single and Walton's sacrifice fly.

GAME TWO

• The Broncos surged to an early lead again by scoring five runs in the first two innings.
• Wes Parker began the Rockets' comeback bid with a two-run homer to left center in the top of the third to cut the Broncos' lead to 5-2.
• WMU added a run to its lead in the bottom of the third, but Caden Konczak's two-run bomb and Parker's second homer of the day in the fourth brought UT within 6-5.
• The Broncos removed any hopes of another Rocket comeback by scoring seven runs in the eighth inning.