Bats Come Alive But Late Runs Down Rockets at Jacksonville State, 12-9

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – The Toledo baseball team received a strong performance from its offense, but a seventh-inning grand slam flipped the game for Jacksonville State in a 12-9 series finale at Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium on Sunday.

The Rockets rallied from a 6-4 deficit after the third inning, scoring twice in the fourth and fifth innings and once in the seventh to take a 9-6 lead. However, the Gamecocks drilled a go-ahead grand slam with one out in the seventh inning, before adding two more tallies in the eighth. Toledo was unable to come back in the eighth and ninth innings.

UT scored in six of nine innings and totaled 15 hits, setting season highs in runs and hits. Five players tallied multi-hit games, including a five-hit game from leadoff bat Cade Baker. The five-hit effort was Toledo's first five-hit game since Garret Pike on April 13, 2024.

Quoting Head Coach Rob Reinstetle
"Another really close game today. To have a three-run lead late only to see it slip away from a grand slam really stings. We finally swung the bats today and did a good job on offense. We are more than capable offensively and today showed that. We did some uncharacteristic things in pitching and on defense that came back to bite us."

"I've learned a lot about this team and the players we have. That's why we play these early non-conference games. We have another week before we tee it up in MAC play, when we need to be at our best. We have all the parts to win and be a good baseball team. We just have to put it all together and play a complete game."

Top Rocket Hitters

Cade Baker – 5-of-6, 4 runs, 1 2B
Charlie Scholvin – 2-of-3, 1 RBI, 1 run, 1 2B, 1 run
Troy Sudbrook – 2-of-5, 2 RBIs, 1 2B
Jacob Payne – 2-of-4, 3 RBIs, 1 run
Liam Arsich – 2-of-4, 2 RBIs, 1 2B, 1 BB

Pitching Lines

Hayden Frey – 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 Ks
John Hojnowski (L, 0-1) – 1.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 Ks

How It Happened

Both teams scored in each of the first three innings, with Jacksonville State going up 6-4 after manufacturing a three-run third.
The Rockets tied things up in the fourth, 6-6, on Jacob Payne's second RBI single of the day followed by a Liam Arsich sacrifice fly.
Troy Sudbrook gave the Rockets the lead in the fifth on a double off the wall, with a sacrifice fly from Payne extending the lead. In his next at-bat, Sudbrook added an RBI single to put Toledo up, 9-6, heading into the bottom of the seventh.
Jax State opened the seventh with a walk and two singles. With one out, Caleb Johnson hit a grand slam to right field to push the Gamecocks ahead, 10-9.
JSU put up two insurance runs in the eighth on a two-out, two-run single.

Up Next
The Rockets play their first single-game matchup of the season on Wednesday, Feb. 25, traveling to Dayton. First pitch against the Flyers is at 3:00 p.m. on ESPN+.

Players Mentioned

Liam Arsich

Cade Baker

Hayden Frey

John Hojnowski

Jacob Payne

Charlie Scholvin

Troy Sudbrook