A four-run eighth inning gives Hens the win over the Sox

Toledo came into Saturday’s game leading the series three games to one. Things looked bleak for the Mud Hens, but a late-game rally got them the 8-7 win over the Red Sox.

Austin Bergner got things started for Toledo on the mound. He came into today’s game with an 8.49 ERA. Bergner and the Hens got off to a rough start, giving up back-to-back singles to Chase Meidroth and Vaughn Grissom. Nathan Hickey then found the early lead with a double off of the center field wall. That early wake-up call forced Toledo to pull it together, picking up three straight outs.

Akil Baddoo wasted no time in making sure that his presence was felt. His lead off home run not only put Toledo on the board, but also extended his hitting streak to six-straight games. Justyn-Henry Malloy and Jace Jung both found their way on base, but Justice Bigbie hit into a double play to end the inning with the Hens trailing 2-1.

Niko Kavadas began the second inning with a lead off double. Bergner forced two straight outs, but then gave up walks to Meidroth and Grissom, loading the bases. Hickey hit a bomb deep into right field, but it fell just short of the wall. The hit was good enough to bring in all the base runners and put Hickey on third. The ball might as well have gone over the wall as Hickey then scored on a wild pitch immediately following his hit. Luckily, Bergner was able to pick up the final out to avoid any more damage to be done.

Now trailing 6-1, Toledo really needed to find some runs to cut their deficit. Bligh Madris got the bottom of the second inning started with a lead off double. While Madris was stealing third, Worcester catcher Mark Kolozsvary threw the ball into left field, allowing Madris to take home plate. The error shook the Red Sox as Chase Shugart walked Corey Joyce and Baddoo. The Mud Hens would leave their ducks on the pond as Malloy hit a routine grounder to Grissom.

Bergner began the third inning by walking Eddy Alvarez and then gave up a double to Mark Contreras. After giving up the double, Toledo started warming up Devin Sweet in the bullpen. The Red Sox then loaded the bases by drawing another walk. Kolozsvary hit into a groundout, but got the RBI as Alvarez scored. This ended Berdner’s night and began Sweet’s. Sweet was exactly the change of pace that the Mud Hens needed, striking out two straight batters as Sweet’s changeup caused issues for Corey Rosier and Meidroth.

With the Mud Hens unable to get on the board for the first time tonight, Sweet came back out to the mound. He would not be out there long, going one, two, three as he terrorized the Red Sox batters with three straight strikeouts. His off-speed pitches continued to reap havoc on the Red Sox batters.

Brendan Cellucci took over for Shugart on the mound to open the bottom of the fourth. Ryan Vilade found a gap to get a base hit, but would be caught stealing second by Kolozsvary. The Sox then found two more outs to remain on top 7-2.

The Mud Hens moved on from Sweet as Sean Guenther got the nod to open the fifth inning. Guenther held the Red Sox lead to five with three straight ground outs.

Toledo was able to cut into the Worcester lead when Keston Hiura hit a sacrifice fly that brought in Baddoo. The Hens were in good scoring position with Jung on second and Bigbie on first, but a Madris flyout ended the inning.

Mud Hens Manager Tim Federwicz continued to dig into his bullpen, bringing out Brennan Hanifee to open the sixth inning. Hanifee picked up two strikeouts and took care of a short grounder to keep it a 7-3 game.

The Red Sox continued to damper the Mud Hens’ presence at the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning. Vilade found another gap for another base hit, but was ruled out this time because of a double play off the bat of Dillon Dingler.

Trey Wingenter took the mound for Toledo to open the seventh inning. Wingenter was quick to strike out Grissom, but followed that up by walking Hickey. That walk broke a streak of thirteen straight Red Sox retired, making Hickey the first to get on base since the third inning. Wingenter was still able to prevent any hits, while picking up two strikeouts.

Worcester went with Sal Romano in the bottom of the seventh. Romano was signed as a free-agent just the day prior. Baddoo drew another walk and tried to score from second off a shallow fly ball from Jung. Baddoo would be tagged out at the plate by Kolozsvary. The two had a conversation that cleared benches on both sides, but nothing came of the dust up. Following the energy of the argument at the plate, Hiura hit an RBI double to bring in Jung and make it a 7-4 game.

Now down by three, Toledo turned to Beau Brieske to keep the Mud Hens in the game. Brieske gave up a base hit to Contreras, but Dingler caught him stealing third base, following a Kavadas lineout. The top of the inning closed with a groundout to Vilade.

Worcester moved on to Melvin Adon to try and close out the game. He picked up a strikeout on Madris, but then walked Vilade who stole second before chatting with Grissom. The two continued to jaw back and forth throughout the following at bat. Adon followed that up with back-to-back walks to load the bases. Baddoo drew yet another walk making it 7-5.

A Malloy base hit allowed Dingler to score, but the Mud Hens weren’t finished yet. With the bases still loaded, Jung stepped up big time with a double that nearly cleared the wall. The clutch hit put the Mud Hens on top 8-7 with only one out in the bottom of the eighth. This caused the Red Sox to make a change on the mound, bringing out Cody Scroggins. Adon would only be credited for 0.1 innings while allowing 4 runs to be scored. Scroggins closed out the inning with two strikeouts.

Now leading for the first time today, Toledo only needed three more outs to end the game. Worcester weren’t going to go down without a fight though. Meidroth hit a lead-off single to give the Red Sox a chance. Things turned bleak quickly for Worcester as Grissom hit into a double play. That brought Hickey to the plate for one last chance to make some magic happen. The game came to a close when Hickey hit a pop out to Jung and the Mud Hens won 8-7.

The Hens are home once again to close out their series with the Sox on Sunday at 2:05 p.m.

Notables:

Devin Sweet 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

Beau Brieske 2.0 IP, W, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Akil Baddoo 2-2, 3 BB, 2 RBI, 3 R

Jace Jung 3-3, 2B, BB, 5 RBI, R