Hens bats come alive early in high scoring win

The Toledo Mud Hens defeated the Columbus Clippers 10-6 in Wednesday’s high scoring game.

Spencer Turnbull started the game for the Mud Hens. Across 4.1 innings, he gave up three runs, walked three, and struck out six. After having thrown 74 pitches, he was removed from the game in the fifth inning for Rony Garcia, who gave up two additional runs in 1.1 innings. Blair Calvo gave up another run in his 1.1 innings of work. Will Vest and Miguel Diaz were near perfect in the eighth and ninth innings respectively, striking out five of the six batters they faced to close out the game. The Mud Hens pitching staff combined for 16 strikeouts.

The Hens offense was clicking early in this one. All of their ten runs were scored in the first four innings, punctuated by a five-run second inning. Each Hens batter reached base at least once in tonight’s game, and all but two reached base at least twice.

In the bottom of the first, Ryan Kreidler came up big with a two-out, bases loaded RBI single that scored two. He picked up his third RBI of the game the next inning with another RBI single, and at that point the Hens were up 7-1. Earlier in that second inning, Michael Papierski hit an RBI single, Justyn-Henry Malloy an RBI double, and Wenceel Perez a two-RBI triple.

Tyler Nevin picked up an RBI in the third inning, and Eddys Leonard capped off the Hens scoring with a long home run to left field that scored two in the bottom of the fourth. In general, the Mud Hens entire lineup showed great discipline, as they walked six times compared to just four strikeouts.

The Hens showed their proficiency on the basepaths as well. Parker Meadows stole second and third base in the bottom of the first inning, and Justyn-Henry Malloy and Eddys Leonard each recorded stolen bases of their own.

The Clippers offense stayed afloat but were inconsistent. Designated hitter Zack Collins went 3-4 with three doubles, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the Mud Hens big numbers early on. The Clippers 1-3 hitters finished 1-13 with nine strikeouts. Right fielder Johnny Rodriguez earned himself the platinum sombrero, finishing 0-5 with five strikeouts.

The battle of Ohio continues tomorrow night at Fifth Third Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 P.M.

Notables:

Spencer Turnbull: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K

Miguel Diaz: 1.0 IP, 3 K

Will Vest: 1.0 IP, 2 K

Eddys Leonard: 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, SB

Ryan Kreidler: 2-5, 3 RBI

Parker Meadows: 2-4, 2B, R, BB, 2 SB

Justyn-Henry Malloy: 1-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB, SB

Tyler Nevin: 2-4, RBI, R

Michael Papierski: 1-3, RBI, 2 R, BB

Wenceel Perez: 1-5, 3B, 2 RBI, R