Hens best the Bats in back and forth battle

The Mud Hens and the Bats fought in a back and forth battle in downtown Toledo. The Hens continued to capitalize on hot bats as they found themselves on top 9-4. Toledo has benefited greatly from the clean slate that the second half of the season has presented to them.

Bryan Sammons got off to an unusually rocky start. The Bats entered scoring position early in the second inning with runners on second and third. Conner Capel capitalized on this with an RBI single to center field. Louisville looked to sneak in two runs on the play, but Hernan Perez would be tagged out at home by Anthony Bemboom. The Bats then expanded on their lead when, following a walk, Jacob Hurtubise hit a hard grounder to make it 2-0.

It didn’t take long for Toledo to fire back though. Despite their early struggles against Brandon Leibrandt’s fast-paced pitching, Bemboom was able to shake things up with a one-out double. Two straight walks would then load the bases and bring Andrew Navigato to the plate. Navigato not only tied the game with a two-RBI single, but expanded his hit streak to seven games.

To open the fourth inning, both teams oddly enough would substitute their catchers as Dillon Dingler entered for Bemboom and Eric Yang took over for Austin Wynns. Sammons started the inning by giving up a first-pitch double to Perez before walking Yang. Capel then hit another RBI single to take the lead and bring an end to Sammons’s day. Easton Lucas would close the inning

Dingler’s impact was almost immediate as he picked up a base hit, before scoring on an Unroe double to tie the game 3-3. The Hens were then able to take the lead with a stolen base from Unroe and a deep sacrifice fly by Navigato.

Unroe has seen a lot of success as of late and says it’s for a good reason too. “We read Matthew 8:23-27 the other day in chapel after our ten-game skid,” Unroe said. “It’s about Jesus calming the storm and keeping our focus on him. That’s really allowed me to stay calm and keep things simple.”

The Bats quickly brought it back to a tie game. P.J. Higgins took matters into his own hands as he took Lucas 374 ft as the ball hit the scoreboard in left field. That brought Andrew Magno out to the bullpen as Lucas finished out the inning.

The back and forth continued as Bligh Madris hammered a fastball over the right-field wall to retake the lead. From there the Hens were able to load the bases with singles by Justice Bigbie and Unroe and a walk drawn by Stephen Scott, but Navigato was unable to seize the moment.

With the lead back in their hands, Toledo would bring Magno to the mound. He would pick up two strikeouts and get some help from Dingler as he threw out Capel after being walked. Magno followed that up with a two-strikeout seventh inning to keep the Hens ahead 5-4.

The seventh inning is when Toledo really took over. Three straight singles would make it 6-4, the last one being Scott’s first hit as a Hen. After a flyout by Navi moved the baserunners to second and third, Meadows brought them home with an RBI single. That wouldn’t be the end though as Meadows showed off his speed, scoring on a fielder's choice off the bat of Ryan Vilade.

Toledo then turned to Trey Wingenter to try to close out the game. He and the Hens would do so almost flawlessly as they only allowed one hit.

The Mud Hens and the Bats will face off again on Friday at 7:05 p.m.

Notables:

• Riley Unroe (3-4, 2B, BB, RBI, 3 R, SB)
• Parker Meadows (3-5, 2 RBI, R, SB)
• Stephen Scott (1-2, 2 BB, RBI, R)