Hens hold on in back-and-forth game with Saints

ST. PAUL, Min. – The Mud Hens would hang on to beat the St. Paul Saints 5-4 at CHS Field in St. Paul, MN on Thursday night.

The pitching match-up consisted of Rony Garcia for the Mud Hens and Simeon Woods Richardson for the Saints.

Woods Richardson made quick work of the Mud Hens to begin the ballgame. Parker Meadows would strikeout looking to begin the game, followed by a flyout by Justyn-Henry Malloy and a popout from Colt Keith.

Garcia would begin his outing by getting Andrew Stevenson to flyout. Anthony Prato would tally the first hit of the game with a double. Garcia would strand Prato by getting back-to-back strikeouts of Kyle Garlick and Mark Contreras to end the inning.

Donny Sands would hit a leadoff single to begin the second inning against Woods Richardson. Wenceel Perez would draw a walk to start a threat for the Mud Hens. Woods Richardson would escape the frame unscathed after getting back-to-back flyouts from Joe Rizzo and Johan Camargo and a strikeout of Grant Witherspoon to end the inning.

Gilberto Celestino would draw a leadoff walk and swipe second base to begin the inning. Garcia would strikeout Chris Williams for the first out. Celestino would get caught stealing third base for the second out. Garcia would get Mark Kolozsvary to groundout to end the inning.

Woods Richardson would strikeout Andrew Knapp to begin the third inning. Meadows would draw a one-out walk and swipe second base to get the Hens in scoring position. Meadows would come around to score on a RBI single by Malloy, making it 1-0 Mud Hens. Keith would walk before the runners would get stranded after a flyout by Sands and a strikeout of Perez to end the inning.

Ernie Yake would greet Garcia with a leadoff double, and would move to third base on a pickoff error. Garcia would hit Alex De Goti to put runners on the corners. Garcia would strikeout Stevenson for the first out. Prato would walk to load the bases, which would chase Garcia from the game. Sam Clay would enter for the Mud Hens to finish the inning. Garlick would hit a sacrifice fly to knot the game at 1-1. Clay would get Contreras to groundout to end the inning. That would end the night for both Garcia and Clay. Garcia would finish with 2.1 innings pitched, allowing one run on two hits, two walks and four strikeouts. Clay would finish with 0.2 inning pitched, retiring both batters he faced.

Woods Richardson would retire the Mud Hens in order in the fourth inning. Rizzo would strikeout to begin the inning, followed by a Camargo popout and a Witherspoon strikeout.

Sean Guenther would enter the game in the fifth inning to pitch for the Mud Hens. Celestino would ambush Guenther by doubling on the first pitch he threw. Williams would flyout for the first out of the inning, as Celestino moved to third. Kolozsvary would reach on a fielder’s choice, but the Mud Hens would throw out Celestino at the plate to keep it a tie game. The Mud Hens defense would put on a spectacular display, as Yake would double to right field, but the Hens would put together a relay to throw out Kolozsvary at the plate to end the inning and keep the game tied at 1-1.

Woods Richardson would get Knapp to flyout to begin the fifth inning, before back-to-back walks of Meadows and Malloy would chase him from the game. Michael Boyle would enter for the Saints. Boyle would strikeout Keith and get Sands to groundout to escape the jam and end the inning. That would end the night for both Woods Richardson and Boyle. Woods Richardson would finish with 4.1 innings pitched, allowing one run on two hits, five walks and six strikeouts. Boyle would pitch 0.2 inning, retiring both batters he faced with one strikeout.

Guenther would return to pitch in the bottom of the fifth inning for the Mud Hens. Guenther would retire the side in order by getting De Goti to flyout and striking out both Stevenson and Prato to end the inning and the night for Guenther after 2.0 innings pitched, allowing two hits and striking out two batters.

Andrew Bechtold would enter to pitch for the Saints in the sixth inning. Perez would hit a leadoff single, but would be erased after Rizzo would hit into a double play. Camargo would get hit by a pitch and would be stranded after Witherspoon would lineout to end the inning. That ended the night for Bechtold after 1.0 inning pitched and allowing one hit.

Matt Wisler would be the next reliever to enter for the Mud Hens in the bottom of the sixth inning. Wisler would strikeout Garlick to begin the outing. Contreras would single and swipe second and Celestino would walk to put together a threat for St. Paul. Wisler would strikeout Williams and pick off Contreras to end the inning and escape unscathed.

Austin Schulfer would enter in the seventh inning for the Saints. Schulfer would get Knapp to flyout to begin the frame. Meadows would single and swipe second, Malloy would walk and Keith would single to load the bases for the Mud Hens in the seventh inning. Sands would strikeout for the second out. Perez would then come through with a two-run single to grab his first two Triple-A RBI and a 3-1 lead for the Mud Hens. Rizzo would walk to reload the bases before a Camargo groundout would strand the bases loaded and end the inning.

Wisler would get the first two outs of the inning by getting Kolozsvary to flyout and by striking out Yake. De Goti would single and Wisler would walk Stevenson after Rizzo dropped a foul pop-up. Prato would take advantage of the error and walk by doubling in both runners to tie the game at 3-3. Wisler would bounce back by striking out Garlick to end the inning. That would end the night for Wisler after 2.0 innings pitched, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits, two walks and four strikeouts. Wisler would be given the win, improving to 5-2.

Cody Laweryson would enter to pitch the eighth inning for the Saints. Witherspoon would single and swipe second base to put the go-ahead run in scoring position for the Mud Hens. Knapp would flyout for the first out. Meadows would reach on an error, allowing Witherspoon to score, putting the Mud Hens up 5-4. Meadows would then swipe second base, his third of the night and the most by a Mud Hen this season. Laweryson would escape with minimal damage after getting Malloy to flyout and striking out Keith to end the inning.

Aneurys Zabala would enter for the Mud Hens to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning. Zabala would get Contreras to strikeout for the first out. Celestino would draw a one-out walk, but would be stranded after back-to-back strikeouts of Williams and Kolozsvary to end the inning and his outing. Zabala would get his team-leading fifth hold after pitching 1.0 inning, walking one and striking out two batters.

Laweryson would remain in the game for the Saints to pitch the top of the ninth inning. Sands would popout for the first out. Perez would walk and steal second before advancing to third base on a throwing error. Rizzo would reach on a fielder’s choice that allowed Perez to score, making it 5-3 for the Mud Hens. Rizzo would be erased on the next pitch as Witherspoon would ground into an inning-ending double play. That would end the night for Laweryson, who claimed the loss after pitching 2.0 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits, one walk and one strikeout. Laweryson falls to 3-4 on the season.

Miguel Diaz would enter to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning for the Mud Hens, looking to convert his tenth save in eleven chances. Diaz would get the first two outs by getting Yake to groundout and striking out De Goti. In the pouring rain, the Saints fought back. Stevenson singled and Prato walked to bring the winning run to the plate for the Saints. Garlick doubled to bring home Stevenson and make it 5-4 Mud Hens. Diaz would get Contreras to flyout and seal a 5-4 victory for the Mud Hens, halting a four-game losing skid. Diaz would claim his tenth save, pitching 1.0 inning, allowing one run on two hits, one walk and one strikeout.

NOTABLES:

• Wenceel Perez: 2-3, 2 RBI, R, 2 BB, K
• Justyn-Henry Malloy: 1-3, RBI, R, 2 BB
• Parker Meadows: 1-3, RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, K
• Sean Guenther: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 K
• Sam Clay: 0.2 IP
• Matt Wisler: W, 2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, ER, 2 BB, 4 K
• Aneurys Zabala: HLD, 1,0 IP, BB, 2 K
• Miguel Diaz: SV, 1.0 IP, 2 H, R, ER, BB, K

The Toledo Mud Hens will remain in St. Paul for game for of a six-game series on Friday, July 28^th at CHS Field in St. Paul, MN with first pitch coming at 8:07 pm EST.