Late fireworks solidify Hens' win

TOLEDO – The Toledo Mud Hens defeated the Louisville Bats 7-3 on Tuesday night at Fifth Third Field.

The pitching match-up consisted of Joey Wentz for the Mud Hens and Christian Roa for the Bats.

Alejo Lopez drew a leadoff walk against Wentz to begin the game. T.J. Hopkins would strikeout to give Wentz his first out of the game. Lopez would swipe second base before Christian Encarnacion-Strand drew a walk. Lopez and Encarnacion-Strand would then execute a double steal to put two runners in scoring position with one out. Henry Ramos put the Bats in front with a two-run double to put them up 2-0. Noelvi Marte singled to put runners at the corners with one out. Marte would swipe second base in the middle of back-to-back strikeouts of Matt Reynolds and Jose Barrero to end the inning for Wentz.

Akil Baddoo grounded out to begin the game for the Mud Hens offense. Justyn-Henry Malloy drew a walk to be the first baserunner for the Mud Hens. Parker Meadows lined out for the second out. Andre Lipcius reached on a fielder’s choice that sent Malloy to third base to put runners on the corners with two outs. Roa would strikeout Colt Keith to end the inning.

Jhonny Pereda grounded out to leadoff the second inning. Nick Martini drew a one-out walk to get the Bats on the bases in the second inning. Lopez flied out for the second out of the inning. Hopkins drew a two-out walk to put two runners on base with two outs. Wentz would get Encarnacion-Strand to flyout to end the inning.

Nick Maton would get hit by a pitch to begin the bottom of the second inning. A Nick Solak single and a walk by Andrew Knapp would load the bases for the Mud Hens. A Michael Papierski RBI groundout and a sacrifice fly by Baddoo would tie the game at 2-2. Roa would get Malloy to flyout to end the inning.

Wentz would induce back-to-back groundouts by Ramos and Marte for the first two outs. Reynolds would walk before Barrero would flyout to end the inning.

Meadows would club his eleventh home run to begin the bottom of the third inning, putting the Mud Hens up 3-2. Roa would then get back-to-back flyouts by Lipcius and Keith and a groundout by Maton to end the inning.

Wentz would pick-up back-to-back strikeouts of Pereda and Martini before allowing a single to Lopez. Lopez would be stranded after Hopkins would groundout to end the inning.

Roa would retire the Hens in order in the fourth inning. Solak would groundout and then Roa would grab back-to-back strikeouts of Knapp and Papierski to end the inning.

Wentz would strikeout Encarnacion-Strand to begin the fifth inning. Ramos would pick-up a one-out single. Marte would popout for the second out of the inning. That would be the end of the night for Wentz. Beau Brieske would enter the game for the Mud Hens. Ramos would get caught stealing second base to end the inning, and close the book for Wentz. Wentz notched 4.2 innings pitched, allowing two runs on four hits, five walks and six strikeouts.

Roa would return for the fifth inning for the bats. Roa would strikeout Baddoo to begin the inning. Malloy would hit a one-out single to get on base for the Mud Hens. Roa would strikeout Meadows for the second out. Lipcius would then stroke a RBI double to extend the Mud Hens lead to 4-2. That would chase Roa from the game in favor of Kevin Herget. Herget would strikeout Keith to end the inning and close the book on Roa. Roa took the loss, pitching 4.2 innings, allowing four runs on four hits (one home run), two walks and five strikeouts.

Brieske would return for the sixth inning for the Mud Hens. Reynolds would groundout to begin the inning. Barrero would walk and move to second base on a wild pitch. Pereda would walk and Barrero would swipe third base to put runners at the corners with one out. Martini would smack a RBI double to put the score at 4-3 in favor of Toledo. Lopez would popout and Hopkins would strikeout to end the inning and the outing for Briekse. Brieske pitched 1.1 innings, allowing one run on one hit, two walks and one strikeout.

Herget would remain in the game to pitch for the Bats. Herget would retire the Mud Hens in order in the sixth. Maton would strikeout, Solak grounded out and Knapp lined out to send the Hens down in order.

Matt Wisler would enter the game for the Mud Hens in the seventh inning. Encarnacion-Strand hit a leadoff double and Ramos walked to put two runners on base. Wisler would pick-up back-to-back strikeouts of Marte and Reynolds before walking Barrero to load the bases with two outs. Wisler would get Pereda to groundout back to the mound to end the inning and Wisler’s night. Wisler pitched 1.0 inning, allowing one hit, two walks and two strikeouts.

Ryan Nutof entered the game in the seventh inning for the Bats. Papierski would greet him with a leadoff solo home run, making the score 5-3. Nutof would retire the next three, striking out Baddoo, inducing a Malloy groundout and striking out Meadows.

Aneurys Zabala would enter the game for the Mud Hens in the eighth inning. Zabala would begin the inning with a Martini flyout, Lopez would walk before Hopkins struck out for the second out. A single from Encarnacion-Strand put two runners on base with two outs. Zabala would strikeout Ramos to end the inning. That would end the night for Zabala, who picked up the win to move to 5-2, pitching 1.0 inning, allowing one hit, one walk and two strikeouts.

Nutof would return for the eighth inning for the Bats to try to keep them in the game. Lipcius would walk and Keith singled to put two runners on to begin the inning. A sacrifice fly by Maton would extend the lead to 6-3. Solak would flyout for out number two. Knapp would then club a RBI double off of the wall to make it 7-3 for the Mud Hens. That would chase Nutof from the game in favor of Jared Solomon. Solomon would get Papierski to flyout to end the inning. That would end the night for both Nutof and Solomon. Nutof pitched 1.2 innings, allowing three runs on three hits (one home run), one walk and two strikeouts. Solomon pitched 0.1 inning, retiring the lone batter he faced.

Miguel Diaz would enter in the ninth inning for the Mud Hens. Diaz would get the first two outs via a Marte flyout and a Reynolds groundout. Diaz would surrender back-to-back singles to Barrero and Pereda to put the Bats in a big scoring opportunity. Diaz would then strikeout Martini to end the game and seal a 7-3 win for the Mud Hens. Diaz pitched 1.0 inning, allowing two hits and one strikeout.

NOTABLES:

• Michael Papierski: 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, R, K
• Parker Meadows: 1-4, HR, RBI, R, 2 K
• Andre Lipcius: 1-3, RBI, 2B, R, BB
• Andrew Knapp: 1-3, RBI, 2B, BB, K
• Joey Wentz: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 6 K
• Aneurys Zabala: W, 1.0 IP, H, BB, 2 K

The Toledo Mud Hens will play host to the Louisville Bats for game two of the series on Wednesday, July 5^th, at Fifth Third Field with first pitch coming at 7:05 pm ET.