Mud Hens fall to Clippers in walk-off fashion

COLUMBUS – The Toledo Mud Hens dropped a heartbreaker to the Columbus Clippers 7-6 on Saturday night in walk-off fashion.

The pitching match-up consisted of Jack O’Loughlin for the Mud Hens and Daniel Norris for the Clippers.

Akil Baddoo would join the Mud Hens on a rehab assignment, and would draw a leadoff walk against Norris, the former Mud Hen. Justyn-Henry Malloy would strikeout for the first out of the contest. Baddoo would be erased on a fielder’s choice force out that allowed Parker Meadows to reach and swipe his ninth stolen base. Meadows would be stranded after an Andre Lipcius groundout ended the inning.

Brayan Rocchio would be in the leadoff spot for the Clippers, opening their offensive night with a flyout. Daniel Schneemann would stay hot for Columbus, connecting for a single before Malloy threw him out trying to advance to second base for the second out. O’Loughlin would then get Oscar Gonzalez to groundout to end the inning.

Daniel Norris would make quick work of the Mud Hens in the second inning, needing just eight pitches to retire the side. Colt Keith would ground out, Johan Camargo would flyout and Nick Maton would strikeout to end the inning.

Zack Collins would draw a leadoff walk to open the bottom of the second inning and get the Clippers rolling. George Valera would lineout for the first out. Jhonkensy Noel and Micah Pries would hit back-to-back singles to load the bases for the Clippers in the second. Raynel Delgado would popout for the second out. Chris Roller would draw a bases-loaded walk to bring home the first run of the game, putting the Clippers up 1-0. O’Loughlin would escape with minimal damage, inducing a fielder’s choice force out to end the inning for the Clippers.

Norris would retire the Mud Hens in order yet again in the third inning, beginning with back-to-back strikeouts of Nick Solak and Michael Papierski for the first two outs. Baddoo would then groundout to end the inning.

O’Loughlin came back out for the third inning looking to hang a zero, and he did. Schneemann would strikeout for the first out. Gonzalez would single, but would be stranded after a Collins flyout and a Valera groundout to end the inning.

Norris would return for the fourth inning. Norris would need just four pitches to get the first two outs, being a Malloy flyout and a Meadows lineout. But the Mud Hens wouldn’t let Norris escape unscathed. Lipcius clubbed a game-tying home run, his sixth of the season, putting the Mud Hens on the board and knotting the game at 1-1. Norris would bounce back, getting Keith to flyout on the first pitch. That would be all for Norris, leaving after 4.0 innings pitched, allowing one run on one hit (one home run), one walk and four strikeouts.

O’Loughlin returned for the bottom of the fourth inning, beginning with a strikeout of Noel for the first out before the inning went south. Pries would double and Delgado would get plunked to put two runners on with one out. O’Loughlin would get Roller to flyout for the second out. Rocchio tagged O’Loughlin for a two-run double, scoring both runners and putting the Clippers up 3-1. Schneemann would draw a walk to put the Clippers back to two runners on base with two outs. A wild pitch would advance the runners, but O’Loughlin would escape after striking out Gonzalez.

Riley Smith would enter to pitch for the Clippers in the fifth inning. The Mud Hens would make him labor in the fifth inning. Camargo would draw a leadoff walk to try to mount a rally. Maton would groundout and Solak would popout to give the Clippers two outs in the inning. Papierski would draw a walk to put a second runner on base in the inning. Riley Smith would get Baddoo to flyout to escape the jam and end the inning.

O’Loughlin would come out for the final time in the fifth inning. He would make quick work, as he retired the Clippers in order. Back-to-back groundouts by Collins and Valera followed by a Noel strikeout would end O’Loughlin’s night, finishing with 5.0 innings pitched, allowing three runs on six hits, three walks and four strikeouts.

Riley Smith would return for the sixth inning, making quick work of the Hens in the inning. Malloy would draw a leadoff walk. But, after a Meadows popout, Malloy would get erased on a Lipcius double play that ended the inning for Riley Smith.

Trey Wingenter would enter the game for another appearance for his rehab assignment in the sixth inning. Pries would draw a leadoff walk to put the Clippers in business. Wingenter would strikeout Delgado for the first out. Roller would clobber the first pitch he saw for a two-run home run to put the Clippers up 5-1. Wingenter would get Rocchio to lineout for the second out. Schneemann would walk and swipe his ninth stolen base before being stranded after a Gonzalez groundout. That would end the night for Wingenter, pitching 1.0 inning, allowing two runs on one hit (one home run), two walks and one strikeout.

Riley Smith would return for the seventh inning, but would not record an out. Keith would work a seven-pitch leadoff walk. Camargo would then smack the first pitch he saw for a two-run home run to put the score at 5-3 in favor of the Clippers. Maton would continue the aggressive approach, singling on the first pitch he saw to keep the rally going. Solak would then reach on a fielding error by the pitcher Riley Smith to put two on with no outs and two runs already in. Papierski would draw a walk to load the bases. Joe Rizzo would enter the game as a pinch hitter for the rehabbing Baddoo, and would club a RBI single off the wall to put the game at 5-4. Malloy would then tie the game at 5-5 with a RBI single of his own, chasing Riley Smith after seven batters in the inning with no outs recorded. Jhon Romero would enter to try to put out the fire. Romero would grab back-to-back strikeouts of Meadows and Lipcius and a first-pitch groundout from Keith to escape the jam with a tie game. Riley Smith would finish with 2.0 innings pitched, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits (one home run) and five walks.

Rony Garcia would enter the game for the Mud Hens in the bottom of the seventh inning. Collins would draw a leadoff walk and swipe second base, his fourth. Collins would however be stranded after three consecutive strikeouts from Garcia. Valera, Noel and Pries all struck out swinging to end the inning. That would be all for Garcia, pitching 1.0 inning, walking one and striking out three.

Romero would return for the eighth inning. Romero would strikeout Camargo on three pitches for the first out. Maton would draw a one-out walk to put the go-ahead run on the bases for the Hens. Nick Solak would then strikeout on three pitches for the second out. But, Maton would advance to second base on a wild pitch. That was when Papierski would smack a RBI single to put the Mud Hens in front 6-5, scoring Maton from second base. Romero would induce a flyout by Rizzo to end the inning. That would be all for Romero, who pitched 2.0 innings, allowing one run on one hit, one walk and four strikeouts.

Beau Brieske would enter the game for the Mud Hens in the eighth inning. Delgado would single on the first pitch, but would then be erased on a bunt fielder’s choice force out, also on the first pitch to Chris Roller. Roller would be stranded after a Rocchio popout and a Schneemann strikeout. That would end the evening for Brieske, who picked up his team-leading fifth hold, pitching 1.0 inning, allowing one hit and one strikeout.

Cade Smith would enter the game for the Clippers in the ninth inning, trying to hold the one-run deficit. He would do just that, getting Malloy to flyout, Meadows to lineout and Lipcius to groundout and put the Clippers in a position for a tie or a walk-off win. That would wrap the night for Cade Smith and the Clippers defensive unit, claiming his first Triple-A win, pitching 1.0 inning and improving his record to 1-0.

Miguel Diaz would enter in the ninth inning for the Mud Hens, trying to convert his 10^th consecutive save. Gonzalez would tally a leadoff single, putting the tying run on base. Collins would flyout for the first out. Valera would then walk to put the winning run on the bases. After three strikeouts on the day, Noel would come up clutch for Columbus, clubbing a game-tying RBI double to tie the game at 6-6, putting the winning run on third with himself on second base. Pries would reach on a fielder’s choice after Lipcius would erased Valera at the plate to keep the game tied. But then, Delgado would smack a walk-off single, scoring Noel and clinching a 7-6 Clippers win. That would end the game and Diaz’s outing, picking up the loss and a blown save. The loss being his third and the blown save being his first, as he is now 9/10 in save opportunities. Diaz pitched 0.2 inning, allowing two runs on three hits and one walk.

NOTABLES:

• Johan Camargo: 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, R, BB, K
• Andre Lipcius: 1-5, HR, RBI, R, K
• Justyn-Henry Malloy: 1-4, RBI, BB, K
• Joe Rizzo: 1-2, RBI
• Michael Papierski: 1-2, RBI, 2 BB, K
• Jack O’Loughlin: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
• Rony Garcia: 1.0 IP, BB, 3 K

The Toledo Mud Hens will remain in Columbus for game five of the series at Huntington Park against the Clippers on Sunday, July 2^nd with first pitch coming at 6:05 pm ET.