Toledo overcomes five-run deficit to win

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Toledo Mud Hens began their final series in last night’s contest with the Iowa Cubs. The Mud Hens took game one in extra innings, with a score of 8-5 in Des Moines, Iowa. Today was game two of the series, as Elvin Rodriguez got the call to the mound looking to lead the Mud Hens to their fourth straight win (fifth in last six games).

The Iowa Cubs got on the board early with a two-run blast to take an early 2-0 lead. The home run came off the bat of John Hicks and was his 20th homer of the season. Later in the inning, the I-Cubs got another run, as Levi Jordan singled on a soft line drive to right field to bring in Narciso Crook. At the end of the third, the I-Cubs had a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Iowa Cubs would score two more runs, and obtain their second home run of the ballgame. This time, Alexander Canario hit his fifth homer of the year to bring him and Darius Hill in to score. The I-Cubs now had a 5-0 lead after four innings. However, the Toledo offense was not going to go down without a fight.

The Mud Hens would respond in the fifth, as Brendon Davis tallied his 14th homer of the year. He hit a two-run blast to dead center field to cut the Iowa lead down to a 5-2 score. In the sixth, the Mud Hens would put up a crooked inning, scoring five runs. First, the Mud Hens would load the bases after a couple of walks and a fielding error by Iowa. Zack Short would bring in a run after being hit by a pitch. With one out, Andre Lipcius hit his 13th double of the year to bring in Dylan Rosa and Josh Lester, and the score was now tied at five apiece. The final two runs would come off another two-run double. This time, it was Ali Sanchez who would obtain the big hit. Zack Short and Andre Lipcius were credited for the two runs. That would be the last scoring play of the game, and the Mud Hens won today’s contest, with a score of 7-5. The Toledo Mud Hens are now 25 games over the .500 mark (87-64). The Mud Hens have now won 11 straight road games.

Along with today’s win, Nick Kuzia would obtain his second win of the season after relieving Elvin Rodriguez in the fourth. He went 1.1 innings pitched, allowing no runs or walks, and striking out a batter. Sam Howard, Cody Sedlock, and Shea Sptizbarth would tally a hold, and all gave up no runs. They combined a total of three strikeouts in three innings of work. Nick Vincent would close the game and get his fifth save of the year. He allowed one hit, a walk, and struck out two batters. The Mud Hens obtained four doubles tonight, each tallied by Kody Clemens, Daz Cameron, Andre Lipcius, and Ali Sanchez.

NOTABLE HITTERS:

Brendon Davis: 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, R, BB, K

Andre Lipcius: 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI, R, 2 BB, K

NEXT UP: Tomorrow, Daniel Ponce De Leon will be on the mound for the Toledo Mud Hens. The final game of the season begins at 1:05pm ET in Des Moines, Iowa. Despite not being able to make the playoffs this year, Toledo will look to end the season with a sweep and wrap up the year on a positive note.