Toledo and Indianapolis faced off in Game 1 of their six-game home series, where the Hens came away with a 9-7 victory.
Toledo brought its momentum home after winning its latest road series and struck first in the bottom half of the 1st inning. With two outs, Max Anderson singled on a sharp line drive to right field before advancing to second on a balk. Up next, Jace Jung brought him around with a double into the right-field corner. Anderson scored easily, giving Toledo an early 1-0 lead.
The Indians, however, responded immediately in the following half inning. With two outs on the board, Nick Cimillo hit a solo homer on a fly ball to left field, tying things up at 1-1.
Toledo didn’t let the tie stand for long. In the bottom of the 3rd, the Hens’ bats heated up as they sent nine hitters to the plate. Max Burt led the rally off with a single on a line drive up the middle, followed by a fly-ball single from Trei Cruz and a walk from Cal Stevenson to load the bases. Max Anderson then singled to right field, scoring Burt. Jace Jung continued his strong day at the plate, driving in two more runs with a line drive to center field. Seby Zavala added the final run of the inning when he grounded into a force out, allowing Anderson to score. After three innings, Toledo had built a 5-1 lead.
The Indians put a wrench in the Hens’ game plan in the 4th. They put two runners on with a walk from Duce Gourson and a ground-ball single from Joshua Palacios. Nick Cimillo then cleared the bases with a triple into the left-field corner. After a pitching change, Derek Berg sent a ball out of the stadium for a two-run homer, quickly tying the game back up at 5-5.
But the Hens answered right back in the bottom half. Trei Cruz started the inning with a double to center field, while Stevenson reached with his second walk of the day. Both runners advanced on a groundout from Anderson, putting Cruz just 90 feet away from breaking the tie. Jace Jung did exactly that with a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing Cruz home and making it 6-5. Toledo still had more to give. Corey Julks followed with a triple to left-center field before James Outman doubled on a sharp liner to center, hustling into second ahead of the throw. By the end of the inning, the Hens had regained control with an 8-5 lead.
The Hens added one more run in the 5th, once again doing their damage with two outs. Cruz and Stevenson recorded back-to-back singles before Anderson was hit by a pitch. Jung then worked a five-pitch walk, forcing a run home and extending Toledo’s lead to 9-5.
Indianapolis made two late pushes to chip away at the deficit, scoring once in both the 8th and 9th innings. Cimillo hit his second solo homer of the night in the 8th to make it 9-6. Then in the 9th, Jack Brannigan walked and later scored when Duce Gourson doubled on a line drive into the right-field corner, cutting the score to 9-7.
However, the Hens were able to stop the Indians’ momentum there and end the day with a win. It was a full-team effort offensively, as all nine starters reached base at least once. Toledo took Game 1 of the series, and both teams will be back tomorrow for Game 2, with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m.
Notables:
Trei Cruz
4-5 (2B, 3 R)
Jace Jung
2-3 (2B, BB, 5 RBI)