The Toledo Mud Hens and Iowa Cubs played Game 2 of their six-game series, where the Hens came out on top with a 2-1 walk-off victory.
The Iowa Cubs got an early baserunner when their leadoff batter, James Triantos, was hit by a pitch. He immediately put himself in scoring position by stealing second. Matt Shaw then put runners on the corners with a line-drive single, and Owen Ayers brought the first run home with a ground-ball single to left field. The Cubs got on the board early, taking a 1-0 lead.
Toledo didn’t want Iowa to be the talk of the game, so they got themselves right back into it. Jace Jung led off the Hens’ half of the inning with a double on a short liner to right field, with the ball just escaping underneath the fielder’s glove. Max Anderson quickly brought him home with a single to right field, tying the game at 1-1 after the first inning.
After that, both offenses went dormant, and the game became a battle between the pitching and defenses. Sawyer Gipson-Long gave the Hens a solid start, pitching five innings and striking out six. Beau Brieske and Brennan Hanifee each added a scoreless inning, striking out one apiece. Ricky Vanasco then took over in the 8th and 9th innings, adding another strikeout while keeping the Cubs’ bats at bay.
The game headed into the bottom of the 9th still tied at 1-1. Both teams had scored their only runs in the opening inning, but Toledo had one more chance to change that.
With one out, Cal Stevenson ripped a line drive down the right-field line to put the winning run aboard and in scoring position. Michael Siani followed with a chopper to first, allowing Stevenson to advance to third. Then Bennett Lee stepped into the box with a chance to be the hero of the night — and that’s exactly what he did.
With two outs and the count sitting at 2-2, Lee made contact on the sixth pitch of the at-bat. He sent a line drive over the center fielder’s head, allowing Stevenson to jog home and give the Hens a walk-off win.
The two teams will face off again tomorrow night at 6:35 p.m. in Game 3 of the series.
Notables:
Sawyer Gipson-Long
5.0 IP (4 H, 1 ER, 6 SO)