Toledo, OH- The Toledo Mud Hens (31-37) lost to the St. Paul Saints (39-29), 14-10, on Sunday, June 14, at Fifth Third Field. In a back-and-forth series finale, Toledo utilized seven pitchers throughout the evening and offensively gathered 10 runs on 12 hits.
An opening and closing strikeout from starting pitcher, Beau Brieske, appeared in the first, but sandwiched in between came back-to-back doubles which handed the Saints an early lead. (1-0)
Max Clark knocked a ground ball to the left in Toledo’s one slot for a base hit. With two men gone, Ben Malgeri smashed one over the gates for his ninth home run of the year and the lead. (1-2)
Matt Seelinger stepped on the mound after Brieske’s short one-frame outing; he allowed the Saints a home run of their own. (2-2) The Hens continued to one-up the opponent as Jace Jung launched one 419ft out of the park (2-3).
St. Paul matched Toledo’s home run number to open the third, this time a two-run ball (4-3). The lead leapfrog continued in bottom after Malgeri brought one home with an RBI-double (4-4) and Eduardo Valencia tallied a 2RBI-single (4-6). The lead extended from a sacrifice flyball before being retired. (4-7)
Toledo’s third arm of the night, Nick Sandlin, put away all three Saints he faced in the fourth. Clark was consistent at the plate hitting 3/3 through four. His single added run number eight. (4-8)
A walk and pair of singles opened frame five, adding one for St. Paul (5-8). Their sixth came as a result of a Toledo throwing error (6-8). The fifth inning was the first of the contest in which Toledo did not tally a run and continued through the sixth.
Bases loaded rapidly in the top of the seventh, allowing the Saints a couple from a hit-by-pitch and sac fly (8-8). Two runners remained in scoring position with one out to go. A sharp single was enough for the opponent to reclaim the lead. (10-8)
Four consecutive hits in the eighth for St. Paul put another pair on the board (12-8). Runs 13 and 14 came from a double that the outfield couldn’t snag. (14-8)
The Hens garnered their first run since inning four in the final (14-9), then a Valencia double tacked on run 10. A popout stopped the late game rally and the matchup ended in favor of the opponent.
Toledo hits the road on Tuesday, June 16, for a new series at Rochester. Game one has a first pitch time of 6:45p.m. and the Hens looks to open with a win.
Notables
M. Clark – 3/4, 2R, RBI, BB
B. Malgeri – 3/5, 2R, HR, 2B, 4RBI
J. Jung – 1/4, HR, 2B
E. Valencia – 2/5, R, 2B, 3RBI