The Toledo Mud Hens and Indianapolis Indians opened their six-game series with a doubleheader on May 20, 2026, where the Hens split the day 1–1. It was also School Education Day at the Ballpark, bringing a large crowd to Toledo that was eager for a full day of baseball.
Game One
Jace Jung led off the bottom of the fourth with a base hit that slipped under the glove of a diving second baseman. Max Anderson followed with a bloop single down the first base line. Tyler Gentry then reached on an error after putting a ball in play to the third baseman. Cal Stevenson brought home the game’s first run with a sacrifice fly to deep center field, allowing Jung to cruise home and give Toledo a 1–0 lead after four innings.
Indianapolis did not stay quiet for long, responding immediately in the top of the fifth. Dominic Fletcher doubled on a fly ball to the left field corner. Then, Termarr Johnson then tied the game with a single to right field that scored Fletcher. After the inning, the score sat even at 1–1.
The Indians broke the tie in the sixth inning when Esmerlyn Valdez homered on a line drive to left field, giving Indianapolis a 2–1 lead after 5.5 innings.
Corey Julks answered for Toledo in the bottom half of the inning, tying the game right back up with a home run over the left field wall. The score was once again even at 2–2.
The doubleheader was originally scheduled for two seven-inning games, but after seven complete innings in Game One, the score remained tied and the game moved into extras. Toledo kept Indianapolis from scoring in the top of the eighth despite the automatic runner beginning at second base.
In the bottom half of the inning, Jace Jung started on second for Toledo and advanced to third on a fly out from Max Anderson. With Tyler Gentry at the plate and Jung just 90 feet away from the win, Gentry lined a sharp single off the right field wall, allowing Jung to score easily from third. The walk-off hit secured a 3–2 victory for the Hens in Game One.
Notables
Sawyer Gipson-Long
3.2 IP (1 H, 0 ER, 6 SO)
Game Two
Game Two got off to a quick start, with runs scored in the top of the first inning. Ronny Simon reached on a force out at shortstop after Nick Yorke was retired at second, leaving Simon as the lone runner on first base. Esmerlyn Valdez then homered for the second time on the day, sending a deep drive to left field that scored both himself and Simon to give Indianapolis an early 2–0 lead.
The Indians added onto their lead in the second inning. Things started off with Rafael Flores Jr. and Dominic Fletcher both drawing walks, putting runners on first and second.Nick Cimillo then doubled on a sharp line drive to left field. Flores Jr. scored on the play while Fletcher advanced to third, extending the Indianapolis lead to 3–0.
Toledo got on the board in the bottom of the third. Max Burt doubled down the line past the third baseman and later advanced to third on a deep fly out to left field from Ben Malgeri. A wild pitch by Jose Urquidy then allowed Burt to score, cutting the deficit to 3–1.
The Hens added another run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Max Clark started the inning with a single up the middle before Corey Julks followed with a single to shallow left field, allowing Clark to move from first to third. With runners on the corners, Jace Jung stepped to the plate and hit a chopper to second base. Although Jung was retired at first, Clark scored on the play to make it a 3–2 game after six innings.
Toledo had one final chance to either tie or walk off the game in the bottom of the seventh inning and came close to doing so, but ultimately stranded runners on first and second. Instead, the Hens split the doubleheader with Indianapolis. Both teams will return to Fifth Third Field tomorrow night for Game Three of the series, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.