TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo Rockets rode an 11-run first inning to a 21-5 win in seven innings Friday afternoon against the Northern Illinois University baseball team at Scott Park.
Senior designated hitter
Caden Robertson (Magnolia, Texas/Central Oklahoma) hit a home run for the fifth consecutive game, going 2-for-4 at the plate. He has six home runs over the last five games. The last Huskie to have five straight games with a home run is Colin Summerhill who also had six home runs in a five-game span from April 9-24, 2024.
NIU (9-6, 2-2 MAC) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-out home run off the bat of
Gavin Baldwin (Nashville, Ill./SEMO). Baldwin has had an RBI in each of the last seven games.
Toledo's (8-8, 4-0 MAC) first seven batters reached base in the bottom of the first, taking a 3-1 lead on a Troy Sudbrook RBI single and back-to-back bases loaded walks to Jacob Payne and Jackson Hiatt. A two-run single from Liam Arsich made the score 6-1. Cole Meyer's two-run double down the left field line punctuated the Rockets' 11-run inning in which Toledo had six hits, three walks and three hit batters.
The Huskies threatened to get back in the game in the second.
Ivan Dahlberg (Minooka, Ill./Illinois-Springfield) was hit by a Nathan Leininger pitch leading off the inning. After a strikeout,
Charlie Parcell (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) reached on a fielder's choice as a throwing error by 2b allowed Dahlberg to get to second base.
Nolan Sandee (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet) drew a walk with two outs to load the bases, but Leininger got a strikeout to end the inning.
Toledo scored five runs in the second, three in the fourth and two in the fifth to take a 21-1 lead. The Huskies scored a run in the top of the sixth on Robertson's home run.
Wyatt Wawro (Darien, Ill./Downers Grove South) and Sandee led off the seventh with back-to-back walks.
Kayden Jennings (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) ripped a double to left center to bring home Wawro to make the score 21-3. After a one-out walk to Baldwin, Robertson hit a single to left center to drive in Sandee for NIU's fourth run.
Connor Mendell (St. Peters, Mo./Fort Zumwalt South) drew a walk with the bases loaded to make the score 21-5, the final run scored in the game.
"It's hard to find positives when you lose like that but that's part of the job," said head coach
Ryan Copeland. "There was no quit and we got a bunch of different guys in the game. The second inning was pretty important and we missed an opportunity to throw a big punch. We've been able to bounce back on Saturdays and tomorrow we'll be ready to go."
Arsich was 3-for-4 with four RBI for Toledo. Sudbrook, Jacob Payne and Charlie Scholvin each had two hits. Leininger allowed five runs on five hits in 6.1 innings, walking five Huskies while striking out nine.
Game two of this weekend's series is Saturday, March 14 at 12 p.m. CT.
—NIU—
