Game Recap | A total team effort

The Hens started their homestand against the Iowa Cubs on Tuesday night, taking Game 1 with a healthy 9-2 win.

If I told you the Mud Hens had already used three pitchers by the end of the 2nd inning, would you believe tonight’s game was a success? Toledo has also welcomed a bunch of new names and faces to the lineup over the past few weeks, meaning the team has been working to find how everyone fits and gels together. Hopefully, tonight was the night everything clicked into place.

Brant Hurter started the game on the bump for Toledo as part of his rehab stint. However, things weren’t exactly clicking for him. Justin Dean led off with an infield single up the middle, followed by a walk from Owen Ayers. Chas McCormick then singled to second base, allowing Dean to score and giving Iowa a quick 1-0 lead. With two outs, Ben Cowles drew a walk to load the bases, forcing the Hens to turn to their bullpen early. Nick Sandlin came in to record the final out of the inning and did just that, keeping the Cubs to just one run.

In the top of the 2nd, Andrew Sears came in hoping to serve as the bulk pitcher for the game. He started off strong, retiring the Cubs in order.

Then, in the bottom half of the 2nd, the Hens’ offense made things fun. Chris Meyers stepped into the box for his first at-bat as a Mud Hen and doubled on a sharp fly ball to right field. Andrew Navigato followed with a single to right, putting two runners on. Both runners eventually moved into scoring position, and Bennett Lee came through with a Mud Hens milestone of his own, launching a three-run home run to left-center field. Just like that, Toledo erased the deficit and took a 3-1 lead.

With that, the floodgates opened for the Hens.

Toledo continued to have some fun in the box in the 3rd inning. Max Anderson started things off with an infield single earned through hustle and natural speed. Josue Briceño then drew a walk, followed by Meyers’ second hit of the night, a fly-ball single to center field that scored Anderson and extended the lead to 4-1. Navigato added another run with a line-drive double to left field, making it 5-1 after three innings.

Sears continued to hold down the Cubs’ offense, retiring six straight batters across the 4th and 5th innings. He struck out three of those six, while the defense took care of the other three. Sears continued putting up goose eggs on the scoreboard until he was replaced by Hayden Minton in the 7th.

The next time Toledo scored came in the bottom of the 7th, when Max Burt launched a solo shot for his second home run of the season, extending the Hens’ lead to 6-1.

In the top of the 8th, Tyler Mattison took over on the mound and nearly made it through his outing unscathed. After recording two outs, he left a ball over the middle of the plate that Chas McCormick took 405 feet to center field. The solo shot cut Iowa’s deficit to 6-2.

Toledo had a short memory and went right back to work.

Justice Bigbie led off the bottom of the 8th with a walk, followed by Navigato’s third hit of the night, a line-drive single to right field. Cal Stevenson then loaded the bases with a four-pitch walk. Lee earned another RBI on the night by simply staying in the box and getting hit by a pitch, moving every runner up 90 feet. The Hens weren’t done just yet. With two outs, Jace Jung stepped into the box and knocked a ball into left field for a double, bringing home two more runs and officially making it 9-2.

In the 9th, Beau Brieske came in as Toledo’s closer and made quick work of the Cubs, retiring the side in order.

Toledo took Game 1 of the series, and it was nothing short of a full-team effort. All nine starters reached base at least once, contributing to the Hens’ offensive success. The pitching staff combined for 10 strikeouts, while the bullpen was heavily relied upon after Hurter’s early exit.

Both teams will be back tomorrow evening for Game 2, with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m.

Notables:

Andrew Sears

W, 5.0 IP (0 H, 0 ER, 7 SO)

Andrew Navigato

3-4 (2B, RBI, 2 R, SB)