Chiefs, Mud Hens split doubleheader
Toledo walks off with game one, Chiefs grab game two
Toledo, OH (June 9, 2015) - The Syracuse Chiefs and Toledo Mud Hens split a doubleheader at Fifth Third Field Tuesday night. Toledo walked off with a 6-5 win in the opener, followed by a 7-4 Syracuse victory in game two.
Toledo (26-33) struck first early in game one. Jeff McVaney was hit by a Scott McGregor pitch with one out in the second inning. After McGregor got the second out, Brendan Harris tripled to left-center field, scoring McVaney and giving the Mud Hens a 1-0 lead.
Syracuse (19-40) took the lead in the third. Darin Mastroianni doubled to start the frame off Mike Belfiore. Matt den Dekker followed with a single to put runners on the corners with no one out. Emmanuel Burriss hit a line drive to center field, deep enough to score Mastroianni on a sacrifice fly, tying the game at one. Two batters later, Mario Lisson hit his first home run as a Chief, off the foul pole in left field, giving the Chiefs the lead at 3-1.
The Mud Hens answered in the bottom of the inning. Steven Moya walked and McVaney doubled, putting runners on second and third. Moya scored on a groundout to short by Miguel Gonzalez to cut the lead to one.
The teams each put up a pair in their half of the sixth. Syracuse started by putting Mastroianni and den Dekker on base again with no one out. Mastroianni once again scored on a sacrifice fly, this time hit by Minicozzi to extend the lead to 4-2. A batter later, Lisson drove in his third run, a single scoring den Dekker to give Syracuse a three-run edge.
Once again, Toledo answered. Moya homered over the 406-foot mark in dead-center field to once again trim the lead to one at 5-4.
The Chiefs turned to Matt Grace in the seventh. Xavier Avery singled to start the inning, followed by a sacrifice bunt. Grace walked Daniel Fields to finish his night. Mitch Lively came out of the bullpen and walked Mike Hessman to load the bases. After a pop out, Moya knocked a ball off the left-field wall, scoring Avery and Fields to give the Mud Hens the walkoff win on a two-run double.
In game two, Syracuse started the scoring in the second. Jason Martinson walked with two outs and stole second. He scored a batter later on a Caleb Ramsey single to give the Chiefs a 1-0 lead.
The Chiefs pushed the lead to four in the fourth. Mark Minicozzi and den Dekker doubled back-to-back with one out, scoring the first run. Martinson singled, a batter later, to bring home den Dekker and extend the lead to 3-0. After a fielder's choice and walk, Josh Johnson singled to drive home the third run of the inning.
Toledo answered in a big bottom of the fourth. Fields walked against Bruce Billings. Moya then doubled in Fields to score the first run. Billings got the next two outs, but then the Mud Hens got three straight hits. Jordan Lennerton doubled, Corey Jones singled, and Manny Pina doubled, bringing in three more runs, and tying the score at four.
But Syracuse finished off the back-and-forth affair in its next plate appearance. Tony Gwynn, Jr. singled and Burriss walked. den Dekker walked, two batters later, to load the bases. Martinson then hit a ground ball behind second. Jones made a diving stop from second, and flipped to the bag to get the force out. It allowed Gwynn to score to give Syracuse the lead. Caleb Ramsey was up next, and doubled in two to finish off the scoring at 7-4.
Rafael Martin and Jose Valverde threw three scoreless innings to hold the lead for the doubleheader split. Martin struck out two in two perfect innings, while Valverde struck out two in a scoreless ninth.
Syracuse and Toledo finish the three-game series Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Taylor Jordan goes for the Chiefs opposite Tim Melville for the Mud Hens.