Moya powers Hens to Opening Day victory

The weather may have been chilly but the Mud Hens bats were hot on Opening Day as a sold-out crowd of 12,764 were treated to a 10-2 victory over the Louisville Bats on Thursday at Fifth Third Field.

The Hens erupted for eight runs in the second inning and never looked back. RF Steven Moya began the hitting spree, connecting on the first pitch he faced. This was followed by a walk to 2B Tommy Field and a two-run line-drive double from C Bobby Wilson. Errors plagued the Louisville Bats throughout the inning, leading to two additional runs for Toledo, one via Wilson and another from CF Wynton Bernard.

LF Nate Schierholtz liked what he saw from Louisville SP A.J. Morris (2 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO) all afternoon, as he went 2-3 including an RBI single in the second. After a wild pitch that sent Schierholtz to second and a walk to 3B Casey McGehee, Moya stepped up to the plate for the second time in the inning and sent the ball over the wall in right center field.

The top of the fourth inning saw Schierholtz continue to have himself a day, this time on the defensive side with a diving catch in foul territory to record an out. Louisville also notched their first run of the game in the fourth through a single from 1B Brandon Allen. Moya continued his strong game into the fourth, belting an opposite-field homer that drove Schierholtz.

Hens SP Matt Boyd put in six solid innings of work for Toledo (6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO, 87 total pitches), including a routine sixth inning in which he struck out the side. RP Preston Guilmet, Dustin Molleken, and Jose Valdez combined for two hits allowed and no earned runs.

The Mud Hens return to action tomorrow at 6:35 p.m. for game two of the Opening Day series against the Louisville Bats. Tickets are available here.