Late Hens rally gives Toledo the gritty Saturday win

Columbus, OH — The Toledo Mud Hens defeated the Columbus Clippers on Saturday night at Huntington Park, rallying late to secure a gritty 2-1 win in a defensive and pitching battle.

Troy Melton took the mound for T-Town, entering the night 0-2 with a 4.79 ERA. Columbus countered with Parker Messick, who came in at 4-3 with a 3.71 ERA.

Both teams showcased strong pitching and defense as the game remained scoreless through six innings. The Mud Hens collected singles from Justyn-Henry Malloy (1st), Hao-Yu Lee (3rd), and Manuel Margot (5th), but were unable to convert any into runs. Meanwhile, Columbus managed just one hit through five.

Melton delivered an outstanding outing, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings with 2 hits, no walks, and 7 strikeouts. Tyler Owens entered in relief in the seventh inning.

With the score still tied at 0-0, Matt Seelinger came on to pitch the eighth but surrendered a solo home run to Milan Tolentino, giving Columbus a 1-0 lead and breaking the scoreless tie.

Toledo quickly responded in the top of the ninth. Andy Ibáñez led off with a triple — the Hens' first runner in scoring position all game. Malloy followed with an RBI double to drive in Ibáñez and tie the game at one. A wild pitch advanced Malloy to third, and Brewer Hicklen brought him home with a sacrifice fly to give Toledo a 2-1 lead.

The Hens’ pitching and defense held strong in the bottom of the ninth, retiring the side in order to lock in the gritty victory.

Notables:

Troy Melton: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K

Andy Ibáñez: 1 R, 1 H (.241 AVG)

Justyn-Henry Malloy: 1 R, 2 H, 1 RBI (.318 AVG)

Brewer Hicklen: 1 RBI (.219 AVG)

Toledo will close out the series Sunday afternoon in Columbus. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.