Akil Baddoo hits two home runs in loss to Clippers

The Toledo Mud Hens faced off against the Columbus Clippers in game two of this six-game series as the Hens fell to the Clippers 14-8

Ty Madden got the start for the Mud Hens as he made his triple-A debut.

The offense gave Madden a comfortable cushion to pitch in as Akil Baddoo on the second pitch of the game went deep to center field to give the Hens a 1-0 lead. Following the home run, Justyn-Henry Malloy and Keston Hiura singled with Buddy Kennedy walking to load up the bases. A catcher interference during a Bligh Madris at-bat put him at first while bringing in Malloy from third to make it 2-0. A wild pitch in the next at-bat brought Hiura across the plate to put the Mud Hens up 3-0.

Still in the first, Justice Bigbie singled which brought Kennedy home to put the Hens up 4-0. Andrew Navigato then doubled to the right field wall which scored two more as the Mud Hens went up 6-0 at the end of the top half of the first.

In the bottom half of the first, Madden got into some trouble as he gave up a lead-off triple and a pair of walks to load up the bases. The next batter then hit a grand slam to chip away at the Hens lead to make it 6-4. Madden was able to get out of the inning with a groundout and a pair of strikeouts to end an offensive first inning by both squads.

In the bottom of the second, Madden recorded a quick out but then gave up a solo home run which cut the lead to just one as the Mud Hens still led 6-5.

A scoreless top half of the third by the Hens brought us to the bottom half as back-to-back doubles led off the inning which tied the game at six apiece. A single then gave the Clippers their first lead of the game 7-6.

Navigato led off the fourth inning with a walk which brought up Baddoo who then notched his second home run of the game to put the Hens back on top 8-7.

Ty Adcock then replaced Madden on the mound in the bottom of the fourth. Jace Jung helped him out in the field as he made an over-the-shoulder catch in foul territory to record the first out of the inning. A double put a runner in scoring position who then scored off a single to Baddoo in center field who misread the ball as the batter was able to advance to third on the error. The next batter then singled to score the runner on third to give the Clippers the lead 9-8. Adcock then hit the following batter which then set up a three-run home run to extend the Clippers lead making it 12-8.

Andrew Vasquez then came in to replace Adcock who gave up a quick lead-off double which then was followed by a groundout and a walk. Adcock recorded a fly out but the runner on second tagged to third base which allowed a single to bring him home to make it 13-8 Clippers. A walk then loaded the bases, but Adcock was able to get out of the inning as a pop-out to Justice Bigbie limited the damage.

The Hens went 1-2-3 in the top half of the sixth and it looked to be that way in the bottom half, but a two-out solo shot extended the Clippers lead to 14-8.

The seventh saw our first full inning that didn’t produce a run by either team as each team only was able to get one batter aboard. Also in the seventh, Beau Brieske replaced Vasquez on the bump.

The eighth inning followed suit of the seventh as no runs were scored by either team with each team going down 1-2-3.

In the top of the ninth, the Mud Hens went down 1-2-3 to cap off the ballgame in favor of the Clippers 14-8.

The Mud Hens and Clippers continue their in-state rivalry tomorrow with the first pitch set at 6:15 pm.

Notables:

Akil Baddoo (2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI)

Andrew Navigato (1-3, 2 RBI, R)

Bligh Madris (1-3, RBI, R)