Toledo hit seven home runs that accounted for 14 runs to beat the Youngstown State baseball team 18-9 on Tuesday evening at Eastwood Field.
The Rockets hit three of those dingers during a nine-run fifth inning after YSU had taken a 6-3 lead.
Youngstown State's record is now 7-25, while Toledo's record improves to 15-16.
Trey Law went 3-for-5Â with two runs scored and two RBIs at the top of the Penguins' lineup, and Steven D'Eusanio also had a pair of hits and drove in two runs. Joe Suarez had a hit and walked three times.
Marcus Strother hit a pair of homers and drove in five runs, and Trey Wright also homered twice to highlight Toledo's offense.
The Rockets took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Mason Sykes ripped a one-out double to left center and scored on a two-out single by Wesley Parker.
The Rockets added two more two-out runs in the top of the third off of YSU starter Brandin Anderson, who retired the first two batters of the inning. After a hit batter and a walk, Parker drove in his second run of the day with a double down the left-field line. The second run came when Troy Sudbrook scurried home on a wild pitch.
The Penguins mounted their rally in the bottom of the third when Suarez drew a leadoff walk and scored on a two-out RBI triple by Padraig O'Shaughnessy. That made the score 3-1, and YSU went on to score five times in the fourth to take a 6-3 lead.
Youngstown State batted around in the fourth and scored five runs on five hits. Ian Francis walked to start the inning, and Eli Brown followed with a one-out double to put two runners in scoring position. Law plated both runners with a ground-rule double into the tarp down the right-field line, and Suarez followed with a soft single to right that allowed Law to score the go-ahead run. Turner Grau then ripped an RBI triple to right-center to plate Suarez to give the Penguins a 5-3 lead, and Grau scored on Steven D'Eusanio's lined single to left center.
The Rockets hit three home runs as part of a nine-run inning in the top of the fifth to go up 12-6. Strother hit the first one with two Rockets on base to tie the score at 6-6, and Trey Wright hit a two-run blast two batters later to make the score 8-6. After the Rockets added a run on a two-out wild pitch, Sudbrook went deep for Toledo's second three-run homer of the inning to make the margin 12-6.
Youngstown State had an opportunity to cut a chunk out of the deficit in the bottom of the sixth but was turned away empty. Toledo reliever Dane Hall hit Law and issued walks to Suarez and Grau to load the bases, and the Rockets went back to the bullpen to get out of the inning. Brennan McCune got Steven D'Eusanio to fly out to shallow left, and the right-hander struck out O'Shaughnessy and Matt Thompson to escape.
Sykes hit a two-out, two-run homer to left-center to increase the difference to eight runs, and Toledo hit back-to-back solo home runs in the eighth.
Youngstown State scored a run in the eighth when Law reached on an infield single and scored on a one-out RBI single by D'Eusanio. The Penguins added two runs in the ninth when Thompson scored on a double play and Vince D'Eusanio scored on a wild pitch.
Anderson allowed three runs in three innings in the starting role for the Penguins. Six of the runs came against Nick Perez in 1.2 innings, and Kenny Misik surrendered the other three runs in the nine-run fifth. Zach Stayduhar allowed four runs in 2.2 innings, and Will Shaffer allowed two runs in 1.2 innings. Perez was charged the loss to drop to 0-4 on the season.
The Penguins scored four runs off Toledo starter RJ Shunck, and they plated two runs off Toledo's first reliever Gavin Starcher. The next six Rockets relievers combined to hold YSU to three runs over 5.2 innings. The first of those relievers, Kyle Music, was awarded the win by yielding one hit in 1.2 innings.
Youngstown State will begin a three-game Horizon League series at Wright State on Friday at 3 p.m. The game against the Raiders will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
