Niles, Ohio -- Toledo scored eight runs during a sixth inning that was interrupted by a rain delay and went on to beat the Youngstown State baseball team 18-8 on Tuesday at Eastwood Field.
The Rockets held a 7-6 lead after five innings, and their lead grew to 12-6 before play was stopped for approximately 1:40. Toledo added three more tallies after the delay, and three runs in the seventh increased the margin to 18-6. The Penguins scored twice in the bottom of the seventh in what was the final inning of the game, which lasted more than four-and-a-half hours with the delay.
Trey Law led the Penguins offensively going 3-for-5 with three RBIs from the leadoff spot in the order, and Aiden Dunlap was 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Eli Brown added two hits, and four Penguins had one hit apiece as YSU posted 12 as a team. Brett Stanley walked and singled, and he stole three bases.
Toledo hit four home runs in the game, and two of them were by Owen Jackson. Jackson, the fifth hitter in the Rockets' lineup, was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and five RBIs in his two-homer day. Toledo finished with 18 runs on 16 hits in the game.
Jackson hit a three-run home run during a four-run first inning for Toledo, and the Rockets scored the first seven runs of the game. They got a pair of two-out singles in the second to push the lead to 6-0, and Jackson's second home run of the game came on the first pitch of the top of the third.
The Penguins scored the next six runs, and their charge started without recording a hit in the bottom of the third. Stanley was hit by a pitch, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ian Francis. Law then ripped a two-run single to right with two outs in the fourth to make it a 7-3 deficit, and the Penguins scored three times in the fifth to get within a run.
In the fifth, Alejandro Covas drew a four-pitch walk to lead off the inning, and Francis followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position. Covas scored on a sacrifice fly by Matt Thompson, and Francis came home on an RBI single by Dunlap. Dunlap sprinted from first to third on a single by Eli Brown, and he went the final 90 feet on an RBI groundout by Joe Suarez.
In the top of the sixth, Jackson hit an RBI single to put the Rockets up 12-6 before the tarp came out. When play resumed, JP Wagner hit a ground-rule double, and Tre Mariano followed with a three-run blast that made the score 15-6. Brayden White hit a three-run home run for the Rockets in the seventh to up the advantage to 18-6.
The Penguins' two runs in the bottom of the seventh came on back-to-back two-out, RBI singles by RJ Sherwood and Law.
Youngstown State used six pitchers in the game, and six runs were charged to starter Colin Casteel. Aidan English was the first Penguin out of the bullpen, and he pitched a team-high 2.1 innings in relief. For Toledo, starter Yianni Skeriotis allowed one earned run on five hits in 3.2 innings. The Rockets improved to 17-16 overall while the Penguins dropped to 4-27.
Youngstown State will host Milwaukee for a three-game Horizon League series this weekend at Eastwood Field. Game one of the series is scheduled for Friday at 5 p.m., and all three games will be broadcast on YSNLive.com.
