Rockets Scrap to 5-3 Win to Take Series at Northern Illinois

Box Score DeKALB, Ill. – The Toledo baseball team pushed across three runs in the final two innings to take a 5-3 victory against Northern Illinois in a Mid-American Conference series finale at Ralph McKinzie Field on Sunday.

The Rockets (25-27, 14-13 MAC) led 2-0 midway through the sixth, but two runs in the sixth and another in the seventh by the Huskies (20-31, 8-19 MAC) pushed them ahead 3-2. However, the Rockets tied things in the eighth and took the lead with two runs in the ninth to wrap up their fourth-straight MAC series win. Toledo is 7-2 this season in MAC series finales.

Toledo is three games up on a MAC Tournament spot with three conference games to play.

Quoting Head Coach Rob Reinstetle

“I’m so proud of the guys for pulling out that game today. NIU is a scrappy bunch and fought us all weekend. Sasse gave us an outstanding start and Leininger was lights out at the end. The offense just kept fighting back and found a way to get the big hits to seal the game. We’re in a great spot moving forward, just need to keep finding ways to win games.”

Top Rocket Hitters

• Charlie Scholvin – 3-for-4, 3 R, 2 2B, 1 HBP, 1 SB
  

  • Ties season high in hits; 30th HBP this season; Nine HBPs in last six games

• Luke Leto – 3-for-5, 3 RBIs, 1 2B, 1 SB

  • Ties season high in hits; Fourth game with 3+ RBIs

• Brayden White – 1-for-2, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SAC bunt

Pitching Lines

• Brady Sasse – 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 Ks
• Braden Curry – 1.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB
• Nathan Leininger (W, 5-5) – 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 Ks

How It Happened

• Charlie Scholvin led off the second with a double in the second and Luke Leto singled him home two batters later for a 1-0 lead.
• Leto then singled home Scholvin again for a 2-0 advantage in the sixth.
• With two outs in the sixth, the Huskies put runners on second and third with a double, walk and wild pitch. Then, NIU tied things 2-2 on an RBI single.
• The Huskies put runners on the corners with no outs in the seventh, before bringing home the runner at third on a double-play ball for a 3-2 advantage.
• Consecutive hits by Scholvin (double), Cole Cahill (single) and Leto (double) tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the eighth.
• Toledo put runners on first and second in the ninth, before Troy Sudbrook drove home the go-ahead run on an RBI single. Two batters later, a fielder’s choice on a Cahill grounder made things 5-3.
• NIU had first and second with one out in the ninth, but a Nathan Leininger strikeout and a groundout ended the game.

Up Next
The Rockets begin the final weekend of the regular season against Bowling Green on Tuesday, May 13 at Scott Park. First pitch is at 3:00 p.m. and will be on BCSN and ESPN+. Tuesday’s matchup will not count towards the league standings.