BY JONATHAN SKUZA
ROCHESTER, NY. — The Rochester Red Wings struggled on both sides of the ball as they fell 9-5 Saturday afternoon to the Toledo Mud Hens after a four run ninth inning rally was extinguished.
”We had a lot of scoring opportunities, but we just didn’t get done with runners in scoring position,” Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy said. “I like the way we fought at the end, that’s a testament to our guys and they never quit.”
Rochester trailed 9-1 going into the final inning and when all hope seemed lost after a tough ballgame on both sides of the ball, Alex Call blasted a 404 foot grand slam with no outs in the inning to cut the Red Wings deficit in half.
”Every pitch matters,” Call said. “You have to treat every pitch like it’s game seven of the World Series and you’re never gonna put yourself in a bad position.”
Carter Kieboom led off the inning with a base hit then Jack Dunn and Onix Vega both drew walks before Call sent a 3-2 pitch in the Toledo bullpen to spark some life into the Red Wings dugout and the fan in attendence.
”We worked good at-bats and we found a way to make things interesting,” Call said. “Credit to our guys for going out there and doing that.”
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM JOE TERRITO.
The Red Wings’ rally was extinguished shortly after the round tripper. Rochester was able to get two more men on base before they recorded three straight outs to end the ballgame.
Rochester’s offense up until the ninth inning had struggled with runners in scoring position as they finished 1-for-14. The lone hit was Call’s grand slam.
“A lot of times we get runners in scoring position and they put a little added pressure on themselves to get that guy in, but we gotta stay calm and wait for your pitch to hit,” LeCroy said.
The other Red Wings’ run came off the bat of 2023 Team MVP Travis Blankenhorn who hit a home run for the second straight day. The Pottsville native blasted a 0-2 pitch down the right field line in the fourth inning to tie the game for the Red Wings.
The Rochester pitching struggled as they gave up the nine runs on 13 hits, six walks and surrendering three long balls. Starter Thaddeus Ward was able to work himself in and out of a bases loaded jam in the second inning without giving up a run. Stephen Nogosek, Joe La Sorsa, and Luis Reyes were also able to wiggle in and out of jams that they were presented during the ballgame.
”It’s just one of those ballgames,” LeCroy said. “ We didn’t execute on either side and it ended up costing us.”
Jace Jung, Keston Huira, and Ryan Vilade all led the Mud Hens with two RBIs in the ballgame. Huira and Vilade both launched home runs with Huira’s coming in the sixth and Vilade’s coming in the ninth inning. Andrew Navigato also hit a long ball in the seventh inning. Anthony Bemboom and Bligh Madris also tallied an RBI for the Mud Hens.
The Rochester Red Wings (9-8) will look to bounce back against the Toledo Mud Hens (11-9) as they will play their series finale on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. The Red Wings will send right-hander Joan Adon (1-1, 2.45) to the mound while Toledo will have righty Austin Bergner (0-0, 7.88) toe the slab.
Leave a Reply