Winds, Offense Come Out Strong on Buccaneer Field

Junior Mark Perry went 2-for-4 with 3 RBI on Tuesday.

CHARLESTON, S.C. – With winds gusting over 40 miles per hour, there was no shortage of offense as the CSU baseball team fell to Toledo, 15-7, on Tuesday. A six-run outburst by the Rockets in the fourth inning provided them with some breathing room as swirling winds made anything possible. Junior Mark Perry led the Buccaneer offense, going 2-for-4 on the day with three RBI.

Getting his second start on the mound this season, freshman Tyler Thornburg (0-1) pitched three strong innings for CSU (2-6), striking out six batters with five hits and one walk allowed. He left the game after three innings with the game tied at 3-3, earning a no decision. Matt Zahel pitched four innings in relief for the Rockets, allowing three unearned runs to pick up his first win of the season.

The top of the Buccaneer lineup did most of the damage on Tuesday, as the team’s 1-5 hitters drove in all seven runs and recorded nine out of the squad’s 14 hits. Perry had an on-base percentage of .600 from the leadoff spot with two hits and one walk, while redshirt-freshman Nick Chinners went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI in the five hole.

Toledo (3-3) rocketed out of the gate, putting its first three batters on base with a pair of singles and a walk in the top of the first inning. Aaron Dudley then cleared the bases with a double to right center to give the Rockets an early 3-0 advantage. CSU responded in the bottom half of the inning by manufacturing three runs to tie the ball game.

Perry led things off with a double to right center and then a bunt single by junior Kory Morian gave the Buccaneers runners on the corners.  A groundball by freshman Steve Antolik was mishandled by Toledo, allowing Perry to score from third. The rally continued with a single by freshman Derek Smith that brought Morian home and CSU tied the game at 3-3 when a fly ball by Chinners proved deep enough to allow Antolik to score.

Both teams’ pitching staffs clamped down over the next two innings as neither offense had more than one base runner in the second or third innings. Things changed quickly in the top of the fourth, however, when Toledo drew a walk, hit a double and took a hit-by-pitch to load the bases.

Josh Colliver began the six-run rally with a bases loaded walk to give the Rockets a 4-3 advantage. Another hit batter forced Toledo’s Jared Hoying home and gave the visiting squad a two-run lead. With the bases still loaded, Drew Hoisington pushed the margin to six runs with one swing of the bat when he knocked a grand slam over the outfield wall.

Toledo continued to add to its advantage, scoring one run in both the fifth and sixth innings. Chris Dudics made it 10-3 with a solo home run in the top of the fifth and Jake Oester scored on a double play ball in the sixth inning to make it 11-3.

The Buccaneers kept hope alive with a three-run rally in the bottom of the sixth inning, however. Chinners led off by reaching on a Toledo error, advancing all the way to second base on the miscue. After freshman Tom Burkett was hit by a pitch, freshman Taylor Black loaded the bases with a pinch-hit bunt single. Two straight outs put Perry on the spot, but he delivered with a bases-clearing double to right center before getting tagged out trying to take third base.

Two more runs in top of the seventh inning gave the Rockets a 13-6 lead, thanks to a home run by Ryan Satterlee and heads up base running by Colliver, who scored on an unsuccessful attempt at turning two by the Buccaneers. CSU got one run back in the bottom half of the inning when Chinners drove a single through the left side of the infield, bringing in Morian from third to make it 13-7.

Toledo’s relief pitching quenched any hope of a Buccaneer comeback, holding the home team scoreless over the final two innings, while the Rockets’ offense padded their lead with two runs in the top of the ninth inning to make it 15-7.

CSU will play its first road game of the season on Wednesday, traveling downtown to take on the College of Charleston in a 5 p.m. contest.