JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – The Toledo baseball dropped its weekend series opener with Jacksonville State, falling in a 5-0 defeat at Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium on Friday.
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The Rockets (1-3) and Gamecocks (3-2) were scoreless into the third, before a two-run double gave Jax State the lead. JSU then tacked on single runs in the fifth, seventh and eighth innings.
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Sophomore Brady Sasse delivered another quality start despite taking the loss, allowing just three runs on six hits and striking out four in 6.0 innings.
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The Rockets and Gamecocks continue their series tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. CT.
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Quoting Head Coach Rob Reinstetle
“Credit to Jax State’s pitching. They threw the ball well and kept us off-balance. We hit the ball okay at times, with some hard hit balls right at them, but we couldn’t string together hits to score, while their offense did.”
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“I thought we pitched pretty well overall, but we left a few up in the zone and they made us pay. Nothing to be down about, we have the makings to win a lot of games and have stayed competitive in all four. Just have to tweak a few things and get hitting on all cylinders.”
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Top Rocket Hitters
Pitching Lines
Brady Sasse (L, 1-1) – 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 Ks
Michael Fliss – 2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Picked off runner in eighth inning
How It Happened
Jacksonville State put two runners on with one out in the third and brought both home for a 2-0 lead. A double followed by an RBI single in the fifth made things 3-0.
The Rockets put the first two runners on in the sixth, but a ground ball double play and a flyout ended the threat.
JSU tacked on runs in the seventh and eighth innings, both on RBI singles.
Toledo loaded the bases in the ninth, but a strikeout ended the game.