Mud Hens Rally for Walk-Off Win over Saints
IL Toledo Mud Hens

Mud Hens Rally for Walk-Off Win over Saints

Published on August 31, 2025 under International League (IL)
Toledo Mud Hens News Release


TOLEDO, OH - The Toledo Mud Hens stole the series finale 2-1 against the St. Paul Saints Sunday night. The Hens struggled offensively all game, but rallied in the ninth to walk it off. Kevin Newman would be the night's hero as he batted in the winning run.

After being held hitless through two innings by Pablo López, the Toledo Mud Hens finally got things moving in the third inning. Kevin Newman and Gage Workman broke up Toledo's hitless game with a pair of base hits to quickly put the Hens in scoring position. Things, however, fell apart for Toledo just as quickly as Parker Meadows struckout and Hao-Yu Lee hit into an inning-ending double play.

While Randy Dobnak wasn't enjoying the high strikeout numbers that he's kept up through four starts with Toledo, he was able to force a lot of soft contact. Dobnak utilized a number of off-speed pitches to leave batters sitting back, before using his fastball to catch them off guard. After five innings and 97 pitches, Dobnak's night would come to a close as Jordan Balazovic took over to open the sixth.

After six-scoreless innings, the stalemate would finally break. Carson McCusker opened the seventh inning with a single, before taking second on a fielding error by Akil Baddoo. The speedy McCusker then gave St. Paul a 1-0 lead, scoring from second on a base hit by Jonah Bride.

Kodi Heuer would take the mound for Toledo in the seventh. Heuer received some help after clipping Walker Jenkins with a slider as Gage Workman caught back-to-back hits that had 'extra bases' written all over them.

Still within striking distance to steal the game from the Saints, the Hens relied on Tyler Mattison to keep them within one in the ninth. He kept his team's hopes alive as he faced just four batters on his way to bringing the game into the final frame.

The stadium pulse found second life as the Mud Hens faithful tried to will their team to a rally win. That energy pulsated even more as Jace Jung led off with a basehit to bring the game-winning run to the plate. Baddoo followed that up with a base hit of his own to put runners on the corners and suddenly all of Fifth Third Field was on their feet. This would cause St. Paul to meet on the mound, before facing off with Eduardo Valencia.

Valencia would go down swinging, but Trei Cruz would tie the game with a base hit to center field. Newman then got his turn to try and play hero with runners on first and second. Newman would be the game's hero as he cracked a four-seamer into center field to give Toledo the 2-1 win. The crowd erupted as Baddoo jogged into home and the Hens completed their ninth-inning rally.

The Toledo Mud Hens will head to Lehigh Valley for a series with the Iron Pigs beginning Tuesday at 6:45 p.m.

Notables:

Randy Dobnak (5.0, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 0 HR)

Trei Cruz (2-4, RBI, K)

Kevin Newman (2-4, RBI)

Check out the Toledo Mud Hens Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from August 31, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central