Toledo Splits Quasi-Doubleheader Against Lehigh Valley
IL Toledo Mud Hens

Toledo Splits Quasi-Doubleheader Against Lehigh Valley

Published on September 5, 2025 under International League (IL)
Toledo Mud Hens News Release


Game One:

ALLENTOWN, PA - The Toledo Mud Hens defeated the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 16-3 in game three of their series on Thursday, September 4, at Coca-Cola Park. After a weather delay pushed the start time back, first pitch was thrown at 7:20 p.m.

In the top of the first, Hao-Yu Lee and Akil Baddoo set the tone early with back-to-back singles for the Mud Hens.

The Iron Pigs struck first in the bottom of the second when former Mud Hen Brewer Hicklen launched a solo shot to make it 1-0. Josh Breaux followed with a base hit, but Toledo's infield turned a smooth 5-4-3 double play to end the threat.

Lehigh Valley added on in the third with an RBI single from Rafael Lantigua and a run scoring on a wild pitch, stretching their lead to 3-0.

Toledo kept battling. In the fifth, Trei Cruz roped a single to left, keeping the Mud Hens' offense engaged.

Then came the big momentum shift in the sixth. Andrew Navigato led off with a solo homer, putting the Mud Hens on the board. Parker Meadows and Lee followed with back-to-back doubles, and Jace Jung delivered with a clutch RBI single to knot the game at 3-3. Eduardo Valencia capped off the explosive inning with a three-run blast, giving Toledo a commanding 6-3 lead before another weather delay stopped play.

Play would continue on Friday September 5, at 5:05 p.m. Drew Sommers would get the pseudo start, picking up two strikeouts in his inning of work.

On the opposing mound, former Mud Hen Devin Sweet dealt for the Iron Pigs. He flipped through a familiar rotation of pitches with his fastball, changeup, and slider looking as strong as ever. Valencia would take one of these hanging sliders the distance yet again in the seventh. His second three-run homer of the game traveled 377 ft to put Toledo ahead 9-3.

Daniel Harper would take over for Sweet in the eighth, but he too struggled to halt the red-hit Hens. Gage Workman got aboard with a lead-off double, before being driven in by Lee on a sacrifice fly. Jung then made it 12-3 with a two-RBI double, before Valencia went yard for a third time. Valencia's third home run of the game put him at eight RBIs across the two-day game.

Following Sommer's stint on the rubber, Alex Lange would make his second appearance of the series. He would only be utilized for 13 pitches across 1.1 innings, before Tanner Rainey took his place.

With the Mud Hens safely ahead 14-3, the Iron Pigs put position player Rodolfo Castro on the mound. He just lobbed the ball to the plate and struggled to understand balk rules, walking his first two batters. Navigato then picked up an RBI single, before Castro dealt yet another walk to Riley Unroe. Lee would pick up another RBI on a sacrifice fly, before Lehigh Valley turned a double play to end the inning.

Rainey would finish things off to finalize the 16-3 win for the Mud Hens.

Notables:

Eduardo Valencia (3-5, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 3 R)

Jace Jung (2-3, 2B, 4 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB)

Akil Baddoo (2-4, 3 R, 2 BB, SB)

Game Two:

ALLENTOWN, PA - The Toledo Mud Hens fell 8-7 in an extra-innings thriller against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs Friday night. Toledo rallied late to put themselves ahead, but Lehigh didn't back down.

Making a quick turnaround for game two of the quazi-doubleheader, the Mud Hens were first on the board this time around. After Max Anderson was braised by a pitch, Gage Workman took Alan Rangel 422 ft deep in the second inning to give Toledo an early 2-0 lead.

It didn't take long for the Iron Pigs to respond however, as former Mud Hen Brewer Hicklen continued his "revenge tour" with a three-run bomb against Randy Dobnak. Hicklen had himself a week in his prior series against the Omaha Storm Chasers, another one of his former Triple-A squads.

Lehigh Valley would tack on another run to their lead in the third after a Gabriel Rincones Jr.,'s drawn walk would turn into a run on a base hit by Christian Arroyo.

With Dobnak's start making it to the fifth inning, the Iron Pigs threatened to further their 4-2 lead even more. Donovan Walton led off the inning with a double, before Rafael Lantigua picked up a base hit to put runners on the corners with no outs. Brian Serven would help to correct this, throwing out Lantigua trying to steal second, before Dobnak struck out Rincones Jr. Lehigh Valley wouldn't leave empty handed however, as Payton Henry drove in Walton with an RBI single to make it 5-2.

The Mud Hens would finally knock Rangel out of the game after 6.2 innings of action. It would be the first time all season that Rangel failed to reach seven innings pitched. In place of Rangel would be yet another former Mud Hen, Ryan Cusick. Cusick only appeared in one game for the Hens and was only in Toledo for two-whole days, but still a familiar face for the Toledo roster.

Toledo would come storming from behind in the eighth. The Hens quickly loaded the bases with an Akil Baddoo walk and back-to-back base hits by Eduardo Valencia and Anderson. Workman would put the Hens within one as he drove in two runs on a double. Trei Cruz then tied the game 5-5 with a sacrifice fly, before Andrew Navigato was drilled by a pitch. With runners now on first and second, Riley Unroe took the lead with an RBI double. Toledo wasn't quite finished though, as they left the inning up 7-5 after a Brian Serven sacrifice fly.

The Iron Pigs wouldn't just sit back and watch their lead be squandered however. They would get within one after Paul McIntosh took Ryan Boyer 438 ft deep into left-center field. Rodolfo Castro then followed that up with a solo shot of his own, tying the game 7-7.

With one last chance to get ahead in regulation, the Mud Hens nearly took the lead with one swing of the bat. Baddoo took Michael Mercado deep into center field, but the ball would fall just inches short of clearing the fence.

Baddoo would try to score from third on an infield hit, but was not quick enough, leaving Toledo with a man on first and two outs. Workman and Cruz then battled for back-to-back walks, loading the bases and bringing Navigato to the plate. Navigato got a good hold of a cutter, but the hit died at the warning track, leaving the runners stranded and the game tied 7-7.

Boyer would reemerge for his third inning of action, looking to take the game to extras. Walton got aboard with a lead-off single, before being moved to second on a groundout. Gabe Alvarez then decided to intentionally walk Rincones Jr., favoring his chances against Henry. That decision was quickly rewarded as Henry struckout. Arroyo then hit what looked like the game-winning hit, but Anderson made a game-saving snag to send the game to extras.

In the tenth, the Hens would load the bases with Navigato beginning the inning on second, before Unroe picked up a lead-off single. Lucas Sims then picked up two outs, before intentionally walking Baddoo to load the bases and bring Valencia up to bat. Valencia, who had three home runs in the game prior, was not able to come through this time, putting Toledo on defense.

Wilkel Hernandez would take the mound for the Mud Hens in extras. He began his outing by dealing a walk to Hicklen and picking up a lineout against McIntosh. The game would come to an end following that however, as Castro hit a sacrifice fly deep to left field, allowing Arroyo to score.

The Toledo Mud Hens and the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs will face off again Saturday at 6:35 p.m.

Notables:

Gage Workman (2-4, HR, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, BB)

Riley Unroe (3-5, 2B, RBI, K)

Check out the Toledo Mud Hens Statistics

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International League Stories from September 5, 2025


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