Torkelson Hits Two Home Runs to Finish Sweep against Bats
July 28, 2024 - International League (IL)
Toledo Mud Hens News Release
Sunday afternoon, the Toledo Mud Hens looked to complete a series sweep against the Louisville Bats. Toledo walked it off the night prior with a bases loaded walk to secure their fifth straight win. The Hens took an early lead in this one, but the Bats didn't back down. In the end, The Mud hens were able to pull through with the 10-5 win, thanks to one particularly hot bat in Spencer Torkelson.
While Ty Madden struggled with command issues early he would get some help from his infield. The Mud Hens picked up an early double play when Blake Dunn hit a grounder to Ryan Kreidler. Kreidler turned that to Andrew Navigato and then to Torkelson for the six, four, three.
Getting the start for Louisville was Randy Wynne. He came into the game with a 1-0 record and a 3.15 ERA. His start was shaky, as singles from Jace Jung, Justice Bigbie, and Kreidler had the bases loaded with two outs, but Stephen Scott was unable to capitalize on the opportunity.
The Hens would once again load the bases in the next inning as Riley Unroe drew a walk and Anthony Bemboom and Navigato picked up base hits. The top of the lineup would take care of these runners in spectacular fashion. Unroe would get the free run as Parker Meadows drew a walk. Torkelson then made it 5-0 as he absolutely smashed a fastball 429 ft to left-center field for his seventh home run and second grand slam of the season.
Toledo continued to apply pressure in their half of the third. Scott led off with his fourth double of the season, before Unroe joined him on base with a single. Bemboom then made it 6-0 with a sacrifice fly. Following a double by Navigato, the Bats would turn to Christian Roa in the third to try and halt the Hens offense. He would load the bases by walking Meadows, but then escaped with strikeouts against Torkelson and Jung.
The Bats would start to chip away at the Hens' lead in the fifth inning. They entered scoring position as Conner Capel drew a walk and Erik Gonzalez hit his nineteenth double of the season. Louisville made it 6-2 with a double off the bat of Ivan Johnson. That caused Toledo to start warming up Sean Guenther, but Madden found three-straight outs, including his fourth and fifth strikeouts of the day.
Louisville looked a lot more aggressive in the second half of this game as they continued to close in on the Toledo lead. Hernan Perez picked up a base hit as Madden came back out to the mound to open the sixth. Michael Trautwein then made it 6-3 with an RBI double. Madden picked up a groundout, which ended his day as Guenther replaced him. Gonzalez was quick to let up a few more runs as Gonzalez found a gap to score Trautwein with a base hit and Johnson shot a double down the left-field line to score Gonzalez from first.
With their at once six-run lead now cut down to just one run, the Mud Hens had to get back to work if they wanted to complete the series sweep. Standing in their way now was righty Brooks Kriske. Toledo put the brakes on the Louisville rally as Torkelson hit his second bomb of the game, making it 9-5. His three-run homer tied his record for most RBIs in a game at seven.
It would be up to Andrew Vazquez to keep the Hens ahead and finish the job. Vazquez found two quick outs to open the eighth, but things looked sketchy when the Bats put baserunners on the corners. Jacob Hurtubise was able to hit a flyball into a gap in shallow left field, but Kreidler sprinted and prevented any runs from being scored.
Unroe and Navigato would team up in the bottom of the eighth to pick up an insurance run. Uroe hit a single on an Alan Busentiz curveball, before Navigato hit his twentieth double of the season. Navigato almost sent that one over the right-field wall, but he would have to settle for the 10-5 lead.
Unroe would end the game with a flyball catch in center and a throw to first for the double play. Toledo and Louisville will not see each other the rest of the season, so the Hens will secure the season series. The Mud Hens will next play in Indianapolis against the Indians on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.
Notables:
Spencer Torkelson (2-4, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 R, BB)
Andrew Navigato (3-4, 2 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB)
Anthony Bemboom (1-3, RBI, 2 R, BB)
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