Rockets lose three of five in Oxford

The Toledo women's softball team lost three-of-five games this weekend at the Miami (OH) Invitational in Oxford, Ohio and is now 6-19 this season. The Rockets went 1-1 against Robert Morris, were victorious over Canisius and defeated by both Michigan State and host Miami.

Toledo was led by sophomore pitcher and shortstop Brooke Gates and freshman outfielder Erinn Wright. Gates went seven for fifteen with four runs and three RBI in five games, while Wright batted .364 with four hits, three runs and one RBI. Senior catcher Mica Sanchez and sophomore first baseman Jillian Spink each hit a home run for the Rockets.

On the mound at the invitational, senior pitcher Hannah Rockhold (4-6) pitched a total 19 innings, giving up 18 hits and six runs while striking out seven batters. Junior Whitney Young (0-5) pitched 7.1 innings allowing nine runs on 10 hits with one strikeout.

In their first game on Friday, the Rockets were out-hit 12-5 and dropped a 6-2 decision to Robert Morris largely on the strength of pitcher Alexa Bryson. In seven innings, Bryson (3-3) struck out 11 Toledo batters and surrendered just two runs on five hits. Gates (1-6) took the loss for the Rockets after giving up four runs on eight hits in three innings on the mound.

In the first inning, Toledo took a 1-0 lead after Gates—who led off the inning with a double to center field and stole third during the next at bat—scored on a wild pitch to Wright. The Rockets didn't score again until the seventh inning, when Sanchez knocked a homer to left field. Robert Morris held a 6-1 advantage after six, however, and that lead proved to be insurmountable as the Rockets fell in the first day of competition at Miami.

On Saturday, Toledo went 2-0 in its doubleheader with a 5-4 win over Canisius and subsequent 12-0 victory over Robert Morris. In the first game, Rockhold pitched all seven innings, retiring four batters while giving up four runs on eight hits. Down 4-2 at the top of the seventh, the Rockets scored three runs on two hits to pick up the win.

With no outs and two runners on base in the seventh, Gates came up and drove a two-run double to left center to tie the game at four. After stealing third, Canisius decided to walk Sanchez and Spink to load the bases for the force out. However, freshman outfielder and catcher Morgan Smith stepped up to the plate to pinch hit and reached on a fielder's choice to give Toledo both the lead and the victory.

In the second matchup on Saturday, the Rockets carried over the momentum from the morning game as they blanked Robert Morris 12-0. Rockhold picked up the victory after going five innings with just three hits and no runs with one strikeout. Holding a 1-0 lead heading into the second after her RBI single down the right field line in the first inning, Spinks stepped into the batter's box with two outs and bases loaded and drilled the first grand slam of her career to center field to give Toledo a commanding 7-0 lead. The Rockets scored five more runs over the next three innings for the shutout victory.

Sunday's games were a different story, however, as Toledo fell to both Michigan State and host Miami (OH), getting shutout by a combined 10-0. The Spartans (12-15) beat the Rockets by a score of 2-0, while the RedHawks (11-13) blanked UT 8-0. Rockhold and Young took the losses for Toledo as Toledo was out-hit by a total of 15-9 in the defeats.

UT will take the field Wednesday, when it travels to South Bend, Ind. for a doubleheader with Notre Dame (17-5). The first game is at 3:30 p.m. with the second contest immediately following.