SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Toledo baseball team was engaged in an early pitchers' duel, but home runs allowed in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings pushed Notre Dame ahead for good in an 8-2 final at Frank Eck Stadium on Saturday.
 
The Rockets (24-27) had chances to climb back into the game, but left 11 runners on base to help the Irish (27-21) who scored three runs each in the fourth and fifth innings to take the lead and pull away.
 
"We didn't play badly, but we just couldn't get much going offensively and hung some pitches which Notre Dame took advantage of," said Head Coach Rob Reinstetle. "We swung the bats okay but couldn't string the hits together to score more. I was happy with how our defense played today. It was the difference last night, and the guys answered the call to lock that part of the game down today."
 
Senior Scott Mackiewicz (2-for-4), junior Garrett Pike (2-for-5) and freshman Luke Walton (2-for-4) had two hits apiece. Mackiewicz hit a solo home run, his 11th of the season. Freshman JP Wagner collected UT's other RBI of the game. Senior Owen Jackson drew two walks to reach 40 for the season and tie a program single-season record.
 
Senior Noah Johnson (3-2) pitched four-plus innings but was tagged for six earned runs on six hits in the defeat. Toledo used four relief pitchers across the final 4.0 innings, with sophomore Dane Hall (1.0 inning) and senior Kyle Pijaszek (0.2 innings) each putting up scoreless appearances.
 
The Rockets will look to pick up the final game of the series on Sunday, with first pitch slated for 1:00 p.m.
 
"We need to wipe this away and come back tomorrow ready to play," said Reinstetle.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Notre Dame opened the scoring in the fourth with a solo home run. The Irish then scored two more on an RBI single and a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead.
• Scott Mackiewicz hit a solo home run to lead off the fifth, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
• Notre Dame's three-run home run extended the lead to 6-1 in the bottom of the fifth.
• Toledo put runners on the corners in the sixth thanks to a walk and a throwing error before JP Wagner drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to make the score 6-2.
• A solo home run in the bottom of the inning gave Notre Dame a 7-2 advantage.
• An Irish RBI double in the bottom of the eighth closed the scoring at 8-2.