Mud Hens Muscle Past Clippers with 7–2 Win on Tigers Night

The Toledo Mud Hens rode timely hitting and strong pitching to a 7–2 victory over the Columbus Clippers on Tigers Night at Fifth Third Field on Friday.

Toledo broke a scoreless tie in the third inning when Ryan Kreidler singled home Brian Serven and Jace Jung followed with an RBI double. The Clippers trimmed the lead in the fifth on Christian Cairo’s solo home run, but the Mud Hens answered quickly. Jung delivered his second RBI double of the night before Max Anderson launched a two-run homer to left-center, extending the lead to 5–1.

Columbus cut into the deficit in the seventh on back-to-back doubles from Dom Nuñez and Cairo, but the Hens responded again in the bottom half. Trei Cruz doubled with two outs, and Andrew Navigato homered to left to put the game out of reach at 7–2.

Watson (W, 1–0) worked five innings, allowing one run on four hits with two strikeouts. Relievers Alex Lange, Drew Sommers, and Wilkel Hernandez combined to cover the final four innings.

Toledo finished with 11 hits, led by Jung’s two doubles and two RBIs. Anderson added a double and a home run, while Navigato’s two-run shot capped the scoring.