Game recap: Mud Hens fall 2-0 to Louisville Bats after starter Hurter exits after one pitch

After an ominous start with starting pitcher Brant Hurter exiting with an injury after one pitch, the Toledo Mud Hens filled in admirably on the mound, but could not break through offensively in a 2-0 loss to the Louisville Bats on Sunday at Fifth Third Field.

On the game's first pitch, Louisville’s Blake Dunn pulled the ball down the first base line.

Toledo first baseman Spencer Torkelson made a nice diving stop and flipped to Hurter who raced over from the mound to cover first for the out. However, Dunn collided with Hurter’s back and sent Hurter to the ground.

Hurter attempted a few warmup pitches but could not push off his left leg on his left-handed delivery and was forced to abandon his start. It was a tough break for the 25-year-old, who was coming off six scoreless innings in his previous appearance.

Andrew Magno was the first replacement for Hurter. After having to complete all of his warmups on the field, Magno was effective over 2⅔ innings but took a hard-luck loss after giving up the first run of the game due to his own fielding error.

Toledo’s Austin Schulfer gave up a solo homer to Connor Capel, before Devin Sweet pitched a scoreless inning and Easton Lucas and Miguel Diaz gave the Mud Hens a chance with two scoreless innings each.

However, the Mud Hens could not find the big hit all game long, stranding nine baserunners and going 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position. They stranded the bases loaded in the second inning and failed to score in the fourth with a runner on third with no outs.

What happened : Louisville got on the board when Rece Hinds tripled and came around to score when Livan Soto attempted to bunt on the squeeze play. Soto reached on a throwing error by Magno before he was thrown out attempting to advance to second base.

Capel added a solo homer in the fifth for the Bats to make it 2-0.

Game MVP : Bats reliever Casey Legumina picked up his second win of the season with 2⅔ scoreless innings of one-hit ball with four strikeouts.

He said it: “We still threw the ball well despite losing Brant early. Our offense just couldn’t get it done. We had plenty of traffic out there and had our opportunities but they threw the ball well and we just couldn’t get the runs.” — Mud Hens manager Tim Federowicz.

Up next : Toledo opens a three-game home set with the Columbus Clippers at 7:05 p.m. Monday.