Rockets Hungry for 2016 MAC Tournament; Rematch vs. Miami is First
5/9/2016 1:55:00 PM | Softball
TOLEDO, OH – The University of Toledo softball team will travel to Akron, OH this week to compete in the Mid-American Conference Tournament. This will be the Rockets' first appearance since back-to-back appearances in 2012 and 2013. The tournament games will be held at the Akron Racers' Firestone Stadium.
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    The Rockets concluded the regular season with 13-straight victories (nine MAC wins) for an overall record of 21-31 and a 12-11 mark in the conference.Â
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MAC TOURNAMENT BRACKET
    No. 7 seeded Toledo will face No. 2 Miami (15-7) in the first game of the tournament. The Midnight Blue & Gold will face the RedHawks in game three on Wednesday, May 11 at 3:30 p.m. The Rockets' second opponent in the tournament will be either Ohio or Akron. If Toledo wins its opening game on Wednesday, its next game will be on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. If UT loses on Wednesday, they will play an elimination game on Thursday at 6 p.m.    Kent State (16-7) won the MAC regular season for the second year and earned the top overall seed. Ohio is the third seed at 14-7, while NIU won the MAC West Division title at 13-10 and claimed the fourth seed in the tournament.
    Western Michigan took the fifth seed at 12-10, Akron is sixth at 11-10-1, and Central Michigan rounds out the tournament field as the eighth seed with a 11-11-1 record.
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FIRST TOURNAMENT MATCHUP - MIAMI UNIVERSITY
    Miami finished the regular season at 30-21 overall and second in the Mid-American Conference with a 15-7 record. The RedHawks are coming off of a three-game sweep of Buffalo where they defeated the Bulls 6-2, 16-5 and 6-1.    Taylor Shuey is Miami's top offensive threat with an impressive .399 batting average. Shuey has notched 63 hits, 34 runs and 41 RBI. Amber Logemann (19-12) leads the pitching staff with a 2.72 ERA after 175 innings pitched. She has recorded 151 strikeout, five saves and three shutouts.
    The Rockets split the regular season series with Miami. UT rebounded from a 6-5 (10 inn.) setback in game one of the doubleheader with a come-from-behind 13-10 victory over Miami in game two. Toledo fell 12-1 in the final contest of the series.
ROCKET LEADERS
    Senior OF Jessica Lemieux remains one of Toledo's top offensive threats this season. The Banks, OR native holds a .370 batting average with 60 hits through UT's 52 games. Lemieux has scored a team-high 34 runs and recorded 91 total bases. The senior leads the team in stolen bases (30), doubles (13), triples (3), and slugging percentage (.562).    Junior 2B Chandler Rice holds a .325 batting average. She has tallied a team-high 26 RBI and five home runs, while also recording 49 hits and scoring 25runs.
    In the circle, senior Marla Gooding leads the Rockets with a 3.42 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 200.2 innings pitched. Gooding has made 40 appearances, hurling for 21 complete games and winning 18.
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BALL STATE SERIES RECAP
    G1: Junior C Kaitlyn Bergman's two-out solo homer in the bottom of the fourth inning proved to be the difference in the Rockets' 2-1 victory over the Cardinals in the first game.    Gooding scattered six hits in her complete-game effort, allowing just one run with no walks and four strikeouts.
    G2: The Rockets broke open the game with some clutch two-out hitting in the third inning. Rice's single down the right-field line scored the game's first two runs.  Sophomore 1B Samantha Showalter's double to left-center accounted for a third run and George's single down the left-field line plated UT's fourth run of the frame.
    Senior Jessica Lemieux tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth when she sliced a double down the left-field line.
    G3: The contest was scoreless through four complete innings until Ball State plated a pair of runs in the fifth. The Rockets were unable to tie the score in either the bottom of the fifth or sixth frame.
    Gooding retired all three Cardinal batters in the seventh to ignite some Rocket enthusiasm in the dugout. Freshman Kim Frank pinch-ran for sophomore C Kaitlyn Bergman, who had reached on a walk. Frank advanced to second on a single by junior DP Celeste Fidge. Freshman S Megan Choate ripped a single up the middle that allowed Frank to score Toledo's first run.
    Choate stole second on the next play to put two Rockets in scoring position. Junior Ashley Maynard singled to left field to knot the score at two. Senior OF Jessica Lemieux then was walked to load the bases, and senior OF Sammy Emery followed with a game-winning sacrifice fly to score Choate and end the game.
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Players Mentioned
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