May 26, 1999

TOLEDO - The Rockets wrapped up their 1999 season with their second trip to the MAC baseball tournament under head coach Joe Kruzel.

Toledo won its first-round matchup of the tournament against Miami, 3-0. The Rockets lost in second-round action to Bowling Green, 15-2 and were eliminated from the tournament by Ball State, 10-1.

UT finished the 1999 season with a 39-20 overall record, making it the team with the most wins in Toledo baseball history. The Rockets surpassed the 1977 team, which finished with a 34-14 overall mark.

The Rockets finished in second place in the MAC West division with a 23-9 conference record. Their 23 wins sets a school record for the most conference wins in a season and is the most-ever wins for a runner-up team in the conference standings.

Kruzel was named the 1999 MAC Coach of the Year. Kruzel is the first coach from Toledo to be given the honor.

Junior pitcher Jeremy Griffiths was named the 1999 MAC Pitcher of the Year. Griffiths finished the season with an 11-4 overall record and an 8-1 MAC record. Griffiths set a new UT season record in strikeouts with 102. He broke the previous record of 100 owned by Bob Nash (1940) and Bill Backensto (1967). Griffiths' 2.50 ERA was the best in the MAC.

Both Griffiths and junior pitcher Junie Melendez were named to the All-MAC first team. Melendez finished the year with a 9-5 overall record and a 5-3 conference mark. Melendez finished with a 3.10 ERA over fifteen appearances. He led the MAC in shutouts with four.

Rockets in the Record Book

The 1999 Rockets are the team with the most wins in UT baseball history. The Rockets finished the season with 39 wins under their belt, breaking the previous record of 34 wins set by the 1977 team.

Toledo Baseball All-Time Wins

    Year		Wins
1.  1999		39-20  
2.  1977		34-14
3.  1976		33-11
4.  1986		31-21
5.  1988		30-25
    1984		30-19
    1981		30-20

Junior pitcher Jeremy Griffiths owns UT's all-time season strikeout record. Griffiths finished the season with 102 strikeouts, breaking the previous record of 100 strikeouts owned by Bob Nash (1940) and Bill Backensto (1967).

Senior firstbaseman Greg Cancilla finished the season with a team-high 41 RBI, just six RBI away from becoming the UT record holder for most RBI in a season. Cancilla is tied for seventh on the all-time RBI in a season list.

Senior secondbaseman Ron Warga owns many UT career and season records. He is the current record holder in career runs with 156 and season runs with 57. He owns the career triples record with 17 and finished the 1999 season with five triples, just one away from becoming the all-time season triples record holder. Warga owns the career hits record with 212 career hits. He also holds the career bases on balls record with 107. He finished the season with a team-high 26 stolen bases , setting a new UT record for most stolen bases in a season.

Senior lead-off hitter JoJo Aulet finished the season with a team-high 68 hits, just one hit shy of the all-time season hits record. Aulet is tied for second on UT's hits in a season list with Dave Creager (1985). He has 175 career hits, ranking him sixth on the all-time career hits record list.

Solid Pitching

The Rocket pitching staff had a successful 1999 campaign. All-MAC first-team member Junie Melendez finished fourth in the MAC with a 3.10 ERA. He ranked first in the MAC in shutouts with four. All-MAC first-team member Jeremy Griffiths ranked second in the MAC in strikeouts with 102 and first overall with a 2.50 ERA. He tied for second place in shutouts with three. Griffiths finished with a 1.30 ERA in conference games over nine appearances and an 8-1 MAC record. Griffiths tied for second place in wins with 11. Melendez finished in sixth place in wins with nine.

Rocket reliever Jim Murray finished the season tied for third place in saves with five and Scott Bruhn tied for sixth place in the MAC in saves with three.

Fab Freshman Freshman outfielders Tony Miller and Jay Juras made an immediate impact to the team in their first year of play. Miller appeared in 38 games, starting 29 in the outfield. Juras played in 21 games for the Rockets and started 12. Miller led the team in batting with a .333 (32-96) average. Rocket Honors

Toledo was recognized by the Mid-American Conference for its successful 1999 season. Head Coach Joe Kruzel was named the 1999 MAC Coach of the Year, the first UT coach ever to be honored, while junior pitcher Jeremy Griffiths was named the 1999 Pitcher of the Year. Both Griffiths and junior hurler Junie Melendez were named to the All-MAC first team.

Earlier in the season, Melendez was named the Mid-American Conference's Pitcher of the Week for the week ending May 2. Melendez recorded two wins during the week, an 8-2 win over Ohio on April 28, and an 8-0 shutout of Eastern Michigan on May 2. Melendez pitched his eight and ninth complete games against OU and EMU, respectively. He also recorded a team-leading third shutout against Eastern Michigan. He held the Eagles to just four hits while striking out eight batters. Melendez upped his record to 8-3 and carries a 3.01 ERA.

Griffiths was named the Mid-American Conference's Pitcher of the Week for the week ending April 19. Griffiths held MAC foe Ball State to one run on six hits while striking out a season-high 10 batters in the Rockets' 5-1 win. The four-game series between the Rockets and the Cardinals was critical because it determined which team led the MAC West. Rocket second-baseman Ron Warga was named the Mid-American Conference's Co-Player of the Week for the week ending March 28. Warga batted .474, going 9-19 at the plate with one double, one triple and five RBI at the Akron Invitational. He fielded 27 chances without an error on his way to being named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.