Toledo Heads to Austin Peay for Weekend Series

Friday, February 23

Clarksville, Tenn.

12:00 p.m. CT

University of Toledo

Austin Peay

Sam Shutes will start the series finale against Austin Peay this Sunday

2/21/2018 2:53:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes (PDF)

Toledo, Ohio— The Toledo baseball team will spend the weekend in Clarksville, Tenn. for its three-game series against Austin Peay. Friday's game is set for a 3:00 p.m. start, while the games on Saturday and Sunday are scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

There will be live audio for all three games. Live stats will also be available all three games, the links are provided below. As always, follow along on Twitter at @ToledoBaseball.

Friday Live Stats | Saturday Live Stats | Sunday Live Stats

Friday: at Austin Peay, 3:00 p.m. (LHP Michael Constanzo vs. LHP Michael Jacob)
Saturday: at Austin Peay, 1:00 p.m. (LHP Jacques Pucheu vs. RHP Layne Schnitz-Paxton)
Sunday: at Austin Peay, 1:00 p.m. (RHP Brandon Vial vs. RHP Sam Shutes)

Last Time Out
Toledo went 2-2 at the Sunshine State Series in Kissimmee, Fla. last weekend, defeating St. Louis twice, while falling to Iowa and Pittsburgh.

The Rockets outscored the Billikens, 20-9, in the two victories, including a 16-8 drubbing on Sunday afternoon. UT also had reigning Big Ten Champion Iowa on the ropes on Friday before falling in the bottom of the ninth. In the game against the Hawkeyes, junior Michael Jacob was terrific in his first-career start. He threw seven innings, allowing just one run and striking out seven.

Offensively, several Rockets turned in great performances in Kissimmee. Junior Ross Adolph led or shared the team lead with a .375 batting average, six runs scored, six hits, and five RBIs. Senior AJ Montoya also hit .375 and drove in five runs, while freshman Zach Schwartzenberger hit a home run in his first collegiate at-bat on Saturday night.

Rocket Notes

The 16 runs scored by Toledo last Sunday are the most during an opening-weekend game since Cory Mee took over the program in 2004.
The Rockets batted around twice in the 16-8 win over Saint Louis, and every starter had a hit and scored a run.
Senior Brad Boss was a master of patience at the plate, recording a team and MAC-high six walks in four games.
Toledo was one of two MAC teams to have a slugging and on-base percentage of at least .400 during its opening weekend. UT slugged .421 and got on base at a .422 clip. Ohio was the other team to reach those benchmarks.

Scouting the Competition
Austin Peay sits at 3-1 on the season, having defeated South Dakota State twice and Illinois once during its opening weekend in St. Louis. Most recently, the Governors lost to Southern Illinois, 16-7, on Tuesday. As a team, they're hitting .240 and have a near-equal run differential of 22-21. Sunday's starter Brandon Vial was named the OVC Player of the Week last week after throwing 7.1 shutout innings in the win over Illinois. He allowed just five hits against the Illini and struck out three. Outfielder Nick Walker has been the offensive leader so far, hitting .462 with two home runs.