Rockets, Buckeyes Set for Wednesday Game in Columbus

Wednesday, March 28

Columbus, Ohio

6:35 p.m.

University of Toledo

Ohio State

The Rockets head to Columbus to face Ohio State on Wednesday.

Rockets, Buckeyes Set for Wednesday Game in Columbus

3/26/2018 4:39:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes (PDF)

Toledo, Ohio— The Toledo baseball team visits Ohio State on Wednesday for a duel with the Buckeyes. First pitch in Columbus is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

Wednesday's game against the Buckeyes will be streamed live on Buckeye Vision ($). As always, follow along on Twitter at @ToledoBaseball for any and all updates.

Wednesday Live Stats

Probable Starters
Wednesday: at Ohio State, 6:35 p.m. (TBA vs. LHP Jacob Youngpeter)

*The Rockets were originally scheduled to play Defiance on Tuesday at home, but that game has been canceled.*

Last Time Out
After falling to Western Michigan, 5-0, in the series opener last weekend, Toledo came back to win 3-0 on Saturday and 13-4 on Sunday to start conference play 2-1.
The Broncos won game one, 5-0, on a chilly day that saw just nine hits, all singles, between the two teams. Michael Jacob tied a career high with 7.0 innings pitched, but the Rockets were unable to put anything together offensively.

Sam Shutes was lights out in the 3-0 win on Saturday, tossing a career-high 8.1 scoreless innings, striking out eight, while allowing just five hits and one walk. Shutes improved to 4-0 and is tied atop the MAC with four wins on the year.

In the rubber match on Sunday, The Rockets scored in the top of the first, but WMU scored four runs in the first three innings to take the lead. The Broncos led up until the top of the seventh, when Toledo's bats exploded for 12 runs combined in the seventh and eighth. Every batter in Toledo's lineup drew at least one walk in a game in which Western Michigan issued 15 free passes and used 10 pitchers. The Rockets were able to take advantage of WMU's mistakes and provide some big swings to keep piling on the runs in the big win.

Rocket Notes

Toledo started off its conference season with a series win for the first time since 2015. That year, UT took two out of three from Kent State. This season marks the first time since 2013 (at Ohio) that the Rockets started MAC play with a road series win.
Freshman John Servello has been one of the team's best hitters this month. The rookie is hitting a team-best .373 in March (19-for-51) entering Tuesday's game and has a team-high .439 on-base percentage. He is second on the Rockets with 11 RBIs in that span and he is currently riding a 14-game on-base streak, best on the Rockets this season.
Senior Casey Gose became the starting second baseman on Saturday due to an injury to Riley Campbell. Gose proceeded to go 5-for-8 over the next two games with three RBIs, sparking Toledo's offense in its two wins over Western Michigan.
The Rockets have hit three home runs in a game three times this season— at Austin Peay (2/23), at Southeastern Louisiana (3/6), and this past Saturday at Cincinnati (3/17).
Matt Hansen had a streak of 40 at-bats in which he didn't strike out, longest on the team this season. His streak lasted from the second game of Toledo's doubleheader at Austin Peay (2/23) through the end of the Georgia series (3/10) before striking out in his first at-bat at Cincinnati (3/16).

Rockets to Play at Comerica Park
Toledo and Madonna University will play at Comerica Park, home of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers on Wednesday, April 11.

First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m. with gates opening one hour prior. Tickets for the game, which is open to the public, are $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for students/children and are available now through the UT Athletic Ticket Office. Fans can visit www.utrockets.com, call 419-530-GOLD (4653) or stop by the ticket office at Savage Arena.

Seating will be available as general admission on a first-come, first-served basis for sections 118-137, located behind home plate from dugout to dugout. Parking for the event will be available in lots 1 and 2 located in front of gate A for $6.00 per car. The concession stand located in section 132 will be open during the game.

Scouting the Competition
Ohio State is 16-7 entering Wednesday's game, having won eight of its last nine games. The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten with 7.3 runs per game and are 25th in the nation in that category. Noah McGowan leads the team with a .385 batting average and 30 RBIs, the latter of which rank 22nd in the country. OSU's pitching staff has an ERA of 3.88 and is led by Seth Kinker, who is 4-1 with a 1.29 ERA and four saves.