Toledo, Ohio— The Toledo baseball team will host Mid-American Conference foe Ball State this weekend at Scott Park. Friday's game will start at 3:05 p.m. while both Saturday and Sunday contests are scheduled for 1:05 p.m.

Friday's game will serve as UT's Faculty/Staff Appreciate Day, with free admission being given to any University of Toledo employees (one free admission per I.D.). Saturday is Family Day at the ballpark and fans will be able to purchase four tickets for $10. Finally, Sunday's game will feature a pink rally towel giveaway and, in celebration of Mother's Day, all mothers will receive free admission.

All three games will be streamed live on ESPN3 this weekend and live stats will be available here. As always, follow along on Twitter at @ToledoBaseball for any and all updates.

Friday Live Stream | Saturday Live Stream | Sunday Live Stream

Probable Starters
Friday: vs. Ball State, 3:05 p.m. (RHP John Baker vs. RHP Joey Prechtel)
Saturday: vs. Ball State, 1:05 p.m. (RHP Drey Jameson vs. RHP Sam Shutes)
Sunday: vs. Ball State, 1:05 p.m. (RHP Kyle Nicolas vs. TBA)

Last Time Out
Toledo fell to Youngstown State on Tuesday, 17-16, in a back-and-forth shootout. Despite allowing 17 runs to the Penguins, the Rockets were in the game until the final out. Trailing 17-11 entering the bottom of the ninth, UT scored five runs in its last trip to the plate to pull within one. Ultimately, the deficit was too much to overcome and Toledo ended up on the losing end of Tuesday's game.

It was a different story on Wednesday at Butler. After allowing four runs in the first inning, the Rockets took their first lead in the seventh inning and didn't look back.  Chris Meyers singled in a pair of runs to tie the game at 6-6, then an RBI groundout from Michael Ryan and a sacrifice fly by Matt Hansen gave UT a two-run cushion.

Rocket Notes

• This is the first season of the newly-formatted MAC Tournament, where six teams make the field. Toledo holds the sixth and final spot entering the weekend, one game up in the win column on Western Michigan.
• Ross Adolph has 13 home runs this season, two away from tying the single-season home run mark at Toledo. The record is held be Mike Ernst, who hit 15 homers in 2000. Adolph also has 13 career triples, which is tied for second-most in school history, four away from tying Ron Warga (1996-99) for most all-time.
• Freshman Chris Meyers has reached base in 18 straight games. He is the second freshman this season to have an on-base streak of at least 15 games (John Servello, 23 games). Meyers is hitting .333 during his streak and owns a .427 on-base percentage.
• Over the last three weeks, Trace Hatfield is leading UT regulars with a .389 batting average and five doubles. During that stretch he is reaching base at a .443 clip.
• Ross Adolph has hit safely in eight straight conference games. Dalton Bollinger has tallied at least two hits in eight MAC games this season.
• Under head coach Cory Mee, Toledo is 19-21 against Ball State. In 2017, UT was swept in Muncie (May 6-8). The last time the Cardinals visited Scott Park in 2016, the Rockets took two out of three (May 13-15).

Scouting the Competition
Ball State is 26-22 entering the weekend with a 13-8 mark in conference play, tied for second with Miami. The Cardinals have won eight consecutive MAC games, their last loss coming at Bowling Green on April 20 when they lost 6-5 after allowing five runs in the bottom of the ninth. Ball State pitchers strike out just over 10 opposing hitters per nine innings, tops in the MAC and fifth in the country. Their 288 runs and six runs per game are second in the conference, though the pitching staff's ERA is a more pedestrian 5.01, sixth in the league.