Avon, Ohio — The Toledo baseball team's season ended on Friday with a 6-5 loss to Central Michigan in the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
The Rockets took an early lead, but CMU's six runs in innings three through five were the difference in Friday's elimination game at Sprenger Stadium.
For UT, junior
Ross Adolph reached base in all five plate appearances with two walks, a hit by pitch, double, and a home run. He ended the season with 15 homers, which ties him with Mike Ernst (2000) with the most in a single season in school history.
Freshman
Trace Hatfield also had a two-run home run, sophomore
Michael Ryan had a pair of base hits, and senior
Brad Boss scored twice. Senior
AJ Montoya drove in the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly. Juniors
Michael Jacob and
Luke Schaefer pitched for Toledo, as did senior
Alex Wagner, who threw three scoreless innings while striking out five.
In 2018, Toledo's pitchers set a program record with 397 strikeouts and its hitters set a record with 259 walks. The 47 home runs, 311 runs scored, and .412 slugging percentage are all the highest for a UT squad since 2010.
The Rockets end the year with a record of 22-33.
How it Happened
- The first run of the game came off the bat of Montoya, who gave UT a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly. Boss scored on the play, who had previously reached on a walk.
- CMU tied the game in the bottom of the third. The Chippewas had runners at the corners and executed a double steal to even the game at 1-1. Two more runs scored later in the inning to put UT in a 3-1 hole.
- An RBI single in the fourth extended Central Michigan's lead to 4-1.
- Adolph's home run came with two outs in the top of the fifth and left the yard in a hurry. The dinger pulled Toledo within one, 4-3, and tied Adolph with Ernst atop the program's single-season home run list.
- The Chippewas answered right back in the bottom half of the fifth with Zach Giles' two-run triple for a 6-3 advantage.
- Hatfield's second home run of the season made it a one-run game once again. Boss singled to lead off the inning, and Hatfield drove the first pitch he saw over the fence in left field.
- Toledo did not go down without a fight. In the top of the ninth, Ryan singled while Adolph and senior Dalton Bollinger both walked with two out to load the bases. Unfortunately, that's the closest the Rockets would come in their final at-bats and the game ended with a final score of 6-5.
Highlights from UT's game against Central Michigan.
Head Coach Cory Mee post-game.