Rockets Prepare to Open NCAA Regionals Against Kentucky

Toledo, Ohio - The Toledo softball team (29-26) will face No. 14 seed Kentucky (33-22) at 2:30 p.m. this Friday (ESPN3) in Lexington, Ky. in first-round regional action of the 2019 NCAA Softball Championships. This is Toledo's first appearance in the tournament since 1992.

Toledo vs. No. 14 Kentucky
May 17 | John Cropp Stadium
Watch | Live Stats | Championship Central
Toledo Weekend Notes | Full NCAA Bracket

The Rockets are coming off a weekend in which they won the first Mid-American Conference Tournament title in program history. Toledo won six games in the tournament as the No. 7 seed, including a five-game tear in the loser's bracket, taking down No. 4 Northern Illinois, No. 2 Kent State, No. 1 Miami and No. 3 Ohio. Toledo most recently won the MAC regular-season title in 1992, but this was the first MAC Tournament crown for the program.

The winner of the Toledo-Kentucky game will play the winner of the Illinois-Virginia Tech game on Saturday at noon. The first-round losers will meet at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. The champion will be determined by one or two games on Sunday.

The NCAA Regionals are played in a double-elimination format, meaning it takes two losses to be eliminated from the tournament. The winner of the Toledo-Kentucky game will play the winner of the Illinois-Virginia Tech game on Saturday at noon. The first-round losers will meet at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. The champion will be determined by one or two games on Sunday.

MAC Tournament Recap
The Rockets began the tournament with a 4-2 win over No. 2 seed Kent State on Thursday before falling 7-1 to the Bobcats on Friday. Fighting through the loser's bracket in the double elimination-style tournament, the Rockets had to defeat each of the top four seeds to come out on top. All together, Toledo outscored the competition 33-14 in its last five games.

The Rockets were led in the circle by sophomore Erin Hunt who tossed 37.1 innings with four complete games, striking out 28 batters over the four days and winning all six games she appeared in. Her efforts earned her a spot on the All-Tournament team and she was also named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player.

Hunt was joined on the All-Tournament team by seniors Katie Cozy and Kaitlyn Bergman who were offense standouts all week. Bergman went 6-for-20 with four runs, six walks, two homers, and seven RBIs while catching every game for the Rockets. Cozy went 5-for-21 with five runs, three RBIs, two homers and four walks.

Toledo was also aided by offensive dark horse Ami Ill who turned the lineup over 12 times throughout the week. Batting in the nine hole. the sophomore went 10-for-18 (.556) with four runs, a double, two RBIs, two walks and a HBP.

Toledo Season Recap
Toledo got off to a slow start this season and were underdogs from day one. After being picked to the finish ninth in the MAC, the Rockets opened with four straight losses before earning their first win, a 4-0 shutout, against Saint Louis on on Feb. 10. Despite the shadow of doubt, Hunt started her Division I career by striking out a program-best 14 batters in her first start against UNI on Feb. 8.

The Rockets went on to face four top-50 NCAA programs in defending champs Florida State along with Michigan, Kennesaw State and Northwestern. Toledo won, 4-3, to KSU, battled to a one-run loss against FSU, put up three runs on Michigan, and brought around two against Northwestern to round out their pre-conference tuneup.

Toledo went 10-9 in conference play to enter the MAC Tournament as the No. 7 seed and had players pace the conference leaderboards all season. Following the end of the regular-season, the Midnight Blue and Gold celebrated seniors Kaitlyn Bergman, Megan Choate, Hunt and freshman Aubrey Reed earning spots on All-Conference teams.

Overall, this is Toledo's second consecutive season with a winning record after having gone 21 straight years with losing marks.

Rockets Prepare to Open NCAA Regionals Against Kentucky

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Players Mentioned

Kaitlyn Bergman

Megan Choate

Katie Cozy

Erin Hunt

Ami Ill

Aubrey Reed

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