Akron, Ohio - The Toledo softball team heads to Akron, Ohio this week for the 2019 Mid-American Conference Championship at Firestone Stadium. The No. 7 seed Rockets open the tournament on Wednesday, May 8 with a 3:30 p.m. game against No. 2 seed Kent State. Full championship information including the tournament schedule and live streaming links is available here.
 
No. 7 Toledo vs. No. 2 Kent State
May 8 | Firestone Stadium
Watch | Live Stats
 
The Rockets ended the regular-season with a 23-25 overall record and 10-9 conference record while going 7-3 in their final 10 games.
 
"It's a great feeling being here because with the eight teams in the tournament and the way the MAC has been this year, it's wide open," head coach Joe Abraham said. "Literally any of the eight teams could win it and everybody knows that because almost every game we play in this league is close. Yeah, we're the seventh seed but it doesn't matter."
 
If Toledo wins its opening game of the tournament, the Rockets would go on to play the winner of No. 3 seed Ohio/No. 6 seed Ball State at 3:30 on Thursday. A loss would see Toledo take on that series' loser at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday.
 
Players to Watch
Sophomore Erin Hunt leads the Midnight Blue and Gold in the circle, going 11-11 with two saves in 137.1 innings. Hunt is fifth in the conference in strikeouts this season with 158, which is also the fifth-most in a single season at Toledo. Her 2.65 ERA and .210 opposing batting average rank fourth and second in the league, respectively, too. Hunt started the year by striking out a record 14 Saint Louis batters in her first Division I start which broke the previous Rocket record of 12 set by Amy Lokowski 1999. The Dansville, Mich. native has also hurled five shutouts.
 
The second half of Toledo's starting rotation this season has been sophomore Maggie McGurk. After being held to just under 20 innings of work last year, McGurk has blossomed into a well-respected starter. Tossing 65.2 innings, McGurk holds a 3.09 ERA and 8-3 record with one save through 19 appearances. She's struck out 33 batters.
 
Senior Katie Cozy has been Toledo's frontrunner at the plate recently. The Louisville, Ohio native holds a .329/.381/.516 slash line and has contributed 12 doubles, six homers and 30 RBIs this year. Her 40 career doubles rank fourth all-time at Toledo.
 
Senior Megan Choate has worked to make herself known in her last season at Toledo. The Montesano, Wash. native is batting a career-high .307 and has notched 14 doubles, five homers and 21 RBIs with 27 walks for a team-high .435 OBP. Her .518 slugging percentage ranks second on the Rockets and she's tied for most runs scored with 35.  Choate is also currently riding a 13-game on-base streak, her best of the season.
 
Senior Kaitlyn Bergman is having a tremendous swan song season as well as she holds a .267/.431/.526 slash line and paces the team in both homers and multi-hit RBI games with nine each. The Lebanon, Ohio native rocked a program-best 19-game on-base streak and is currently tied for most homers in a Toledo career.
 
Last Time against Kent State
The Golden Flashes and Rockets last met in Toledo's opening weekend at the end of March where Toledo posted it lone victory in the final game of a three-game set. Cozy had a strong performance on day two as she went 4-for-6 with seven RBIs, two runs and a pair of homers through the doubleheader.
 
Scouting Kent State
The Golden Flashes come to Akron in pursuit of their second MAC title in three years, led in the circle by redshirt freshman Andrea Scali and at the plate by senior 3B Bailey Brownfield. Scali is arguably the best pitcher in the conference as she holds a 2.20 ERA and .187 opposing batting average through 162 innings. She's struck out 227 batters, has the second most wins in the MAC (19), and threw a perfect game in KSU's 4-0 regular-season finale against Bowling Green.
 
Brownfield holds a .366/.433/.645 slash line, has hit 18 doubles, and has been hit by a pitch 12 times this year. In the KSU record books, Brownfield is now third in hits (201), second in doubles (45) and seventh in RBIs (113). She's three doubles away from tying the school record, and her 18 doubles this year are tied for the second most in a single season. Brownfield has appeared in 212 games for the Golden Flashes which is tied for the second most in school history with Maddy Grimm (2014-17).
 
"We've hit some really good pitchers this year, including Florida State's No. 2," Abraham said. "I think our team's pretty confident going into this first game. When we play solid defense like we usually do, we're capable of beating anybody."