Rockets to Entertain Bobcats in Weekend Series

TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo softball team (16-10, 6-4 MAC) hosts Ohio (11-10, 7-5 MAC) this weekend in a four-game Mid-American Conference series at Scott Park. The Rockets and Bobcats will square off in a doubleheader on Friday, April 9 followed by single contests on Saturday. April 10 at 1:00 p.m. and Sunday, April 11 at noon. All four games are scheduled to be televised locally on BCSN and streamed on ESPN3. A doubleheader was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday but was moved to Friday due to rain in the forecast for Saturday.

        Toledo (.600) and Ohio (.583) are separated by just percentage points in the MAC standings. Ball State and Miami are tied for first place with perfect 8-0 marks. Kent State (8-4) is in third place, one game in front of the Rockets and Bobcats.

Friday, April 9
vs. Ohio (DH), 2:00 p.m. | BCSN/ESPN3

Saturday, April 10
vs. Ohio, 1:00 p.m. | BCSN/ESPN3

Sunday, April 11
vs. Ohio, Noon | BCSN/ESPN3

LAST TIME OUT
        Toledo opened its home campaign last weekend by winning three of four games vs. Northern Illinois and now has won five of its last six contests.

        The Rockets let a 2-0 lead slip away on Friday by allowing four unearned runs in the fifth inning. Senior Dayna Denner drew UT within a run with a sixth-inning homer but that was all the offense the Rockets could muster.

        Toledo outslugged NIU in a doubleheader sweep on Saturday, edging the Huskies by a 13-12 margin in the opener before pulling away for an 11-3 (5 inn.) victory in the nightcap. Junior Aubrey Reed led the Rocket attack on the day with five hits, including a single, double and triple that drove four runs in Game 1. Freshman Jenna Kroll also had a big day, including a walk-off grand slam in Game 2 en route to a six-RBI contest.

       Senior Erin Hunt closed out the weekend with her second shutout of the season, 1-0 triumph that gave her a 3-1 mark and a 1.88 ERA in 22.1 IP vs. the Huskies during the series.

REVIEWING THE ROCKETS
• Senior third baseman Dayna Denner tops Toledo in hits (31), runs (18), doubles (8), home runs (10), RBIs (20) and slugging percentage (.922). She ranks second on the team with a .403 batting average and has started all 26 contests for the Rockets.
• Denner also appears at or near the top of numerous categories in the MAC. She leads the conference in home runs (10) and ranks second in slugging percentage (.922), tied for fourth in doubles (7) and fifth in on-base percentage (.500).
• Sophomore first baseman Riley Mohr is hitting a team-best .524 (22-of-42) and ranks second on the team with six doubles and a .786 slugging mark and tied for second with 16 RBIs.
• Junior right fielder Anna Dixon ranks second on the team with 25 hits, tied for second with 13 runs scored and third with a .352 batting average.
• Sophomore catcher Macey Moore is hitting .320 and was named the MAC's Female Scholar Athlete of the Week on March 31 after hitting .833 at Buffalo (March 27). She possesses a 3.81 grade-point average as a pre-nursing major and ranks third on the team with a .540 slugging percentage.
• Freshman shortstop Jenna Kroll is hitting .317 and is tied for second on the team with 16 RBIs. She has two home runs as a Rocket with both coming with the bases loaded. Her first collegiate homer was a grand slam in a 15-10 win at Kent State (March 21) and a walk-off grand slam in last Saturday's 11-3 triumph over Northern Illinois.
• Kroll posted a .500 batting average (6-for-12) and .917 slugging percentage last weekend to go along with a team-high eight RBI last weekend. In addition to her grand slam on Saturday, Kroll's game-winning RBI double lifted Toledo to its 1-0 win on Sunday. She also closed out Sunday's game by fielding a ground ball in the hole with the bases loaded and flipping it to Dayna Denner at third base for the final out.
• Senior Erin Hunt (12-7, 2.97 ERA) is the Rockets' primary starter in the circle. She leads the MAC in innings pitched (110.2) and victories (12) and ranks third in strikeouts (112).
• Sophomore McKenna Schmidt is 3-0 with a 3.69 ERA in seven appearances covering 24.2 IP.

ROCKET LEADERS IN CONFERENCE PLAY
• Dayna Denner and Riley Mohr share team-best .500 batting averages and are tied for second along with Macey Moore with 10 RBIs.
• Jenna Kroll leads the Rockets in MAC play with 12 RBIs.
• Denner has scored a team-high 11 runs in league action with Moore ranking second with 10 runs.

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
        Ohio (11-10, 7-5 MAC) split a four-game series at Kent State last weekend after opening its conference season at home by capturing three of four vs. NIU and splitting four contests vs. WMU. Allie Englant leads the Bobcats with a .395 batting average and ranks second in the MAC with 14 stolen bases. Senior Madi McCrady (5-3, 4.78 ERA) and junior Makensie Kohl (5-4, 4.86 ERA) have split time as Ohio's primary starters in the circle.

COMPARING TOLEDO AND OHIO
        Toledo ranks fifth in the MAC with a .297 batting average, while Ohio is fourth with a .298 mark. The Rockets are second in the conference with a 3.53 ERA, with the Bobcats ranking seventh with a 4.82 ERA.

CHANGE TO MAC SCHEDULE
        The MAC schedule looks a little different this season. Teams are playing eight four-game weekend series at one site and a pair of midweek home-and-home doubleheaders versus the remaining two league opponents. The winner of the 40-game round-robin schedule will earn the MAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Division I Softball Championships since there is no MAC Tournament this season.

ON THE HORIZON
        The Rockets will head to Kalamazoo, Mich. next weekend for a four-game series at Western Michigan (8-18, 4-8 MAC) on April 16-18 before returning to Scott Park for a four-game set vs. Miami (18-6, 8-0 MAC) on April 23-25.

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Players Mentioned

Dayna Denner

Anna Dixon

Erin Hunt

Jenna Kroll

Riley Mohr

Macey Moore

Aubrey Reed

McKenna Schmidt

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