TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo baseball team opens an 11-game homestand this weekend with four games against Kent State. All four contests will be televised locally on BCSN and streamed live on ESPN3.

The series opens on Friday with a 1:00 p.m. game, which will be followed by a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at noon. The Rockets and Golden Flashes will wrap things up on Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. tilt.

Friday's game was originally supposed to start at 3:00 p.m., but the start time was bumped up to 1:00 p.m. to avoid late afternoon rain showers that are in the forecast.

Toledo is coming off a series split at Ohio, while Kent State also split its series at Bowling Green last weekend.

Admission for children on Saturday is just $1 and there will also be an Easter Egg Hunt prior to the first game at 11:30 a.m. at Scott Park. There will also be free admission for all fans on Sunday.

Last Time Out
Toledo split its weekend series at Ohio, its pair of wins sandwiched by series-opening and closing losses to the Bobcats.

In the win on Saturday, The Rockets led 11-4 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, but the Bobcats scored a run in the sixth, two in the seventh, and one in the eighth to make it an 11-8 game. Ohio continued to put the pressure on in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases and bringing the winning run to the plate. Despite the late momentum shift, sophomore Kyle Pijaszek was able to work his way out of trouble and escape unscathed. The win avenged an extra-inning loss the previous night.

In the doubleheader on Sunday, The Rockets were able to pour it on offensively in the latter half of game one to claim an 11-5 victory, but couldn't generate the same level of production at the plate in game two in a 10-3 loss.

Rocket Notes

• The Rockets' ranks second in the MAC in ERA (4.82) and third in strikeouts (253).
• Toledo leads the league in strikeouts (163) in MAC play. UT boasts the top two strikeout pitchers in league play: Kyle Jones (40) and Connor Brandon (35). Both Jones and Brandon struck out eight in their last outing at Ohio.
• Jones has been a driving force behind Toledo's strong pitching, leading the MAC in both strikeouts (64) and innings pitched (51.0) while sitting in seventh in ERA (3.71). Jones has thrown at least six innings in all eight outings this season and has struck out at least eight on five occasions.
• Dating back to last season, 12 of Jones' last 13 starts have gone at least six innings.
• One more note on Jones – he ranks atop the MAC and 26^th in the country in K/BB ratio (7.11). He has 64 strikeouts to just nine walks on the year.
• Jeron Williams has done his job out of the leadoff spot for the Rockets; he is hitting .304 in the 10 games he's hit leadoff and scored 12 runs.
• Mason Sykes has already exceeded his home run total from last season with eight. He is tied for second in the MAC in home runs this year, one of four players with at least eight dingers.
• John Servello is hitting .348 in conference play and is tied for the second in the MAC with 10 stolen bases in league play.
• Servello's 13 total stolen bases this season are already the most by a Rocket since Tyler Grogg stole 26 bags in 2014
• Freshman Garret Pike recently had an on-base streak of 16 games snapped, the longest such streak by a Rocket this season.
• Opponents have outscored Toledo 24-11 in the first inning of games this season, while the Rockets have done the bulk of their damage in the middle innings, outscoring opponents 20-13 in the fourth innings and 28-19 in the sixth.

 
About Kent State
Kent State brings an overall record of 12-15 and a MAC record of 7-7 into this weekend's series. The Golden Flashes have split every MAC series they have played this season, going 2-2 against Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, and Ohio while going 1-1 against Central Michigan in a weather-shortened series. They hosted No. 25 UConn for three games from April 1-3, going 1-2 against the Huskies. Kent State leads the MAC and ranks in the Top 50 in the country in hitting (.294) and has seven players hitting .300 or higher: Kyle Jackson (.364), Connor Ashby (.358), Josh Johnson (.348), Justin Miknis (.337), Aidan Longwell (.315), Justin Kirby (.307), and Mike McNamara (.307).

Tickets for Battle of I-75 at Fifth Third Field On Sale Now!
Toledo will play arch-rival Bowling Green at Fifth Third Field on Tuesday, May 10. Tickets for Toledo's game at Fifth Third Field are on sale now and can be purchased through the Toledo Mud Hens ticket office online by visiting this link. General admission tickets will be $8.00, with discounted tickets available for high school and college students.