TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo baseball team concludes its regular season this weekend with a four-game series at first-place Central Michigan.
The series opener on Thursday will begin at 3:00 p.m. and will be followed by a Friday doubleheader at 1:00 p.m. First pitch for Saturday's finale is set for 1:00 p.m. as well.
The Rockets (31-21, 22-14 MAC) sit in third place and have already clinched their spot in next week's MAC Tournament, though seeding and tournament location are yet to be determined. The four-team tournament will be held at the site of the regular season champion beginning Wednesday, May 25. Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, CMU (36-15, 28-6 MAC) holds a half-game lead over Ball State (34-17, 28-7 MAC) for the top spot in the MAC. Ohio (26-21, 18-14) currently sits in fourth place ahead of Miami (23-29, 18-18 MAC).
Last Time Out
Toledo hosted Northern Illinois in its final home series of the year this past weekend and took three of four games from the Huskies.
After dropping the first game of Friday's doubleheader, UT came back to win the next three games to capture the weekend series and punch its ticket to the MAC Tournament.
An 11-3 victory in game two of Friday's twin bill was followed by a 10-0 run-rule win on Saturday. The Rockets then won on Sunday, 4-1, to close out their home season at Scott Park.
Rocket Notes
- The MAC Tournament returns this season after a two-year hiatus. The Rockets last played in the conference tournament in 2018.
- Toledo has reached 30 wins for the 10th time in program history and the first time since the 2012 season.
- The Rockets set a new program record in 2021 with 403 strikeouts, and they're poised to break that record again this season. UT's pitching staff has 395 strikeouts heading into the weekend.
- Toledo is also stealing bases at a record-breaking pace; the 78 stolen bases this season are just five away from the all-time school record of 82 set in 1995.
- Kyle Jones will all but certainly break the program's single-season strikeout record this weekend. He has 101 punchouts on the year, just two away from breaking Jeremy Griffiths' record of 102 that he set in the 1999 season.
- Jones leads the MAC in strikeouts, innings pitched (80.2), and K/BB ratio (5.94) and ranks fifth in the league in ERA (3.91).
About Central Michigan
Central Michigan enters the weekend with a 36-15 record and a 28-6 ledger in MAC play, having won seven of its last eight games. The Chippewas had won 21 straight MAC games and 18 straight games overall at one point this season before being swept by second-place Ball State at the end of April. CMU is one of the best teams in the country at getting on base, ranking fourth in the nation in on-base percentage (.423) and seventh in walks (297). Senior infielder Mario Camilletti leads the charge offensively with a .395 batting average, .517 on-base percentage, and 64 runs scored, all of which lead the team. On the mound, Central Michigan ranks second in the MAC in ERA (4.55) and strikeouts (439).
