MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Toledo baseball team opened its weekend series at Central Michigan with a 4-2 win on Thursday evening.
 
The Rockets (32-21, 23-14 MAC) never trailed against the Chippewas (36-16, 28-7 MAC) in their statement win. The victory had far-reaching consequences in the Mid-American Conference standings; CMU entered the weekend in first place, but fell to second place behind Ball State after its 7-4 win over Miami. The top four teams in the conference advance to next week's MAC Tournament and all four spots are already secured: Ball State, Central Michigan, Toledo, and Ohio. All that is left to decide is seeding and tournament location.
 
"What an awesome way to start this weekend," head coach Rob Reinstetle said. "Central Michigan is a very good baseball team, but so are we. We expected to come here and win this weekend. Kyle Jones set the tone on the day with arguably his best start of the season. Big congrats to Kyle for breaking the single-season strikeout record as well. Cal McAninch was equally as good out of the bullpen to finish it off. The offense was up to the task today against one of the better arms in the league. Mason Sykes had a big day at the plate, but as an offense we found ways to score. I have zero doubts in my mind that tomorrow's doubleheader will be a very intense battle between two really good teams."
 
Jones was terrific on Thursday, striking out seven across six innings and allowing just one run. He became Toledo's all-time single-season strikeout leader in the first inning, surpassing the previous record of 102 set by Jeremy Griffiths in 1999. Jones ended the day with 108 strikeouts on the year. McAninch allowed a run for the first time since April 15, but kept the Chippewas in check with zero walks in three innings of work.
 
At the plate, Sykes turned in a perfect 4-for-4 day with a home run and three runs scored. Redshirt freshman Trey Wright and sophomore Scott Mackiewicz both drove in runs for Toledo as well.
 
Toledo and CMU will face off in a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 1:00 p.m.
 
How it Happened

• Jones struck out two batters in the first inning, the second of which secured his single-season strikeout record.
• Sykes opened the scoring with a one-out, solo home run in the top of the second to put the Rockets up 1-0.
• Wright's two-out hit in the top of the fourth made it 2-0. Sykes reached on a one-out single, then senior Nicky Winterstein walked two batters later to keep the inning alive. Wright's base hit up the middle scored Sykes and extended Toledo's lead.
• Central Michigan scored its first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth to halve Toledo's advantage and make it 2-1.
• Wright's RBI fielder's choice got that run back and put the score at 3-1 in the top of the sixth.
• The Rockets made it 4-1 in the top of the seventh when sophomore Jeron Williams scored on a CMU error.
• The Chippewas chipped away at the lead with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth, but it was too little too late as Toledo would hold on to win the series opener.