MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Toledo baseball team picked up a pair of wins on Saturday in a doubleheader sweep at Middle Tennessee.

The Rockets won both games handily, taking the first contest by a score of 8-0 before winning game two 13-3.

Game one saw Toledo shut out the Blue Raiders while collecting 14 hits at the plate. Game two saw similar success on the mound as the Rockets scored a season-high 13 runs on 12 hits while the pitching staff struck out eight MTSU hitters.

"Today we played some really good baseball," head coach Rob Reinstetle said. "Middle Tennessee is a good team and had two really good starters, but today we played up to our capabilities and you see that in the results. I have said numerous times that it all starts on the mound and we got great pitching today. Both Noah Johnson and Jack Walker gave us quality starts, and Cal McAninch and Brennan McCune were fantastic is relief. The offense was outstanding today as well. We had good performances up and down the lineup with everyone contributing. Caden Konczak and Garret Pike each had days that stand out with the bat."

Junior Noah Johnson and senior Cal McAninch were outstanding on the mound in game one. Johnson earned the win with six shutout innings, allowing just six baserunners while striking out eight. McAninch finished the game with three scoreless frames, striking out two. In game two, junior Jack Walker made his first start as a Rocket and struck out three in four innings. Sophomore Brennan McCune pitched the final five innings, striking out five.

At the plate, sophomores Garret Pike and Caden Konczak were both terrific. Pike went 5-for-8 with three extra-base hits and six RBIs across both contests, while Konczak went 5-for-7 with six RBIs and a pair of home runs. Junior Jeron Williams, sophomore Owen Jackson, and senior Daunte DeCello all had multi-hit efforts in the first game and sophomore Brian Fry had two hits and scored twice in game two.

"These were great team wins because we pitched and hit well, and also played good defense," Reinstetle said. "But the unsung hero of the day was our bench. They were awesome and brought so much energy to the game. Tomorrow we have a chance to sweep, which is really hard to do in baseball. If we have that same focus and energy tomorrow, I like our chances."

Toledo will play for the series sweep on Sunday. First pitch is set for 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+.

• The game began as a pitcher's duel, with neither team scoring in the first four innings.
• Caden Konczak broke the scoreless tie with a solo shot in the top of the fifth.
• Konczak's two-out RBI single in the top of the sixth sparked a five-run inning that saw Toledo extend its lead to 6-0. Pike plated two of those runs with a two-run double.
• The Rockets scored two more in the top of the ninth to make it 8-0. Owen Jackson drove home a run on a base hit into right field and Mason Sykes brought home the final run of the game on a sac fly.
• Middle Tennessee nearly spoiled the shutout in the bottom of the ninth with a one-out double, but the runner attempting to score from first was thrown out at the plate by Konczak.

• Garret Pike's two-out solo homer in the top of the third gave Toledo a 1-0 lead.
• Pike made it 3-0 in the top of the fifth with a two-run double.
• Middle Tennessee scored its first two runs of the game in the bottom half of the fifth to make it 3-2.
• The Rockets' bats kept rolling in the top of the sixth, pushing across three more runs to take a 6-2 lead. Jeron Williams brought home the first run on a sac fly and both Pike and Jackson singled home runs to extend the lead.
• Konczak's second homer of the day came in the top of the seventh, a two-run shot that put UT ahead 8-2.
• Brian Fry, Daunte DeCello, and Konczak tallied three consecutive singles that brought home four total runs to push Toledo's lead to 12-2.
• Williams scored on a wild pitch in the top of the ninth to score the final UT run of the game.