TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo baseball team steps outside of Mid-American Conference play this week to face a pair of Horizon League foes in midweek action.

The Rockets (14-16, 6-9 MAC) will visit Youngstown State (6-24, 3-8 Horizon) on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. before returning home to host Wright State (16-15, 7-5 Horizon) on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday's game vs. Wright State will be streamed live on ESPN+ and televised locally on BCSN.

Toledo has already faced the Youngstown State and Wright State this season. The Rockets prevailed vs. the Penguins, 7-2, at Scott Park on March 28 but lost to the Raiders, 6-2, on the road on March 15.

Toledo 7, Youngstown State 2 (March 28)

The Rockets halted nearly every Youngstown State rally, stranding 13 YSU baserunners on the afternoon. UT also took advantage of three Penguin errors and saw solid pitching from six different hurlers to capture its third straight win. Jeron Williams went 2-for-3 with an RBI double and two stolen bases. Redshirt freshman Dane Hall got the start in the game and twirled four shutout innings.

Wright State 6, Toledo 2 (March 15)

The Rockets struck first with a run in the top of the first inning to take an early lead, but that would be their only lead of the game. The Raiders answered with a run in the bottom half of the first and took the lead for good in the third. Toledo added a late run to its total in the eighth inning, but couldn't get much going on offense against the two-time defending Horizon League champs.

Rocket Notes

• Jeron Williams is among the national leaders in stolen bases (24) and hits (52). He ranks sixth in the nation in stolen bases and 14^th in hits.
• Williams is one of just two players in Division I to rank among the Top 15 players in the nation in both stolen bases and hits, the other being West Virginia's J.J. Wetherholt.
• Williams has six games with multiple stolen bases this year, and has two thefts in each of his last two games.
• Troy Sudbrook returned to the starting lineup on March 25 and has reached base in all 10 games since that game. The freshman is hitting .378 over the last 10 games and rank second on the team in hits (14) and runs scored (12) during that span.
• Toledo is the top home run hitting team in the MAC and one of the best in the country, ranking atop the league and 33^rd in the nation with 49 home runs. The program record for home runs in a season is 65 set in 2002.
• Individually, Owen Jackson and Mason Sykes are on pace to threaten the single-season and career home run records, respectively.
• Jackson is third in the MAC lead with 11 home runs through 30 games, which puts him on a pace that would break the single-season mark of 16 home runs set last year by Sykes.
• Sykes owns 32 career home runs entering play this week, three behind Toledo's career home run leader Dan Sherwood (2008-11), who hit 35 homers in his time at UT.
• Sykes' 32 career home runs are the most among active MAC players.
• Three of the top six home run hitters in the MAC are Rockets: Jackson, Sykes, and Garret Pike (nine).
• Noah Johnson's 54 strikeouts rank fourth among MAC pitchers. He has eight outings this year with at least eight strikeouts, including a season-high 11 vs. Akron on March 24.

 

About Youngstown State

The Penguins have lost eight of their last nine games, their lone victory in that stretch coming in a wild 15-14 walk-off win vs. Purdue Fort Wayne on April 1. Trey Law is the team's top hitter, leading his squad with a .364 batting average and a .434 on-base percentage. Padraig O'Shaughnessy leads YSU with four home runs and 27 RBIs.

About Wright State

Wright State has lost four of its last five games, including a series sweep at the hands of Milwaukee over the weekend. The Raiders rank second in the Horizon league in many offensive categories including team batting average (.269), runs scored (202), slugging percentage (.433), and on-base percentage (.377). Their pitching staff has accumulated a league-best 259 strikeouts and is led by Sebastian Gongora (4-1, 2.43 ERA, 37 strikeouts).

Next Up

Toledo will visit Samford this weekend for a three-game series.