Friday, April 12
Toledo, Ohio
4:00 p.m.
University of Toledo
vs
Kent State
Garret Pike enters the weekend with 11 home runs, tied for most in the MAC.
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Toledo and Kent State enter weekend in top-five of MAC standings
TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo baseball team will begin the back half of its Mid-American Conference schedule with a three-game series against Kent State on April 12-14 at Scott Park. Friday's game is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. and first pitch on Saturday and Sunday is set for 1:00. All three contests are set to stream on the Buckeye Cable Sports Network (BCSN) and ESPN+.
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The Rockets (17-16, 10-5 MAC) took a road series against Central Michigan last weekend and are coming off an 18-8 victory at Youngstown State Tuesday night.
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The Golden Flashes (15-15, 7-5 MAC) took 2-of-3 at home against Eastern Michigan last weekend, totaling 41 runs (13.7/game) in the series.
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Toledo sits tied for second in the league standings with Western Michigan, while Kent State is tied for fourth with EMU. The Rockets are 6-3 overall at home and 4-2 in MAC home matchups.
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LAST WEEKEND
Toledo won 7-2 behind 6.0 innings of one-run pitching from Grant Umberger on Friday. Deadlocked at one, the Rockets took the lead for good in the sixth on a two-run double from Brayden White and another RBI double from Luke Walton.
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Toledo rallied from 6-0 down on Saturday to build a 9-6 lead on Saturday, but the Chippewas struck three times in the eighth to tie the game and won in the ninth on a sacrifice fly.
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The Rockets got 4.1 innings of scoreless work from their bullpen, and Caden Konczak's go-ahead two-run home run in the sixth proved to be the difference in a 3-2 victory in the rubber match.
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TOLEDO'S MAC HITTING LEADERS
The weekend series opens a stretch of seven straight games in the Glass City, as Toledo will host Michigan at Fifth Third Field on Tuesday, April 16, followed by a three-game set vs. Miami at Scott Park April 19-21.
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The Rockets (17-16, 10-5 MAC) took a road series against Central Michigan last weekend and are coming off an 18-8 victory at Youngstown State Tuesday night.
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The Golden Flashes (15-15, 7-5 MAC) took 2-of-3 at home against Eastern Michigan last weekend, totaling 41 runs (13.7/game) in the series.
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Toledo sits tied for second in the league standings with Western Michigan, while Kent State is tied for fourth with EMU. The Rockets are 6-3 overall at home and 4-2 in MAC home matchups.
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LAST WEEKEND
Toledo won 7-2 behind 6.0 innings of one-run pitching from Grant Umberger on Friday. Deadlocked at one, the Rockets took the lead for good in the sixth on a two-run double from Brayden White and another RBI double from Luke Walton.
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Toledo rallied from 6-0 down on Saturday to build a 9-6 lead on Saturday, but the Chippewas struck three times in the eighth to tie the game and won in the ninth on a sacrifice fly.
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The Rockets got 4.1 innings of scoreless work from their bullpen, and Caden Konczak's go-ahead two-run home run in the sixth proved to be the difference in a 3-2 victory in the rubber match.
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TOLEDO'S MAC HITTING LEADERS
- Toledo leads the MAC in home runs (56) and total bases (511).
- Walton has 11 doubles, third-most in the MAC. His .667 slugging percentage puts Walton at fourth in the MAC.
- Garret Pike is tied for the most home runs in the league with 11, while Owen Jackson is fourth with 10 and Scott Mackiewicz sits tied for seventh with eight.
- Pike also ranks top-10 in total bases (83, tied for second), hits (44, fifth) and RBIs (31, tied for 10th).
- Jackson has walked 22 times, tied for the second-most among MAC hitters.
- The Rockets hold the best opposing batting average, with opposing hitters batting just .275.
- Grant Umberger enters the weekend with a 3.46 ERA, third-lowest in the league. He is 4-2 in eight starts in 2024, tied for the second-most wins in the league.
- Umberger enters the weekend top-three in the MAC in several categories, allowing just 29 hits, 17 total runs and 15 earned runs.
- Noah Johnson has allowed just two home runs across his eight starts, tied for fourth-fewest in the league. He has also struck out 14 batters looking, tied for sixth-most.
- Toledo has won four of its five conference series this season, including three straight.
- Jackson hit two home runs in Tuesday's victory against Youngstown State, his third multi-home run game of the season.
- White is currently on an 11-game hitting streak, batting .454 (20-for-44) and slugging seven extra-base hits in that span.
- Pike has 10 RBIs in his last six conference games and leads the team with 31 this year.
- The Rockets are 8-2 in conference matchups when the pitching staff allows five or fewer runs.
- Kent State has doubled 57 times, one short of Eastern Michigan for most in the MAC.
- Tim Orr holds an on-base percentage of .487, fourth-highest in the league.
- On the bases, Josh Johnson's 15 stolen bases rank second in the conference.
- Calvin Bickerstaff has limited opponents to a .246 batting average, the ninth-lowest among MAC pitchers. He has allowed the fewest walks in the league and third-fewest in the country, giving up just three all year.
- Also on the bump, Jack Kartsonas leads the team and is ninth among conference pitching with 42 strikeouts.
The weekend series opens a stretch of seven straight games in the Glass City, as Toledo will host Michigan at Fifth Third Field on Tuesday, April 16, followed by a three-game set vs. Miami at Scott Park April 19-21.
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Players Mentioned
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