KENT, Ohio – The Toledo baseball team fell in a low-scoring series opener against Kent State, falling to the Golden Flashes, 4-2 at Olga Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium on Friday.
 
The Rockets (9-15, 4-6 MAC) led 1-0 through four innings, but the Golden Flashes (12-11, 5-2 MAC) took the lead in the fifth inning and extended the lead in the sixth and seventh, moving past the Rockets behind a four-hit effort from its pitching staff.
 
Quoting Head Coach Rob Reinstetle
"Kent State didn't beat us tonight, we beat ourselves. Both Brady Sasse and Braden Curry pitched well enough to win and deserved better results. We shot ourselves in the foot defensively and did nothing with the bats. Our defense opened the door for Kent State to score runs. That is uncharacteristic of us and needs to get cleaned up quickly."
 
Top Rocket Hitters 

• Caden Konczak – 2-for-4, HR (6), 1 RBI, 1 R
  • Home run in back-to-back games
• Tre Mariano – 1-for-3, 1 R

Pitching Lines 

• Brady Sasse (L, 0-2) – 4.0+ IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 Ks
• Braden Curry – 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 Ks

How It Happened

• Caden Konczak homered in the third to put the Rockets ahead, 1-0.
• After the Golden Flashes loaded the bases, a two-out, two-run single gave KSU a 2-1 fifth-inning lead.
• Kent State scored single runs in the sixth and seventh on a Toledo error and an RBI single for a 4-1 advantage.
• Troy Sudbrook got a run back in the eighth on an RBI groundout, but the rally ended on a groundout with Rockets at the corners.

Up Next 
Toledo continues the series with the Golden Flashes on Saturday, March 29. First pitch is at 3:00 and will be streamed on BoxCast.