KENT, Ohio – The Toledo softball team split a twin bill with Kent State in Mid-American Conference action in Kent, Ohio on Tuesday afternoon. The Rockets picked up an 11-4 win in game one but fell 11-5 in the second contest.

The Rockets (18-27, 11-13 MAC) remain just one game in the loss column behind sixth-place Northern Illinois (19-37, 13-12 MAC) for the final spot in the Mid-American Conference tournament. Toledo and NIU will play each other in the final series of the regular season.

In game one, The Rockets took a 3-0 lead in the first inning behind a Samantha Bolding two-run shot to left and never looked back during the seven-run victory. Bolding's homer was her 13^th of the season, which places her in a tie for second-place with Rhonda King and Dayna Denner for most home runs in a single season. Sophia Knight threw 5.2 innings and gave up four runs while sophomore Mady Yackee threw two scoreless innings to close out the game.

In the nightcap, Kent State (12-37, 4-20 MAC) scored six runs in the second inning to blow open a tied game. Sophia Knight had a strong effort in relief, throwing 3.0 scoreless innings and striking out five. The senior righty now ranks sixth in program history with 395 career strikeouts.

Hitting Highlights
Includes both games

• Sidney Griffith - 4-for-8, 4 R, 2B, 2 RBI, 1BB, 2 SB
  • 13^th multi-hit game of the season; sixth multi-RBI game of the season
• Audrey Miller – 4-for-8, 1R, 2B, 4 RBI
  • 14^th multi-hit game of the season; 10^th multi-RBI game of the season
• Samantha Bolding – 2-for-7, 2 R, HR (13), 2 RBI
  • 13^th multi-hit game of the season; ninth multi-RBI game of the season
• Eliza Maloney – 2-for-2, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1BB
  • Sixth multi-hit game of the season

Pitching Highlights

• Sophia Knight (Game 1 – W, 11-11) – 5.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
• Mady Yackee (Game 1) – 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 K
• Sophia Knight (Game 2) – 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 5 K

How It Happened
Game One

• Samantha Bolding crushed a two-run shot to left to put Toledo up early in the first, 3-0.
• The Rockets tacked on four runs in the second inning to extend the lead, 7-0.
• Kent State got on the board in the third with a pair of RBIs, 7-2.
• Eliza Maloney and Sidney Griffith tallied RBIs in the seventh to push Toledo's final runs across, 11-4.

Game Two

• Kent State took a 2-0 lead in the first with a string of singles.
• Maris Barbato rocked a two-run homer to left center in the second to even the contest, 2-2.
• The Golden Flashes regained the lead with a six-run second inning, 8-2.
• An RBI double from Eli Enriquez got the Rockets within five during the fourth, 9-4. Kent State responded with two runs of its own in the home half of the frame to extend the lead to 11-4.
• Toledo got its first three baserunners aboard in the top of the seventh and tallied a run off a fielder's choice, 11-5, but was unable to get any closer.

Up Next
Toledo wraps up regular-season play with a three-game series against Northern Illinois on Saturday-Sunday, May 3-4 at Scott Park. The series begins with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

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