AVON, Ohio – The Toledo baseball team gutted out a back-and-forth affair to eliminate Ball State from the MAC Tournament in a 13-10 victory at Crushers Stadium on Saturday.
 
The Rockets (31-28) took the lead first in the third inning. After falling behind 6-4 after six frames, Toledo exploded for seven runs in the seventh inning to take an 11-6 lead. Ball State drew closer in the seventh and eighth innings, but Nathan Leininger recorded key outs to preserve the 11-10 edge, before two ninth-inning insurance runs closed the scoring.
 
The Rockets won their second elimination game of the tournament for the second-straight season and have won three games in a tournament for the first time since 2013. Toledo's bats continued their production entering the tournament, marking a fifth double-digit scoring effort in seven games.
 
This evening, Toledo will play the loser of the ongoing Kent State-Miami game, which will air again on ESPN+. This evening's winner will advance to Sunday's championship.
 
Quoting Head Coach Rob Reinstetle
"What a gritty game by our guys today. They got down but battled back inning after inning. What a gutsy performance by Bergman and Leininger. The bats continued to produce up and down the lineup. We'll need that tonight in this next game."
 
Top Rocket Hitters

• Caden Konczak – 2-for-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB
• Cole Cahill – 2-for-5, 3 RBIs, 1 R, 1 BB
• Brayden White – 3-for-5, 1 RBI, 1 R
• Kaleb Herbert – 2-for-5, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB
• Luke Walton – 2-for-5, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 HBP 

Pitching Lines 

• Jackson Bergman – 5.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• RJ Shunck (W, 3-2) – 1.0+ IP, 0 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB
• Nathan Leininger (SAVE, 1) – 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 Ks

How It Happened

• Ball State took a 2-0 lead in the first on an infield single and an RBI double with two outs.
• Toledo batted around in the third to take a 4-2 edge. Charlie Scholvin doubled and Cole Cahill singled to tie the game, before a wild pitch and a Brayden White single pushed Toledo ahead.
• Ball State took advantage of Toledo defensive miscues in the third and fourth innings, pushing ahead, 5-4 after the fourth.
• A solo home run by Alex Richter extended Ball State's lead to 6-4 in the fifth.
• Six-straight Rockets reached in the seventh to take the lead, with Luke Walton supplying an RBI single and Kaleb Herbert and Caden Konczak each with bases-loaded walks. Troy Sudbrook followed with an RBI groundout for an 8-6 advantage.
• Toledo further extended the lead with two outs in the inning, as Cole Cahill brought home two with a first-pitch RBI single, before a double-steal play brought home Scholvin for an 11-6 advantage.
• Ball State loaded the bases and scored on a two-run single in the bottom of the seventh. Nathan Leininger then induced a ground-ball double play and got a strikeout to keep an 11-9 advantage.
• The Cardinals pulled to within 11-10 in the eighth on a solo home run by Dylan Grego.
• Toledo brought home two key insurance runs in the ninth, loading the bases before Troy Sudbrook's bases-loaded walk and a Luke Leto hit-by-pitch. Ball State went 1-2-3 in the ninth to finish off the game.