Toledo Enters MAC Tournament As No. 3 Seed; Opens on Wednesday Against Ball State

TOLEDO, Ohio – The No. 3 seed Toledo baseball team will compete in the Mid-American Conference Tournament for the third consecutive season, when the Rockets begin the tournament against No. 6 seed Ball State on Wednesday, May 20 at 12:30 p.m. at ForeFront Field in Avon, Ohio.

Toledo enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed, having moved into a top-three position after a 9-6 win over Kent State in the regular season finale. The Rockets finished the regular season with a 29-27 overall record and a 21-12 league mark.

With a win on Wednesday, the Rockets will advance to play No. 2 seed Kent State at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. A loss would create an elimination game matchup against No. 4 seed Northern Illinois or No. 5 seed Western Michigan at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday.

UT will look to return to the MAC Tournament Championship game for a second-straight year. The Rockets reached the tournament title game for the third time in program history in 2025, winning a program-record four games to get there, including three elimination games. The Rockets fell to No. 1 seed Miami in the title game.

The Rockets will be one of four teams in the field which have appeared in the tournament the last three seasons, joining No. 1 seed Miami, Kent State and Ball State.

Leading Off

Toledo will make its fourth appearance in the tournament under Head Coach Rob Reinstetle, having also appeared in the 2022, 2024 and 2025 tournaments. The Rockets have a 7-6 record under Reinstetle across three previous appearances.
The seven wins include six triumphs in elimination games, including three elimination-contest victories in 2025.
Toledo's No. 3 seeding is tied for Toledo's highest under Reinstetle. The Rockets were also the No. 3 seed in 2022, No. 6 seed in 2024 and No. 5 seed in 2025.
Ball State is a familiar foe in Toledo's recent trips to the MAC Tournament. The Cardinals defeated Toledo twice in 2024 to eliminate the Rockets. Then, Toledo knocked out the Cardinals in 2025 in a 13-10 slugfest.
The Rockets swept Ball State in the regular season, with victories of 8-3, 5-4 and 20-3 (7 inn.) at Scott Park. The sweep clinched the Rockets' spot in the tournament.
Toledo enters the tournament having won 11 of its last 14 games, a stretch which included a season-high seven-game winning streak.
The Rockets' .636 winning percentage in the MAC was their highest conference winning percentage under Reinstetle. Toledo won 7-of-11 MAC series in the regular season and was not swept by a MAC opponent.
Toledo had an 8-7 regular season record against the MAC Tournament field.

Hitting Highlights

Toledo established itself as one of the top offenses in the MAC out of the gate in 2026. Entering tournament play, Toledo leads the league in doubles (133) and hit by pitches (133), and is second in the MAC in average (.306), runs scored (443) and on-base percentage (.414).
Nationally, the Rockets are second in hit by pitches, tied for fifth in doubles, 23rd in runs, 27th in on-base percentage and 28th in average.
Toledo scored in double figures 17 times and reached 20 runs in a game five times in the regular season.
Junior Troy Sudbrook enters the season as the national leader in doubles with 32, leading Division I by four doubles. He is also tied for 25th in the nation with 66 RBIs and 34th with 79 hits. Sudbrook has already broken single-season program records for doubles and RBIs.
Sudbrook's doubles and RBI numbers rank first and second in the MAC, respectively. He also ranks third in the MAC in OPS (1.126) and hits, fourth in slugging percentage (.660) and 10th in average.
Junior Charlie Scholvin is tied for third in the nation in hit by pitches (31). Scholvin is at the top of several MAC ranks, including second in runs scored (64), fourth in hits (77) and stolen bases (23), fifth in on-base percentage (.507), tied for fifth in doubles (16) and eighth in batting average (.374).
Classmate Cade Baker is tied for 10th in the nation in doubles (21) and tied for 16th in hit by pitches (24). He ranks second in both categories in the MAC along with tied for fifth in hits (75).
Liam Arsich established himself as one of the top freshmen in the MAC over the regular season, with a .340 average, a .416 on-base percentage, five home runs, 38 RBIs, 41 runs and 15 doubles. He also stole 15 bases.
Combined, Scholvin, Sudbrook, Baker and Arsich combined for 93 multi-hit games in the regular season, with Sudbrook and Scholvin each tallying 27 multi-hit bids. The aforementioned four plus junior JP Wagner (.343) are all hitting above .300 this season.

On the Mound

The Rockets, led by pitching coach Jacob Condra-Bogan, lead the league with 504 strikeouts as a team. Toledo is second in the MAC with a 5.45 ERA and a .258 opponent average.
Toledo's pitchers allowed the fewest doubles in the MAC (77) and the second-fewest home runs (42) in the regular season.
Senior Nathan Leininger led the MAC in the regular season with a 2.90 ERA, a .208 opponent average and 87.0 innings pitched. He was also second in the league in wins (8) and strikeouts (82). Leininger won seven-straight starts from Feb. 28 through April 10 and was named the MAC Pitcher of the Week on March 23.
Freshman Hayden Frey established himself in the rotation with a 3.72 ERA, a .224 opponent batting average and 72.2 innings pitched. Frey ranks fifth in the MAC in ERA and sixth in opponent average.
Redshirt freshman Michael Fliss started the last six weekends of the season. Over his last five starts, Fliss has a 4-0 record, a 3.33 ERA, 13 strikeouts per nine innings and a .238 opponent average.
Out of the bullpen, Nate Langbehn (5.44 ERA, 63 strikeouts) and Deron Swanson (4.75 ERA, 58 strikeouts) have combined for 98.0 innings in 40 appearance, four wins and seven saves. Langbehn is holding opponents to a .230 average in 23 outings.

Players Mentioned

Liam Arsich

Cade Baker

Michael Fliss

Hayden Frey

Nate Langbehn

Nathan Leininger

Charlie Scholvin

Troy Sudbrook

Deron Swanson

JP Wagner