Baseball

No. 5 Toledo Rallies Past No. 3 Ball State in Offensive Slugfest, 13–10

Story Courtesy of Toledo Athletic Communications

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.

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.