The Toledo Rockets (35-29, 21-14) pulled off the unthinkable in the final Saturday match of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament as the fifth seed, sending home the two-seeded Kent State Golden Flashes (38-18, 24-9) with a score of six to two.
With both teams playing a minimum of three games in the tournament before their Saturday showdown, the bullpen would become key, and the Golden Flashes would struggle, depleting five arms compared to the Rockets two.
A massive reason why Toledo managed to save what was left of their bullpen was due to a standout performance from redshirt freshman righthanded pitcher Ryan Kennedy, who went six total innings, allowing just two hits for two runs with seven walks and eight strikeouts on 109 pitches.
Kent State, on the other hand, would switch pitchers early and often as they were hit quickly in the first three innings when senior catcher Brady White hit a hard single to score two in the second inning.
This was followed up in the first at-bat of the third as senior outfielder Caden Konczak mashed a home run to right field, putting Kent State at risk of blowing up in their final game of the season.
Reigning MAC Player of the Year, graduate student right fielder Hayden Jatczak answered with a smashed home run of his own, putting the Flashes in striking distance down two.
As the contest ran on, both coaches would try their hardest to manage their bullpens, not wanting to give too much away in case either team made the championship game.
During these four innings stints, a bases-loaded walk by Kennedy in the fifth and a single by Toledo’s redshirt sophomore infielder Troy Sudbrook, also in the fifth, were the only two scores in that span, putting the Rockets up four to two.
Seeing their chance to choke the game out from Kent State, Toledo took their chance as senior outfielder Luke Leto smoked a two-run home run over the fence in right field, proving to be the final push needed to knock off Kent State.
A scoreless ninth inning led to a massive celebration in the stands for Rocket players and fans alike while the reigning Co-MAC Champions were sent home a game away from the championship.
With the win, the Toledo Rockets advance to the MAC Tournament Championship for the first time since the 2013 season, which saw Bowling Green shutout the Rockets 1-0, as Toledo seek their first MAC Tournament Championship in their school’s history.
