Toledo baseball stays alive in MAC tournament after beating Kent State

AVON, Ohio — Toledo baseball will continue its run in the 2024 Mid-American Conference Baseball Championship after scoring the first six runs of Thursday’s game to pick up an 8-2 win over Kent State at Crushers Stadium.

The fifth-seeded Rockets (26-31) will now face Miami at 10 a.m. Friday after No.4-seed Miami (27-26) fell to Bowling Green 12-4 on Thursday.

In the regular season, the Redhawks swept the Rockets and outscored them 27-5 over three games.

(Video credit: Mid-American Conference)

Caden Konczak singled twice, doubled once, and scored a pair of runs in the leadoff spot for UT. He got things going in the first for the Rockets when he scored on a sacrifice fly by Luke Walton.

A four-run fifth inning — capped by a Garret Pike two-run home run — opened things up for UT to make it 5-0. The Anthony Wayne grad singled and scored twice.

Trey Wright crushed a homer in the top of the sixth for UT to make it 6-0.

The Golden Flashes (27-27) got a pair back in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a Josh Johnson two-run home run to make it 6-2.

But it was the last time they threatened and UT’s Charlie Scholvin’s two-run single in the top of the ninth made it 8-2 to put the game to bed.

Noah Johnson struck out a half-dozen in 5⅓ innings and allowed just two hits for the Rockets.