Ball State University Athletics
Wednesday, May 20
Avon, Ohio
12:30 PM
Ball State University
vs
Toledo
Photo by: Caden Vincent
Baseball Opens MAC Tournament Playing No. 3 Seed Toledo on Wednesday Afternoon
May 19, 2026 | Baseball
The Ball State baseball team begins the MAC Tournament at ForeFront Field in Avon, Ohio playing No. 3 seed Toledo on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.
Links to buy tickets, watch and listen to the broadcasts and view live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.
No. 6 seed Ball State (25-28, 18-15 Mid-American Conference) swept Bowling Green over the weekend to enter postseason play on a four-game winning streak. The Cardinals needed one win to clinch a spot in the six-team field and got it with a 6-3 decision in Thursday's series opener.
Toledo (29-27, 21-12 MAC) won a tiebreaker with Northern Illinois to claim the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. The Rockets went 2-2 last week including a 9-6 win over Kent State in Saturday's regular season finale.
The two teams faced off a few weeks ago, as the Rockets swept a three-game set at home on the first three days of the month of May.
Head coach Rob Reinstetle is in his seventh season as the head coach at Toledo, who was picked to finish fourth in the MAC preseason poll.
The Rockets pace the MAC and are among the national leaders in doubles (133, No. 5 in NCAA Division I), getting hit by pitches (133, No. 2) and total hits (581, No. 16). The Toledo offense is second in the MAC and No. 23 nationally in runs scored (443). One of the top pitching staffs in the league, the Rockets lead the conference in strikeouts per nine innings (9.7) and rank second in the MAC in both ERA (5.47) and WHIP (1.51).
Redshirt junior third baseman Troy Sudbrook is the national leader in doubles (32) while ranking second in the MAC and No. 25 in NCAA Division I with 66 RBI. Senior right-handed pitcher Nathan Leininger boasts the top ERA in the league (2.90) among qualifiers and has notched the second-most strikeouts (82).
If Ball State beats Toledo, the Cardinals will be scheduled to face top seed Miami at 2 p.m. on Thursday. With a loss, Ball State will either play No. 4 seed Northern Illinois or No. 5 seed Western Michigan at 10 a.m. on Thursday.
COMING IN HOT: Ball State enters the MAC Tournament riding a four-game winning streak after sweeping Bowling Green over the weekend.
The last time a Ball State team went into the conference tourney on that long of a streak was in 2022 when the Cardinals swept a four-game series from Miami on its way to a MAC regular season title.
REMATCH WITH THE ROCKETS: Ball State and Toledo are set to square off in the MAC Tournament for the third straight season.
The Cardinals knocked the Rockets out of the tournament in 2024 with a 5-1 win in the opener and a 4-3 decision two days later. Toledo got revenge in 2025 with a 13-10 win to erase Ball State from the double elimination bracket.
DOING DAMAGE AS THE DESIGNATED HITTER: Sophomore Brayden Huebner stands among the league leaders in multiple offensive categories entering this weekend.
The right-handed batter, who has slotted in as the DH and leadoff hitter for the balance of the season, ranks third in the MAC in slugging percentage (.661), fourth in OPS (1.099) and runs scored (61), eighth in doubles (15) and tenth in homers (12).
CLEAN FIELDING AND TURNING TWO: Ball State leads the league in double plays turned (42) and ranks third in the MAC with a .977 fielding percentage.
The 2025 Cardinals finished the season ranking fourth in NCAA Division I in fielding percentage (.983) and 20th with 49 double plays.
QUICK CARDINALS: Seniors Gavin Balius and Brett Griffiths are near the top of the national leaderboards in stolen bases and triples, respectively.
Balius has swiped 40 bags to pace the MAC and rank fourth in NCAA Division I, while Griffith's six triples are the eighth-most nationally. Justin Love (44 steals in 1997) and Zach Cole (nine triples in 2022) hold Ball State program records in those categories.
SEVENTEEN ON SUNDAY: The Ball State offense scored 17 runs in the May 10 win at Northern Illinois for the third time in MAC play this year.
The scoring output ties a team-best in conference play with previous wins against Eastern Michigan (17-13 on March 13) and Ohio (17-7 on March 29). This is the first time since the 2016 season that Ball State has scored 17+ runs in a MAC game three times in a year. That season's team put up 17 and 20 runs in back-to-back games against Ohio in early April and 21 vs Western Michigan the following week.
COMEBACK CARDINALS: Ball State's 10-9 win over UMass on April 25 was its fifth this season when trailing entering the ninth inning.
The walk-off home run from Jack Bakus was the first of the year for the Cardinals, while Griffiths delivered a pair of walk-off knocks earlier in the campaign (March 8 vs Central Michigan and April 11 vs Akron). The two wins at Western Michigan (March 21 and 22) also featured comebacks from down 6-3 and 4-3 going into the ninth, respectively.
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Links to buy tickets, watch and listen to the broadcasts and view live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.
No. 6 seed Ball State (25-28, 18-15 Mid-American Conference) swept Bowling Green over the weekend to enter postseason play on a four-game winning streak. The Cardinals needed one win to clinch a spot in the six-team field and got it with a 6-3 decision in Thursday's series opener.
Toledo (29-27, 21-12 MAC) won a tiebreaker with Northern Illinois to claim the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. The Rockets went 2-2 last week including a 9-6 win over Kent State in Saturday's regular season finale.
The two teams faced off a few weeks ago, as the Rockets swept a three-game set at home on the first three days of the month of May.
Head coach Rob Reinstetle is in his seventh season as the head coach at Toledo, who was picked to finish fourth in the MAC preseason poll.
The Rockets pace the MAC and are among the national leaders in doubles (133, No. 5 in NCAA Division I), getting hit by pitches (133, No. 2) and total hits (581, No. 16). The Toledo offense is second in the MAC and No. 23 nationally in runs scored (443). One of the top pitching staffs in the league, the Rockets lead the conference in strikeouts per nine innings (9.7) and rank second in the MAC in both ERA (5.47) and WHIP (1.51).
Redshirt junior third baseman Troy Sudbrook is the national leader in doubles (32) while ranking second in the MAC and No. 25 in NCAA Division I with 66 RBI. Senior right-handed pitcher Nathan Leininger boasts the top ERA in the league (2.90) among qualifiers and has notched the second-most strikeouts (82).
If Ball State beats Toledo, the Cardinals will be scheduled to face top seed Miami at 2 p.m. on Thursday. With a loss, Ball State will either play No. 4 seed Northern Illinois or No. 5 seed Western Michigan at 10 a.m. on Thursday.
COMING IN HOT: Ball State enters the MAC Tournament riding a four-game winning streak after sweeping Bowling Green over the weekend.
The last time a Ball State team went into the conference tourney on that long of a streak was in 2022 when the Cardinals swept a four-game series from Miami on its way to a MAC regular season title.
REMATCH WITH THE ROCKETS: Ball State and Toledo are set to square off in the MAC Tournament for the third straight season.
The Cardinals knocked the Rockets out of the tournament in 2024 with a 5-1 win in the opener and a 4-3 decision two days later. Toledo got revenge in 2025 with a 13-10 win to erase Ball State from the double elimination bracket.
DOING DAMAGE AS THE DESIGNATED HITTER: Sophomore Brayden Huebner stands among the league leaders in multiple offensive categories entering this weekend.
The right-handed batter, who has slotted in as the DH and leadoff hitter for the balance of the season, ranks third in the MAC in slugging percentage (.661), fourth in OPS (1.099) and runs scored (61), eighth in doubles (15) and tenth in homers (12).
CLEAN FIELDING AND TURNING TWO: Ball State leads the league in double plays turned (42) and ranks third in the MAC with a .977 fielding percentage.
The 2025 Cardinals finished the season ranking fourth in NCAA Division I in fielding percentage (.983) and 20th with 49 double plays.
QUICK CARDINALS: Seniors Gavin Balius and Brett Griffiths are near the top of the national leaderboards in stolen bases and triples, respectively.
Balius has swiped 40 bags to pace the MAC and rank fourth in NCAA Division I, while Griffith's six triples are the eighth-most nationally. Justin Love (44 steals in 1997) and Zach Cole (nine triples in 2022) hold Ball State program records in those categories.
SEVENTEEN ON SUNDAY: The Ball State offense scored 17 runs in the May 10 win at Northern Illinois for the third time in MAC play this year.
The scoring output ties a team-best in conference play with previous wins against Eastern Michigan (17-13 on March 13) and Ohio (17-7 on March 29). This is the first time since the 2016 season that Ball State has scored 17+ runs in a MAC game three times in a year. That season's team put up 17 and 20 runs in back-to-back games against Ohio in early April and 21 vs Western Michigan the following week.
COMEBACK CARDINALS: Ball State's 10-9 win over UMass on April 25 was its fifth this season when trailing entering the ninth inning.
The walk-off home run from Jack Bakus was the first of the year for the Cardinals, while Griffiths delivered a pair of walk-off knocks earlier in the campaign (March 8 vs Central Michigan and April 11 vs Akron). The two wins at Western Michigan (March 21 and 22) also featured comebacks from down 6-3 and 4-3 going into the ninth, respectively.
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