Ball State University Athletics
Wednesday, May 20
Avon, Ohio
12:30 PM
Ball State University
25-29
2
vs
8
Toledo
30-27
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
| Toledo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | 8 | 12 | 1 |
Photo by: Josh Brunette
Baseball Can't Capitalize on Early Bases Loaded Opportunity in Setback to No. 3 Seed Toledo to Start MAC Tournament
May 20, 2026 | Baseball
AVON, Ohio – The Ball State baseball team couldn't capitalize on a bases loaded opportunity in the top of the fourth inning, and Toledo gained control from there as the Rockets won 8-2 in the Mid-American Conference Tournament opener on Wednesday afternoon at ForeFront Field.
The No. 6 seed Cardinals (25-29) tied the game at 1-1 in the second on a sacrifice fly by Max Kalk to score Brett Griffiths after the No. 3 seed Rockets (30-27) struck first with a solo home run in the first inning.
Ball State loaded the bases on a Griffiths single, Jacob Gillis walk and Kenskey Thomas single in the fourth, but Toledo got out of the jam with a pair of fielder's choice groundouts and plated three runs each in both the fourth and fifth innings to gain a 7-1 advantage.
Thomas hit an RBI single in the sixth to plate Griffiths for Ball State's other run of the day. The Rockets produced an insurance tally in the eighth frame for the afternoon's final scoring.
Griffiths reached base each of the four times he came up to the plate including three walks and a single, while Ryan Muizelaar and Thomas each had two hits for the Cardinals. Brayden Huebner and Gavin Balius collected one double each.
Brendan Garza (4-6) struck out five in 4.1 innings of work for Ball State but allowed six runs to suffer the loss. Zach Kwasny went 3.0 innings of one-run ball with three strikeouts in relief.
Nathan Leininger (9-1) went the distance and notched eight strikeouts to earn the win for the Rockets. Troy Sudbrook led the Toledo offense with three hits, including a homer, and two RBI.
Ball State will next play the loser of the Wednesday evening game between No. 4 seed Northern Illinois and No. 5 seed Western Michigan game on Thursday at 10 a.m.
The No. 6 seed Cardinals (25-29) tied the game at 1-1 in the second on a sacrifice fly by Max Kalk to score Brett Griffiths after the No. 3 seed Rockets (30-27) struck first with a solo home run in the first inning.
Ball State loaded the bases on a Griffiths single, Jacob Gillis walk and Kenskey Thomas single in the fourth, but Toledo got out of the jam with a pair of fielder's choice groundouts and plated three runs each in both the fourth and fifth innings to gain a 7-1 advantage.
Thomas hit an RBI single in the sixth to plate Griffiths for Ball State's other run of the day. The Rockets produced an insurance tally in the eighth frame for the afternoon's final scoring.
Griffiths reached base each of the four times he came up to the plate including three walks and a single, while Ryan Muizelaar and Thomas each had two hits for the Cardinals. Brayden Huebner and Gavin Balius collected one double each.
Brendan Garza (4-6) struck out five in 4.1 innings of work for Ball State but allowed six runs to suffer the loss. Zach Kwasny went 3.0 innings of one-run ball with three strikeouts in relief.
Nathan Leininger (9-1) went the distance and notched eight strikeouts to earn the win for the Rockets. Troy Sudbrook led the Toledo offense with three hits, including a homer, and two RBI.
Ball State will next play the loser of the Wednesday evening game between No. 4 seed Northern Illinois and No. 5 seed Western Michigan game on Thursday at 10 a.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: LEININGER, Nathan (9-1)
L: Garza, Brendan (4-6)
Batting:
2B: Huebner, Brayden 1 ; Balius, Gavin 1
RBI: Thomas, Kenskey 1 ; Kalk, Max 1
SF: Kalk, Max 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Griffiths, Brett 2
Batting:
2B: BAKER, Cade 2
HR: SUDBROOK, Troy 1
RBI: SUDBROOK, Troy 2 ; BAKER, Cade 1 ; CAHILL, Cole 2 ; PAYNE, Jacob 2 ; SUDBROOK, Ryan 1
SH: PAYNE, Jacob 1
SF: CAHILL, Cole 1
Base Running:
RUNS: SUDBROOK, Troy 1 ; SCHOLVIN, Charlie 1 ; WAGNER, JP 2 ; BAKER, Cade 2 ; CAHILL, Cole 1 ; TAJBLIK, Drew 1
SB: SUDBROOK, Troy 1 ; SCHOLVIN, Charlie 1
HBP: WAGNER, JP 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
ph/rf
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF/OF
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
1B
/ Baseball
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/ BaseballINF
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/ Baseball
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/ BaseballUTIL
/ BaseballOF
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