The Rockets secured the first Mid-American Conference West Division regular season championship in school history on May 18 when they topped Eastern Michigan 5-2 at Scott Park.

Toledo (29-25, 18-8 MAC) eliminated the Eagles (24-28, 14-12) from contention for the title the previous day and went into the game just one game ahead of Central Michigan. A victory over EMU combined with a Chippewas loss, however, clinched the first ever championship for the Rockets.

“Our guys played really well today with a really complete game,” UT head coach Cory Mee said. “It was a big win for us.”

“It’s amazing,” senior starter Matt Kuna said. “It’s what I came here to do when I signed five years ago. Doing that today is just a lot of fun to say that I was a part of it.”

Leading UT to victory was Kuna (7-1, 2.51 ERA) who stifled Eagles hitters all day on his way to earning his team-leading seventh victory of the year. The senior threw seven scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out five.

“Matt was outstanding,” Mee said. “He did exactly what he does, filling the strike zone up, and really puts the pressure on the hitters. I just love the way he pitches, and I think our guys love playing behind him, too.”

With a 5-0 lead going into the ninth, the game got a bit more interesting as Eastern Michigan got to senior reliever Alex Radon, who left the game, giving up two runs in 1.1 innings. Junior Cody Umbright, however, sealed the contest, getting the next two batters out to secure the title for Toledo.

At the plate, junior designated hitter Matt Delewski went 2 for 4 while crossing the plate twice and driving in one. Freshman shortstop Nate Langhals (1 for 2, 2 RBI) drove home a team-high two runs while senior second baseman Joe Corfman (2 for 4, RBI) and sophomore catcher James Miglin (2 for 4, R) each recorded a pair of hits.

With the title secured, the Rockets will finish off the three-game series against EMU looking for the sweep at 1 p.m. May 19. Junior starter Mike Hamann (2-5, 6.08 ERA) will take the mound looking to bring Toledo its sixth straight conference victory.

Tags: Alex Radon, Cody Umbright, Cory Mee, Eastern Michigan, James Miglin, Joe Corfma, Matt Delewski, Matt Kuna, Mid-American Conference, Nate Langhals, Rockets baseball, Zach Davis

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 19th, 2012 at 6:04 pm and is filed under Baseball, College sports, Sports.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

The Rockets jumped out to a 12-2 run on the road and remained atop the Mid-American Conference West Division with a 16-8 win over Bowling Green on May 12.

Toledo is now 26-24 on the season with a 15-8 record in MAC play. They lead Central Michigan (27-25, 14-9 MAC), which has won nine straight games, by one game and Eastern Michigan (23-25, 13-10) by two. The Rockets have just four games against league opponents remaining, including a three-game series at home against the Eagles beginning on May 17.

UT senior first baseman Mark Lapikas, courtesy of UT Athletic Department

Despite a rare poor performance from senior starter Matt Kuna, the Rockets hitters still managed to pull the team to a victory. Kuna (6-1, 2.78 ERA), who entered the game leading the MAC with a 2.09 ERA, gave up a season-high seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits in 4.1 innings of work. In his eight previous starts this year, Kuna had never given up more than three runs.

Senior reliever Alex Radon (1-5, 6.40 ERA) picked up his first win of the season giving up one run over 2.2 innings before junior Cody Umbright finished the game with two scoreless innings.

A day after racking up 14 hits and nine runs, the UT offense continued to roll, recording a season-high in both runs (16) and hits (19).

Senior first baseman Mark Lapikas (4 for 5, 2 R, 2 RBI) paced the team with a career-high four hits and has recorded a hit in eight consecutive contests.

Sophomore catcher James Miglin (2 for 3, 4 R, RBI) crossed the plate four times while junior designated hitter Matt Delewski (2 for 4, R, 3 RBI) and junior third baseman Wes White (1 for 3, 3 RBI) each drove home three. Senior second baseman Joe Corfman (3 for 5, 2 R, RBI) and junior center fielder Ben Hammer (3 for 6, 2 R, RBI) also recorded multihit efforts.

After securing the series victory, Toledo will look to sweep the Falcons at 1 p.m. May 13. Junior starter Mike Hamann (2-5, 6.51 ERA) will take the hill looking for his third win in five starts.

Tags: Alex Radon, Ben Hammer, Cody Umbright, James Miglin, Joe Corfman, Mark Lapikas, Matt Delewski, Matt Kuna, Mid-American Conference, Rockets baseball, Wes White

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 13th, 2012 at 1:29 pm and is filed under Baseball, College sports, Sports.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

After taking an early lead, Michigan State scored seven unanswered runs as it cruised to a 7-2 victory over the Rockets on May 9 in East Lansing.

With the out-of-conference loss, Toledo dropped back to .500 on the season at 24-24. It still remains atop the Mid-American Conference West Division at 13-8, one game ahead of Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan.

Junior starter Jared Locke (3-6, 4.99 ERA), the winner of last year’s matchup on the road at Michigan, was tagged with the loss, allowing four runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings while striking out four. He is 0-3 with a 5.59 ERA in his last six starts.

UT senior first baseman Mark Lapikas, courtesy of UT Athletic Department

Freshman Alec Schmenk pitched 1.2 innings of relief, allowing three runs. Senior Alex Radon finished off the rest of the game with 1.2 scoreless innings.

At the plate, senior first baseman Mark Lapikas (2 for 5, HR) led the way in the second inning with a solo home run to give UT an early lead. He has hit safely in six straight games, batting .360 in that span.

Junior right fielder Andy Mix (2 for 2, R) and freshman shortstop Nate Langhals (2 for 4, RBI) also had a pair of hits and contributed the lone other run of the game after Langhals drove home Mix in the eighth with a single.

Looking to remain in first place, the Rockets will face archrival Bowling Green (19-28, 8-13 MAC) on the road in a three-game series this weekend. The opening game begins at 3 p.m. May 11 with junior Ryan Wilkinson (6-3, 2.67 ERA) scheduled to start.

Tags: Alec Schmenk, Alex Radon, Andy Mix, Jared Locke, Mark Lapikas, Michigan State, Nate Langhals, Rockets baseball, Zach Davis

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 10th, 2012 at 10:36 am and is filed under Baseball, College sports, Sports.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

While trying to extend its season-long winning streak to five games, the Rockets gave up four runs in the ninth inning and lost 6-5 to Western Michigan at Scott Park on April 14.

Toledo dropped to 16-19 on the season with a 5-6 record in Mid-American Conference play, while the Broncos moved to 16-16 on the year with a 6-4 league record.

James Miglin, photo courtesy of UT athletics

Rockets senior Alex Radon got the call in the ninth for the save opportunity and gave up four runs on four hits while walking one in the inning. With the loss, Radon drops to 0-5 on the season with an 8.25 ERA.

The blown save ruined Matt Kuna’s start, as the senior threw six innings of two-run baseball (one earned) allowing five hits while striking out four. Kuna was looking for his team-leading fourth win on the year, owning a 3-1 record and 3.00 ERA in 2012.

Senior Tyler Scott and junior Cody Umbright bridged the gap between Kuna and Radon, pitching two scoreless innings of relief.

Junior third baseman Wes White and sophomore catcher James Miglin each led the Rockets at the plate with three hits in four at bats, while Miglin also recorded a team-high three runs scored. Freshman left fielder Anthony Smith (1 for 3, R, 2 RBI) and senior first baseman Mark Lapikas (1 for 3, 2 RBI) drove in two runs for UT.

Toledo will look to win the rubber match of the series at 1 p.m. April 15 at Scott Park. Junior starter Mike Hamann is scheduled to start and is still looking for his first win of the season, owning an 0-4 record and 7.88 ERA on the year.

Tags: Alex Radon, Anthony Smith, Cody Umbright, James Miglin, Mark Lapikas, Matt Kuna, Mid-American Conference, Rockets baseball, Tyler Scott, Wes White, Western Michigan, Zach Davis

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 15th, 2012 at 10:00 am and is filed under Baseball, College sports, Sports.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

For the second straight season, Toledo has left Ann Arbor with a victory.

The Rockets upset the University of Michigan 6-2 on April 11 for their third straight victory. Toledo had previously lost six consecutive games before their winning streak. UT won 3-1 last year over the Wolverines.

Alex Schmenk continued his stellar freshman campaign by picking up his first victory of the season for the Rockets (15-18). In the first three starts of his career, Schmenk (1-1, 3.38 ERA) has given up less than two runs in each of his outings. The 20-year-old from Perrysburg allowed just five hits and one run against the Wolverines (15-19) in five innings.

UT senior first baseman Mark Lapikas, courtesy of UT Athletic Department

Freshman Andrew Marra, junior Cody Umbright and senior Alex Radon combined to throw four innings of one-run baseball in relief to close out the game.

Leading the UT offense was senior first baseman Mark Lapikas, who went 3 for 4 with two runs and two RBI. Senior right fielder Jeff Cola (2 for 4), sophomore catcher James Miglin (2 for 4, RBI) and freshman shortstop Dan Zuchowski (2 for 3, R) also recorded multihit games.

The Rockets scored four runs in the third inning to break open the game. Michigan chipped away with two runs to cut the lead to 4-2 but Toledo added on two in the ninth to shut the door on UM.

After playing 27 of their first 33 games on the road this season, UT will play at home in Scott Park in 11 of its next 15 games. The Rockets host Western Michigan (15-15, 5-3 Mid-American Conference) in a three-game series this weekend, with the first game against the Broncos kicking off at 3 p.m. April 13.

Tags: Alex Radon, Alex Schmenk, Andrew Marra, Cody Umbright, Dan Zuchowski, James Miglin, Mark Lapikas, Rockets baseball, University of Michigan, Zach Davis

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 12th, 2012 at 10:06 am and is filed under Baseball, College sports, Sports.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Following a six-game losing streak, Toledo won its second game in a row when it topped Dayton 7-5 on April 10 at Scott Park.

With the victory, the Rockets improved to 14-18 on the season while Dayton dropped to 15-19.

Senior second baseman Joe Corfman went 4 for 5 against the Flyers while driving in three runs and crossing the plate once. With his four hits, Corfman raised his batting average 18 points to a team-high .333.

Junior third baseman Wes White (2 for 2, 2 R, RBI) and senior designated hitter Matt Delewski (2 for 4, RBI) each had a pair of hits for the Rockets.

Senior starter Jared Locke allowed seven hits and four runs in 5.1 innings of work, earning a no decision. Junior Tyler Scott (2-1, ERA) relieved Locke and picked up the win, throwing 1.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit for his second win of the season. After junior Cody Umbright gave up a run in the eighth, senior Alex Radon shut the door in a perfect ninth for his first save of the season.

The Rockets will look for their third straight victory when they travel to Ann Arbor on April 11 to take on Michigan (15-18) at 6 p.m.

Tags: Alex Radon, Cody Umbright, Dayton, Jared Locke, Joe Corfman, Matt Delewski, Rockets baseball, Tyler Scott, Wes White, Zach Davis

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 11th, 2012 at 6:43 pm and is filed under Baseball, College sports, Sports.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Toledo recorded just four hits as it lost its fifth consecutive game on April 6 in a 7-2 loss in Mount Pleasant to Central Michigan in the weekend series opener.

The Rockets evened their record at 12-12 before the five straight losses dropped them to 12-17 with a 3-4 record in Mid-American Conference play. The Chippewas moved to 13-17 with the win with a 4-3 league record.

Matt Delewski, photo by Zach Davis

Toledo scored the first two runs of the contest before CMU responded with seven unanswered runs to secure the victory.

Sophomore Ryan Wilkinson (3-2, 2.34 ERA) was the hard-luck loser getting tagged for six runs in 5.1 innings, although just one run was earned after UT committed a season-high four errors.

Senior Lincoln Rassi pitched 0.2 innings of scoreless relief before giving way to classmate Alex Radon, who gave up one run in two frames.

Matt Delewski continued his recent hot streak, recording one hit in three at bats with one run and one RBI. The senior designated hitter has 10 hits in his last 21 at bats, raising his batting average from .231 to .301 over that six-game span.

Senior catcher James Miglin (1 for 4) and senior first baseman Mark Lapikas (1 for 2) each recorded hits while junior second baseman Wes White had a ninth-inning single after entering the game in the sixth as a pinch runner.

The Rockets return to action at 2 p.m. April 7 for the second game of the series against Central Michigan. Senior starter Matt Kuna (3-0, 3.33 ERA) is slated for his fourth start of the year and will try to remain unbeaten.

Tags: Alex Radon, Central Michigan, James Miglin, Lincoln Rassi, Mark Lapikas, Matt Delewski, Mid-American Conference, Rockets baseball, Ryan Wilkinson, Wes White, Zach Davis

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 7th, 2012 at 11:14 pm and is filed under Baseball, College sports, Sports.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

After taking a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning, Toledo allowed five unanswered runs in South Bend to fall 7-3 to Notre Dame on April 3.

With the loss, the Rockets (12-15, 3-3 Mid-American Conference) lost three during their five game road trip. The Fighting Irish ran their record to 17-10 on the season with the victory.

Freshman third baseman Anthony Smith, photo courtesy of UT athletics

Toledo freshman pitcher Alec Schmenk took the mound for the second straight start and lasted just four innings, walking four, but battled to keep Notre Dame to just one run.

Senior Alex Radon came in to relieve Schmenk and gave up the lead, allowing three runs on five hits in 1.2 innings. Radon, who was replaced in the starting rotation this year by Matt Kuna, is now 0-4 on the season with an 8.05 ERA. Classmate Tyler Scott finished the game off, giving up two runs in the final 2.1 innings.

At the plate freshman third baseman Anthony Smith, who had been hitless in his last nine at bats, had the lone multihit effort for the Rockets going 2 for 4 at the plate.

Junior center fielder Ben Hammer (1 for 4, 2 RBI) drove home two runs, and sophomore designated hitter James Miglin (1 for 4, RBI) brought home the other.

Toledo will return home to take on Kent State in a non-conference game at 3 p.m. April 4 at Scott Park. The Rockets previously topped KSU 4-3 on the road on March 27 in non-league action. The game will be UT’s first of the season to be televised on BCSN and will be broadcast on tape-delay.

Tags: Alec Schmenk, Alex Radon, Anthony Smith, Ben Hammer, James Miglin, Notre Dame, Rockets baseball, Tyler Scott, Zach Davis

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 4th, 2012 at 9:20 am and is filed under Baseball, College sports, Sports.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

In their second three-game series of Mid-American Conference play, Toledo split the first two games in a doubleheader in Oxford against Miami (OH) on March 31.

With the split the Rockets moved to 12-13 on the season with a 3-2 record in league play while the RedHawks are 14-12 and 2-3 in the MAC.

Matt Delewski, photo by Zach Davis

The first game continued from the previous day after it was suspended in the fourth inning due to lightning, tied at six. The Rockets pitchers shut down Miami the rest of the way and took a 7-6 victory in the series opener.

Toledo’s Michael Hamann allowed six runs on seven hits in three innings before the contest was postponed as his ERA moved to 7.13 on the year.

Ryan Wilkinson (3-1, 2.45 ERA) stepped in for Hamann the next day and recorded the win. The junior made quick work of the RedHawks, giving up just one hit with four strikeouts in five scoreless innings. Junior Cody Umbright recorded the first two outs of the ninth inning before giving way to freshman Andrew Marra to record his third consecutive one-out save of the season and fourth overall.

Freshman third baseman Anthony Smith had a game-high four hits in five at bats and crossed the plate twice. Junior designated hitter Matt Delewski (2 for 5, R, 3 RBI) had a pair of hits while driving in three.

In the second game of the day, UT tied the game in the seventh inning before Miami responded with two runs in the eighth inning to win 5-3.

Senior Matt Kuna made his third start of the year and gave up three runs on seven hits in 5.2 innings of work. Classmate Alex Radon kept the game close with 1.1 scoreless innings of relief before senior Tyler Scott was tagged with his first loss of the year after two runs in his lone frame.

Delewski continued to hit well on the day, going 3 for 4 at the plate. Delewski’s five combined hits on the day moved his batting average from .231 to .279 on the season.

Junior left fielder Tyler Grogg (2 for 2, 2 BB) had a pair of hits and walks for the Rockets while sophomore catcher James Miglin (1 for 4, RBI) recorded the team’s only RBI.

Both teams will look to earn the series victory in the rubber match at 1 p.m. April 1.

Tags: Alex Radon, Andrew Marra, Anthony Smith, Cody Umbright, James Miglin, Matt Delewski, Matt Kuna, Miami (OH), Michael Hamann, Mid-American Conference, Rockets baseball, Ryan Wilkinson, Tyler Grogg, Tyler Scott, Zach Davis

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 1st, 2012 at 11:36 am and is filed under Baseball, College sports, Sports.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

In their first game of Mid-American Conference play, Toledo starter Mike Hamann was rocked as Ohio grabbed a 9-3 victory at Scott Park.

With the loss, the Rockets are now 8-12 on the season while Ohio ran its record to 10-10.

Joe Corfman, photo by Zach Davis

Hamann (0-4, 6.17 ERA) allowed six runs on eight hits in three innings of work to pick up the loss. He has struggled so far in 2012, allowing more than four runs in four of his six starts. Last season, the Rockets ace didn’t give up more than three runs in any of his nine starts, recording a 1.96 ERA in 59.2 innings before missing the remainder of the season with an arm injury.

Senior second baseman Joe Corfman had a team-high three hits in four at bats with an RBI, raising his batting average to a team-best .317 on the season. Junior left fielder Tyler Grogg (2 for 4, RBI) and senior designated hitter Matt Delewski (1 for 4, RBI) also drove in runs for UT.

The Rockets did have an early advantage, going ahead 3-0 in the second after six straight hits. Hamann, however, gave up six in the third to relinquish the lead. Senior Tyler Scott threw three innings of relief allowing one run before giving way to freshman Alec Schmenk who gave up two unearned runs in 1.2 innings. Sophomore Trevor Gast and senior Alex Radon combined to pitch the final 1.1 innings of scoreless relief.

Toledo will look to take game two of a three-game series against the Bobcats at 1 p.m. March 24.

Tags: Alec Schmenk, Alex Radon, Joe Corfman, Matt Delewski, Mid-American Conference, Mike Hamann, Ohio University, Rockets baseball, Trevor Gast, Tyler Grogg, Tyler Scott, Zach Davis

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 24th, 2012 at 10:07 am and is filed under Baseball, College sports, Sports.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.