Golden Flashes Claim Series at Toledo Despite Dropping Finale 6-9

Saturday, May 16

Toledo, OH

1 PM ET

Kent State University

40-13, 24-9

University of Toledo

29-27, 21-12

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Kent St.	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	3	1	6	13	0
Toledo	3	0	1	3	1	0	1	0	X	9	11	1

A Kent State Golden Flashes batter makes contact at the plate in a gold pinstripe Under Armour jersey and pants with navy socks and a navy Golden Flashes batting helmet, with the ball visible just off the bat, an opposing catcher at left, and the Toledo dugout with coaches and players watching in the background.

Golden Flashes Claim Series at Toledo Despite Dropping Finale 6-9

5/16/2026 5:16:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, handing Kent State a 9-6 defeat Saturday afternoon at Scott Park in the regular season finale. The Golden Flashes fell to 40-13 overall and 24-9 in MAC play but won the series and head into the MAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed, opening play Thursday at 2 p.m.

The Rockets did most of their damage early, scoring three in the first on a Cade Baker two-run home run, adding one in the third, and blowing the game open with three more in the fourth to build a 7-1 advantage. Ben Rabatin was tagged for four runs in three innings before Gavin Jones was touched for four more in the fourth.

Kent State chipped away throughout the final innings, getting an RBI double from Ripken Reese and a solo homer in the sixth, three more in the eighth on a wild pitch, a Luke Matthews RBI groundout, a Sawyer Solitaria RBI single, and a final run in the ninth on a Micah Rienstra-Kiracofe RBI single, but the deficit proved too large to overcome. Rienstra-Kiracofe went 3-for-5 with an RBI, while Matthews and Solitaria each went 3-for-5 with an RBI as well. Reese added two hits and an RBI.

UP NEXT: Kent State opens MAC Tournament play Thursday at 2 p.m. as the No. 2 seed. They will play the highest seed from the first round.

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