Kent State University
University of Toledo
Kent State Set for MAC Tournament with Opener Versus Toledo
5/20/2026 9:03:00 PM | Baseball
AVON, Ohio – Kent State baseball returns to MAC Tournament play Thursday evening with a familiar opponent standing in the way. The Golden Flashes, seeded second in the tournament, will face No. 3 seed Toledo at 6 p.m. in a rematch of last week's regular season series, a three-game set the Flashes won two games to one on the road at Scott Park.
Kent State enters the MAC Tournament at 40-13 overall and 24-9 in MAC play after closing the regular season with a series win at Toledo. The Golden Flashes secured a first-round bye by clinching the series Friday, when Ciaran Caughey and the bullpen combined to beat the Rockets 4-3 for the program's 13th 40-win season and fourth under head coach Jeff Duncan. Saturday's series finale went to Toledo, 9-6, as the Rockets jumped out to a 9-2 advantage through seven innings and Kent State couldn't fully recover. However, the Flashes did make it interesting, scoring four times in the final two frames.
Starting pitchers have yet to be officially announced for Thursday's contest, but Kent State is projected to turn to Easton Tumis, who started game one of last week's series and worked five innings in a 4-3 Kent State win. Toledo is projected to counter with Hayden Frey, who went five innings, allowing five hits and three runs in game two.Â
The familiarity cuts both ways heading into Thursday. Kent State navigated Toledo's offensive firepower twice last week, holding the Rockets to three runs in each of the first two games behind strong pitching and timely defense, and Evan Holewinski was particularly dominant in game one, throwing four scoreless innings of relief to earn the win. Peyton Williams was equally sharp in game two, striking out four of five batters to slam the door for his sixth save of the season.
Offensively, the Golden Flashes know exactly what Toledo brings. Troy Sudbrook had a two-run double to take the lead in game one. Charlie Scholvin remains one of the most difficult outs in the conference, and Cade Baker opened game three with a two-run home run. Kent State held that lineup in check when its pitching was sharp; the challenge Thursday night is doing it again in a tournament setting.
For the Flashes, Micah Rienstra-Kiracofe was one of the breakout performers of the Toledo series, going 6-for-12 with three RBIs across the three games, including two in game two. Luke Matthews and Sawyer Solitaria each went 3-for-5 in the series finale, and Brody Williams provided the opening spark in game one with a two-run home run in the first inning.Â
First pitch on Thursday is set for 6 p.m.
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