Baseball Drops Series and Home Opener to Toledo

Friday, March 20

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

3 p.m.

Central Michigan University

8-10, 1-6

Toledo

10-9, 6-1

Toledo

Central Michigan

Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography

3/20/2026 8:28:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Andy Sneddon

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Toledo scored a little bit early and lot late on Friday in handing Central Michigan a 10-1 loss in the opener of a three-game Mid-American Conference baseball series on Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.

Game 2 of the series is Saturday and the finale is set for Sunday. Both are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

Friday's loss in their home opener dropped the Chippewas to 7-11, 1-6 MAC.

The Rockets (10-9, 6-1) got to CMU starter Logan Neiswonger for two runs on four hits in the first inning. They exploded for seven runs in the eighth and one more in the ninth.

Toledo starter and winner Nathan Leininger (4-0), who entered the game with a 2.76 earned run average, held the Chippewas to five hits while striking out 10 over eight innings.

The first four hitters in CMU's lineup went hitless in 15 combined at-bats with seven strikeouts.

"We just didn't do enough today," CMU coach Jake Sabol said. "I think we probably had nine or 10 quality at-bats. (Leininger) was pretty good and he was all over the plate and we just didn't do enough to make adjustments and get guys on base.

"We have a ton of faith in the guys who hit at the top of our lineup. They've proven it. I'm not super worried, but they know they've got to be better. We can't have our one, two, three, four guys just not reach base at all."

Neiswonger (2-1), a freshman right-hander who has been solid in all six of his starts this season, survived the first two frames – the Rockets left the bases loaded in the second – and settled in to a groove in the third in fourth before leaving with an apparent injury with one out in the fifth.

He struck out six while allowing two runs on six hits.

Sabol said it was unknown the extent of Neiswonger's injury.

"I thought after the first inning Luke settled in in the next few innings to give himself a chance to get deeper in the game," Sabol said. "He's got good stuff. No one's going to feel sorry for us. We've lost two guys already to season-ending injuries. It's happened and we need other guys to step up and take the opportunities to make an impact."

Max Hammond went 2 2/3 innings in relief and then opened the eighth – with CMU trailing 2-1 -- by hitting a batter and issuing a walk. Gavin Moczydlowsky relieved and got two outs before the floodgates opened as Toledo broke through with seven runs, highlighted by a grand slam.

The inning was kept alive when a Toledo infield popup dropped for a single and when the dust settled, the Rockets led, 9-1.

"We made some defensive mistakes in some big-time moments," Sabol said, alluding to the eighth-inning popup and a first-inning flyball that found the turf for a Toledo double. "We just weren't clean. I don't think we really deserved to win. Whether you play well or not, it doesn't matter if you find a way to do it. We just weren't very good today, unfortunately.

"No one's going to feel sorry for us because we dropped a game or because we came out of the game injured. It's just about showing up for your teammates. It's an opportunity for them to rebound. We're only 18 games in, we've got a lot of baseball left to play and if we're going to feel sorry for ourselves or not come ready to play (Saturday).

"We're learning through this, we're growing a lot, guys are learning and we challenge them to be better (Saturday). One thing about this group they have bene pretty resilient. They've been able to bounce back the next day."