The Toledo baseball team announced its 2024 schedule. The Rockets' slate is highlighted by 19 home games at Scott Park and another home contest vs. Michigan at Fifth Third Field in downtown Toledo on Tuesday, April 16.
The Rockets will play two games at Fifth Third Field this season. For the fourth year in a row, the Battle of I-75 will also head downtown, with Toledo and Bowling Green facing off at the home of the Toledo Mud Hens on Friday, May 17.
Ticket information regarding Toledo's two games at Fifth Third Field will be announced at a later date.
Another highlight of the Rockets' 2024 slate is the newly-expanded MAC Tournament in May. The conference tournament is returning to a six-team format and will be played at Mercy Health Stadium in Avon, Ohio. The MAC Tournament was held at campus sites in 2022 and 2023, but was held in Avon from 2012-19.
"I'm really excited about the schedule we have put together for this coming season," said head coach Rob Reinstetle, who is entering his fifth season with the Rockets in 2024. "We open up down south against three historically solid programs in Mercer, Winthrop, and Southeast Missouri State, before starting our trek through MAC play. Our bye week is in May this year and we'll be challenged by a very good ACC team in Notre Dame. We will once again be playing a full slate of midweek games this season, highlighted by the matchup vs. Michigan at Toledo's Fifth Third Field on April 16. It is an amazing experience for our guys to play at such a first-class facility. This year we'll get that opportunity twice, with one of our games vs. Bowling Green being played there as well. Probably the most exciting aspect of this season's schedule is the MAC Tournament expansion and move to a neutral site. This year we adjust back to a six-team event and get to play at the beautiful Mercy Health Stadium in Avon, Ohio."
Opening Day for Toledo is set for Friday, Feb. 16 when it begins a three-game series at Mercer. UT heads to Winthrop the following weekend for a four-game series before visiting Southeast Missouri State for four games the first weekend of March. MAC play begins at Akron on March 8-10 and the home opener is set for Wednesday, March 20 vs. Wright State. The Rockets' first home MAC series quickly follows on March 22-24 vs. Ball State.
Toledo's home MAC opponents this season will be Ball State, Northern Illinois (March 28-30), Kent State (April 12-14), Miami (April 19-21), and Eastern Michigan (May 3-5). UT will face Akron, Western Michigan (March 15-17), Central Michigan (April 5-7), Ohio (April 26-28), and Bowling Green (May 16-18) on the road.
The Rockets will also play a three-game series at Notre Dame near the end of the season on May 10-12.
Twelve non-conference midweek games are peppered throughout the schedule as well. UT hosts Wright State, Youngstown State (March 26), Oakland (April 1), Michigan, and Dayton (May 14) and will also visit Bowling Green in non-conference action on April 30.