Rockets Advance to MAC Championship Behind Herculean Effort From Nate Langbehn
- 883fmwxut
- May 23
- 2 min read
Photo Credit: Bree Bee
Written By: Sawyer Knierim
Date: May 23rd, 2026
The Toledo Rockets faced Kent State in a game for a trip to the MAC Championship game at 11:45 am. Toledo was looking to make their 4th appearance in the championship. JP Wagner said they “played with nothing to lose.” It showed, as the Rockets won 5-2.
Toledo’s bats got going early when Liam Arsich was hit by a pitch and Troy Sudbrook singled. JP Wagner doubled to right-center, scoring Arsich. Cade Baker brought home Sudbrook on a grounder to second. The 1st came and went, and it was 2-0 Rockets.
In the 2nd Inning, Payne reached third base. Liam Arsich stole 2nd, and Payne headed home. Kent State second baseman Brady Marshall made a bad throw, allowing the Rockets to score again, making it 3-0.
The Toledo bats got going, but more importantly, Nate Langbehn showed up today! During our pregame show, our WXUT broadcast crew noted that today would be a bullpen day for the Rockets, with Nathan Leininger, Hayden Frey, and Michael Fliss all burned. We also said that, in the best case, Langbehn could throw 2-4 innings.
Normally, Langbehn is a closer who has never gone more than 12 outs, and his highest pitch count has been around 60. Today, he threw 7.0 innings and 105 pitches. He struck out 7, had the bases loaded on 3 separate occasions, and got out of those jams, surrendering only two runs.
“I was playing for our seniors today,” said Langbehn. “Some of our guys don’t have any eligibility left, and that really motivated me.”
“Herculean” was the word Head Coach Rob Reinstetle used to describe Langbehn’s performance. “He was awesome. He’s never gone that far before, but he gave us everything he had,” Reinstetle reiterated.
Everyone played great today, but Reinstetle said, “It all starts on the mound.”
Captain Troy Sudbrook is in familiar territory, living 10 minutes from ForeFront Field and having played many summer ball games here. In the 7th, he smacked a home run to left field, making the lead 5-1. Kent State scored one more run after Langbehn loaded the bases. Langbehn got out of the jam, and the final score was 5-2.
“Troy’s home run was the squashing moment for any momentum [Kent State] might have had in the late innings,” said Coach Reinstetle. The Rockets eliminated Kent State from the tournament for the third straight time, having not lost to them at all in this tournament.
The Rockets are now heading to the MAC Championship game against NIU. When asked about the game plan, JP Wagner said, “We need to hit fastballs and stick to our game plan.” Reinstetle echoed this sentiment, saying, “We need to get off to a good, fast start. We cannot play sluggishly.”
This team believes they can beat anyone. “We understand that we can beat [Northern Illinois],” said Coach Reinstetle. They must win tonight. If they do, they will play tomorrow as a tiebreaker. The game is tonight at 6:00 pm.