Rockets fail to meet lofty preseason expectations

The UT baseball team saw many ups and downs during the 2010 season.  Despite finishing under .500 in 2009, the Rockets reached the Mid-American Conference tournament finals before losing to Kent State.  This year Toledo returned 25 lettermen in and a survey of MAC coaches saw that UT was picked to finish second in the MAC's East Division.
"We have a lot of experience returning," Toledo head coach Cory Mee said in February. "The most important thing is that they're a year older, have another year of experience, and they're stronger and physically more mature, which I think is obviously going to help us. Hopefully, we can be more consistent in our approach every day. I think that's key. We have talent and we know we can do it. We did it on the weekends last spring, and we played very well in the conference. We need to prove as a group we can play at that level every day."
Consistency was the key as the Rockets finished with a 34-21 record, (19-8 MAC) and received outstanding offensive performances beginning at the start of the season from junior utility man Jared Hoying. Hoying started the season on a tear as UT's starting shortstop and in a three-game, non-conference series against the University of Cincinnati, crushed four home runs en route to being named the MAC Player of the Week on back-to-back occasions on March 22 and 29.  Hoying's performance and versatility after being switched to center field mid-way through the season was so impressive it helped get him selected by the Texas Rangers in the 10th round of the Major League Baseball Draft.
Most consistent though was the play of Chris Dudics.  The junior infielder put together a hitting streak of 39 games which broke the old MAC record of 32 set in 2004 by Eastern Michigan's Brian Bixler.  Dudics was also UT's most prolific offensive player and finished the season with team-highs in batting average (.391), hits (99) and at bats (253).  
"Dudics is our man at leadoff," Mee said in May after a three game sweep of EMU. "He gets everything started for us and what he is doing is remarkable. He competes in every at-bat and his hard work is paying off. He's outstanding and he hits the ball hard every time. He leads by example and what he's doing is outstanding."
Junior Matt Suschak started the season as one of Toledo's key relievers notching three saves early in the season and pitched so well Mee inserted him into the starting rotation on April 23. Suschak finished with a team-low 3.84 ERA, a 5-1 record and was just chosen in the seventh round of the MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves.
Even Mee received a top honor when he was named the MAC Coach of the Year in his seventh season as the manager of the Rockets. Mee led UT on a eight game winning streak which was the longest winning streak since 1996.
Even with all of these highlights, the season ended in disappointment. The Rockets entered the MAC tournament as the number three seed and expected to contend for the tournament title.  After dispatching Miami (OH) 7-1 in the tournament opener, Toledo suffered a 7-6 extra-innings loss to Eastern Michigan and another extra-inning defeat less than 24 hours later to the defending MAC Champion Kent State, 4-3.
"Hopefully we can continue on the momentum we gained from this season," said Mee.  "Our guys are already out playing summer ball and preparing for next year. It's a new team next year. When we come back in the fall the 2011 team will need to get to work and prepare for the season and I think that the expectations has been set for our guys. Our guys are hungry to get back to where we ended this year and take that next step."