AVON, Ohio (Interstat) — The Mid-American Conference baseball championship opens Wednesday afternoon at Avon, Ohio, with a matchup between seed Ball State (23-28) and seed Toledo (29-27). The Rockets, winners of three straight against the Cardinals earlier this month, enter as the higher seed and have ridden a potent offense and strong starting pitching to a late-season surge.

Ball State will turn to right-hander John Chambers, who has been inconsistent but showed flashes of dominance. In his last outing May 15 against Bowling Green, Chambers worked 4 1/3 innings, allowing one hit and one earned run while striking out five in a 6-5 win. He followed that with a six-inning, two-earned-run performance at Northern Illinois on May 10, striking out four in a 17-5 victory. However, Chambers also endured a rough outing May 3 at Toledo, surrendering eight earned runs in 3 2/3 innings in a 20-3 loss. He has 18 strikeouts in his past four starts covering 19 2/3 innings.

Toledo counters with Michael Fliss, who has been dominant against conference opponents. Fliss, a right-hander, pitched six innings of two-run ball against Kent State on May 16, striking out eight in a 9-6 win. He was even sharper May 10 at Ohio, tossing seven innings of one-run ball with 10 strikeouts in an 8-3 victory. In his previous meeting with Ball State on May 3, Fliss allowed one earned run on six hits over six innings with nine strikeouts in the 20-3 rout. Over his last four starts, Fliss has 29 strikeouts in 22 innings with a 2.05 ERA.

The Rockets swept a three-game series from the Cardinals from May 1-3, winning 8-3, 5-4 and 20-3. Toledo’s offense erupted for 33 runs in those three games, while Ball State managed just 10. The Cardinals, however, enter on a high note after a 10-2 win over Bowling Green on May 15, in which third baseman Kendric Sorgius went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs. Pitchers Zach Leduc and Alex Burden each tossed a scoreless inning with two strikeouts.

Ball State has struggled on the road, going 10-15 away from home this season, while Toledo is 15-10 at neutral sites or as host. The Rockets are coming off a 9-6 win over Kent State on May 16, in which Fliss went six innings and outfielders Cade Baker and Liam Arsich each drove in two runs.

Wednesday’s afternoon contest begins at (insert time, if known) and will be followed by the championship game if this is a single-elimination format. Both teams need a deep run to secure an NCAA tournament berth.