May 14, 2008
WILMINGTON, NC-- The ODU Baseball Monarchs (24-23/13-12) take on26th ranked UNC Wilmington (39-12-1/23-3-1) in a three-game ColonialAthletic Association series beginning Thursday at 7 p.m. in Brooks Field.
ODU is currently in fifth place in the CAA and are battling Towson, Northeastern and Georgia State for the final two spots in the sixteam tournament field which begins May 21st in Wilmington, NC.
UNCW has beaten nationally ranked N.C. State, and Coastal Carolinathis season. The Seahawks are led in hitting by Jason Appel, a New York high school teammate of ODU's Bryan Cipolla. Appel ranks fifth in theCAA at .399 with 18 stolen bases and 57 runs scored along with 43 RBI's.Mark Carver is 10th in the CAA in hitting at .366 and leads the CAAwith 20 homers and 76 RBI.
On the mound, UNCW has a 4.76 team ERA led by Bradley Holt with an 8-1 record and a 3.67 earned run average. Jeff Hatcher is 6-0 with a 4.31ERA.
Centerfielder Jimmy Miles is hitting .374 for the Monarchs which ranksninth in the CAA. He leads the league and ranks third nationally in stolen bases with 38. ODU leads the CAA in steals with 106. Designatedhitter David Burns leads ODU with 11 homers along with 41 RBI, whileBryan Cipolla is hitting .342 with a team best 50 RBI. Shortstop GerardHall is hitting .340.
On the mound, ODU ranks second in the CAA with a 5.08 team ERA. Seniorrighthander Ryan Bergh is 5-5 with a 3.28 ERA which is the best in theCAA. Dan Hudson (5-4) leads the league with 95 strikeouts in 77 innings,and Anthony Shawler (5-3) is second in the league with 91 strikeouts in70.2 innings of work. Shawler is also hitting .329 with 39 RBI and sevenhomers.
One win for the Monarchs clinches a spot for next week's Championships.Dan Hudson is scheduled to pitch Thursday night.
CAA STANDINGS1. UNC Wilmington 23-3-12. James Madison 18-83. W&M 16-104. George Mason 15-105. ODU 13-126. Towson 12-157. Northeastern 11-15-18. Georgia State 11-159. Delaware 10-1710. VCU 8-1611. Hofstra 7-23
James Madison at NortheasternGeorgia State at TowsonW&M at George MasonDelaware at VCUODU at UNCW