March 4, 2010
NORFOLK, Va. - In his first start of the year, Brandon Smith pitched seven strong innings but it would take a game-tying blast from Donnie Corsner in the 8th and a walk-off single from Cameron Scott in the 9th for Old Dominion (6-4) to get past Mount St. Mary's, 6-5, Thursday afternoon.
Corsner's first home run of the year would tie the game at five with two outs in the 8th inning after the ODU bullpen gave up four runs and the lead in the top half.
In the 9th, Old Dominion loaded the bases with just one out, leading to Scott's liner through the left side scoring junior Nathan Hartman to win the game.
In the third inning, ODU would get on the board as Hartman added his team-leading 14th RBI on a single, followed by senior Jake McAloose scoring on an error by the third baseman.
The Mount would score in the top half of the fifth, as catcher Andrew Caron led off with a double and was driven in with a single from Michael Foster. The run would cut the lead in half, 2-1, after the first five innings.
ODU would chase Mount starter Mike Matta from the game in the bottom of the sixth by putting runners on the corners. An RBI walk from Corsner and a sacrifice fly from McAloose would give ODU a 4-1 lead.
In the next half inning, ODU starter Brandon Smith got out of a jam with no damage after giving up a pair of singles to open the inning. He made the play on a sacrifice bunt, struck out the next and then got a groundout from the following batter to escape unharmed. That would be it for the sophomore who, in his first start of the year, pitched seven strong innings. He allowed just one run on seven hits, striking out seven.
The ODU relievers would not be able to hold the lead in the 8th though, giving up four runs as the Mount went ahead 5-4. Kyle Kane, Josh Winter and Joe Kavanagh would have RBI in the inning.
With two outs in the bottom of the 8th, Corsner would answer the Mount St. Mary's run as he stepped in and blasted a home run over the right field fence to erase the lead. In the bottom half of the 9th, Hartman would lead off with a single and was followed by a hit-by-pitch from pinch hitter Edgar Hernandez, setting up a sacrifice bunt from Chris Buss. After an intentional walk, Cameron Scott stepped in for the game-winning at-bat.
McAloose led ODU on the day, going 3-of-4 with a run and a RBI. Corsner scored a pair of runs and drove in two for the Monarchs.
Old Dominion will next take on LaSalle in a three-game series at the Bud Metheny Baseball Complex starting on Friday at 3 p.m.
-ODU-