March 6, 2010
NORFOLK, Va. -- The baseball Monarchs took game number two of a three-game series with LaSalle on Saturday with a 5-4 victory holding off a ninth inning rally by the Explorers. Righthander Ben Tomchick (Va. Beach, Va.) pitched 7.1 innings, striking out nine, while rightfielder Nathan Hartman (Orlando, Fla.) poured in three RBIs and leftfielder Donnie Corsner (Va. Beach, Va.) scored four of ODU's five runs.
Old Dominion got onto the scoreboard quick and held the lead for most of the game. In the bottom of the first with two outs and runners on first and third, Hartman hit a high fly ball to right field. LaSalle's Jim Tarabocchia was underneath the ball for the catch, but the ball popped of his glove allowing Cornser to reach home on the error and give the Monarchs the early 1-0 lead.
LaSalle tied the game up two innings later. In the top of the third, leftfielder Tony Negrin singled and later advanced to second on a balk by Tomchick. Second baseman Jeff Flax then used a single to right to score Negrin from second and tie the game at 1-1.
At the bottom of the inning, the Monarchs collected three hits and two runs to go ahead 2-1 and gain a lead they would never lose. Hartman recorded the first of his three RBIs of the day on a single to left and designated hitter Brett Harris (Chesapeake, Va.) followed by with an RBI single to right.
Both teams added runs in the fifth. With two outs in the top of the inning, LaSalle loaded the bases and had first baseman Jon Gyles walk to score a run. Then in the bottom of the inning, Corsner opened up with a double down the right field line and then rounded the bases with a Hartman single up the middle.
Old Dominion tokk a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh. Hartman registered his third and final RBI of the game on a sac fly to lef scoring Corsner yet again.
The Explorers made things exciting in the ninth. With no outs and LaSalle runners on second and third, third baseman Brendan Norton used a sac fly to center to send home Brian Meagher followed by Flax grounding out to second but managing to get a run and cut the Explorer deficit to one. However, Old Dominion stayed in the win column as John Malloy flied out to left to end the game.
Tomchick picked up his second win of the year, while lefty Cory Toth (Chincoteague, Va.) came in relief in the seventh to earn his second save of the 2010 season. Sean Kennedy earned the loss for LaSalle, dropping to 0-2 on the year. Kennedy gave up three runs, three hits, and five walks in 2.2 innings of work.
Old Dominion (8-4) closes out the series with LaSalle on Sunday. First pitch is at 1 p.m.