March 21, 2011
NORFOLK, VA-- The ODU Monarchs (10-12/3-3) host Richmond Tuesday night at the Bud Metheny Baseball Complex with the first pitch at 6 p.m.
The Monarchs just took two of three from Northeastern over the weekend toevene their CAA record at 3-3.
Junior pitcher Ben Tomchick improved to 4-1 with a 1.95 ERA after striking out a career-high nine batters over seven innings in a 10-3 triumph over NU on Saturday.
Outfielder Nate Hartman drove in six runs last week, including four in the first two games with NU. Shortstop Josh Wright was 3-for-5 with a single, double, homer and two RBI in Sunday's 8-4 triumph against the Huskies. Junior Chris Baker is batting a team-best .326 with nine doubles and 26 RBI, which ranks 2nd in the CAA.
ODU senior lefthander Kyle Hald leads the CAA in strikeouts with 41 in 36 inningsof work, while Tomchick is tied for the league lead in victories with four (4-1).As a team, ODU's pitching staff ranks third in the CAA with a 3.79 ERA behind onlyGeorgia State at 3.56 and UNC Wilmington at 3.74.
Firstbaseman Chris Baker is tied for the CAA lead in doubles with nine and ranksthird in total bases with 54, while shortstop Josh Wright is tied for fourth instolen bases with eight.
Tuesday's opponent Richmond is 9-10-2 overall. ODU defeated the Spidersearlier in the season, 3-2 in 10 innings at Pitt Field.
Jacob Mayers leads the Spiders with a .400 batting average, while Mike Mergenthaler is second at .345 with 13 RBI. Robby Massar has two homers with 15 RBI. On the mound, the Spiders are led by Shawn O'Neill with a 2-0 mark with 20 strikeouts in22 innings and a 3.27 ERA.
After Tuesday, ODU returns to the CAA wars when they travel to Harrisonburg, VA totake on the Dukes of JMU beginning Friday night at 6:30 p.m.
CAA Standings1. Georgia State 3-02. Delaware 5-13. JMU 7-24. UNCW 4-25. W&M 5-46. ODU 3-37. Towson 2-48. Hofstra 2-49. VCU 1-210. Northeastern 1-512. George Mason 0-6