April 25, 2013
NORFOLK, VA--The ODU Baseball Monarchs (21-20/11-10) hit the road for a three-game CAA series in Newark, DE against the Fightin' Blue Hens of Delaware (26-14/11-7). The series begins Friday at 3 p.m. and continues Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
UD like the Monarchs are in the nation's top 30 in homeruns with a CAA best 31. Jimmy Yezzo leads UD with a .447 batting average and is tied with ODU's Ben Verlander for the CAA Homerun with 10 along with 55 RBI. Nick Ferdinand is hitting .361 with eighth homers and 45 RBI, followed by Brock Niggebrugge at .354.
On the mound Delaware is scheduled to throw righthander Chad Kuhl (6-2/3.62) on Friday, righthander Adam Davis (4-4/3.90) on Saturday and righthander Matt Soren (3-2/2.56) on Sunday. UD has two pitchers with three saves each in Stephen Richter (1-0/1.74) and Eric Buckland (3-3/4.50).
The Monarchs are led in hitting by rightfielder Ben Verlander who is hitting .394 with 10 homers and 33 RBI, along with 35 runs scored. Sophomore leftfielder Josh Eldridge is hitting .301 with four homers and a team best 38 RBI. Junior designated hitter Ben Slaton is hitting .317 and freshman centerfielder Connor Myers is hitting .290.
The Monarchs are scheduled to start junior righthander Dean Ali (2-2/2.40) on Friday, followed by junior lefthander Andy Roberts (3-3/ 2.72) on Saturday. Sunday's probable starter has not yet been determined.