MYRTLE BEACH, SC—ODU’s Nick Lustrino (Spring Lake, NJ.), Taylor Ostrich (Carroll, IA.) and Matt Cogen (Franklin, TN.) each had two hits, but Canisius held off the Monarchs (0-3) ninth inning rally for an 8-6 victory in the Coastal Carolina Caravelle Resort Tournament.
The Golden Griffins (1-1) took an 8-3 lead going into the top of the ninth when the Monarchs rallied for three runs. Senior designated hitter Josh Eldridge (Lorton, VA.) doubled home junior catcher PJ Higgins (Wallingford, CT.), who walked, followed by an RBI single by sophomore outfielder Joseph Guaragna (Mississauga, Ontario), who brought home Eldridge. A Canisius error would move Guaragna to third where he would later score on a wild pitch to cut the lead to 8-6. Canisius reliever Iannick Remillard then got a groundout to end the game.
In the ODU eighth, Taylor Ostrich knocked in Eldridge and junior outfielder Connor Myers (Middletown, MD.) brought home Guaragna with RBI singles while leftfielder Matt Cogen (Franklin, TN.) scored in the seventh after reaching on a single, stealing second and coming home from third on a passed ball.
Canisius pounded out 15 hits on the day as Ryan Stekl led with four, followed by Jake Lumley with three. MAAC Player of the Year Connor Panas, along with Stekl and Jack Massa each knocked in two runs.
Through three games, Josh Eldridge leads the Monarchs with a .545 batting average. ODU returns for the home opener Wednesday against East Carolina at 3 p.m.
ODU 000 000 123=6-10-1
CAN 000 311 12x=8-15-3
ODU: Diaz, Bishop(5), Rienerth(5), Koenig(6), Majette(6), Josephs (7) and Higgins
CAN: Stewart, Stolzenburg(), Remillard (8) and Massa.
WP: Stewart (1-0) LP: Diaz(0-1) Save: Remillard (1)