HOUSTON, Texas -- The Old Dominion baseball team suffered a series sweep after falling to the Rice Owls 8-2 on Sunday afternoon at Reckling Park. The Monarchs fell to 18-7 overall and 3-3 in Conference USA, while the Owls improved to 14-9 and 5-1 in league action.
After Ricardo Salinas retired six straight ODU batters, including five strikeouts, the Monarchs got in a groove in the top of the third. Nick Lustrino led off single to right and was followed by another hit to right field by designated hitter Turner Bishop. Both runners advanced a bag after a passed ball, giving Connor Myers the change to hit a RBI single to left field. Rutherford grounded out to second base, but scored Bishop in the process to give ODU the 2-0 lead. Rice added one run to the board in the bottom of the inning, but two fly outs for the final two batters left a run stranded for the Owls.
Rice added four more runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a 5-2 lead. Connor Myers misplayed a fly ball allowing two Owls to touch home plate, while Hunter Kopycinski and Dayne Wunderlich each recorded an RBI hit. The Rice bats stayed alive in the bottom of the eighth as the team scored three more runs, including two off a home run by Grayson Lewis.
Bishop finished the day 1-for-2 with a run scored, while Lustrino went 1-for-3 with a run of his own. Victor Diaz pitched the first 5.0 innings for the Monarchs and recorded two strikeouts. Nick Hartman suffered the loss after allowing three runs on two hits in the seventh inning.
Salinas earned the win for the Owls, pitching 7.0 innings and with nine strikeouts against 26 batters faced. Glenn Otto earned his fourth save of the season after going 2.0 innings with one strikeout. Teykl led the Owls with a 2-for-3 showing with 2 RBIs and a run scored.
The Baseball Monarchs are back in action on Tuesday against the defending national champions UVA in Charlottesville, Va. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
ODU | 002 000 000 - 2 6 1
Rice | 001 000 43X - 8 13 1
ODU | Victor Diaz, Jake Josephs (6), Nick Hartman (7), Morgan Maguire (7), Joey Benitez (8)
Rice | Ricardo Salinas, Glenn Otto (8)
Win | Ricardo Salinas
Loss | Nick Hartman
Save | Glenn Otto
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