NORFOLK, Va. -- Following a thrilling 7-6 walk-off victory over the Liberty Flames on Tuesday afternoon, the Old Dominion Monarchs will host Rutgers this weekend for a three-game series at the Bud Metheny Baseball Complex. Rutgers holds a 33-21 edge in the overall series against the Monarchs, and a 5-7 advantage under head coach Chris Finwood. The series also marks the 20th consecutive season the programs will meet on the diamond.
HOW TO TUNE IN
All of the games will be streamed live on Monarch Media, the official audio and video portal of odusports.com. Fans will need to purchase a package to be able to watch, with packages starting at $9.95. Live stats will also be available for each game once the contest begins.
TICKET INFORMATION
Fans that are planning on traveling to Norfolk can purchase tickets the day of the game at the stadium for just $5. ODU baseball voucher books are also on sale. Each voucher book contains 30 vouchers to attend any of the Monarchs' home games this season for just $50. It’s the best value around and you won’t be searching for tickets when it comes time for the Monarchs to host teams like National Champion UVA at Harbor Park. Fans can purchase a voucher book at ynottix.com!
SERIES LINEUP
Friday, March 4 | 3:00 PM
RHP Sam Sinnen vs. LHP Howie Brey
Saturday, March 5 | 2:00 PM
LHP Jake Josephs vs. RHP Kyle Driscoll
Sunday, March 6 | 1:00 PM
LHP Adam Bainbridge vs. RHP John O’Reilly
ABOUT OLD DOMINION (7-1)
Old Dominion enters the weekend with a 7-1 overall record after defeating Liberty on Tuesday afternoon.The last time ODU baseball had just one loss after the first eight games was during the 2006 season under head coach Jerry Meyers. With the game tied in the bottom of the ninth inning, senior center fielder Connor Myers drilled a walk-off home run, his second of the game, to propel the Baseball Monarchs to a 7-6 victory over the Flames at the Bud Metheny Baseball Complex.
Myers finished the game 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBI, while Zach Rutherford went 2-for-3 with one run. Nick Hartman picked up his first win on the mound for ODU, after closing the game in the ninth inning for the Monarchs. Jordan Scott was hit with the loss for Liberty.
With his two home runs against the Flames, Myers became the first ODU baseball player to knock two out of the park in one game since Josh Eldridge achieved that feat at Wofford on May 17, 2013. His walk-off was also the first since May 15, 2013 when Mike Perez led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a solo homer against Longwood at the Bud. Myers is hitting .452 this season and has racked up 14 hits, including four doubles and three home runs, and seven RBI.
ODU LEADERS
Hitting: .452 Connor Myers (2nd C-USA)
Hits: 14 Connor Myers (5th C-USA)
Runs: 10 Connor Myers (3rd C-USA)
2B: 4 Connor Myers (1st C-USA)
3B: 1 Four Players
HR: 3 Connor Myers (2nd C-USA)
RBI: 7 Connor Myers
BB: 11 Nick Walker (2nd C-USA)
SLG: .871 Connor Myers
OBPCT: .538 Connor Myers (6th C-USA)
SB: 4 Four Players (9th C-USA)
W-L: 1-0 Six Players (8th C-USA)
SO: 9 Culver Lamb
ERA: 0.90 Sam Sinnen (7th C-USA)
Saves: 1 Two Players (6th C-USA)
CG: None
APP: 4 Three Players (6th C-USA)
SCOUTING RUTGERS (3-4)
The Scarlet Knights enter the game with a 3-4 overall record after defeating Lafayette in their home opener, 11-3, Wednesday at Bainton Field. It was the eighth consecutive home-opening victory for the Scarlet Knights and 14th in the past 15 years.
On the mound, Serafino Brito allowed just two earned runs over six-plus innings to register the win in his first career start. The right-hander struck out four in the 87-pitch outing. Following up, Ryan Fleming retired all nine batters faced in three innings for his first career save. Chris Suseck led all players with five RBIs, including a three-run home run, in a 3-for-5 outing, while Jawuan Harrishad four hits, four stolen bases, two runs and his first career RBI. The four steals were the most for a Scarlet Knight since Graig Badger had that many versus Princeton on April 15, 2004.
An alumnus of the program, Joe Litterio is in his third season as head coach after taking over for the Fred Hill in 2014. He spent the two prior seasons (2012-13) on Hill’s staff as an assistant coach. Litterio is in his 15th season overall as a head coach at the collegiate level. The 12th leader in program history and only the third since 1961, Litterio transitioned the Scarlet Knights into the Big Ten in 2015. RU earned series victories over Purdue, Minnesota and No. 13 Iowa in league play, and beat Ohio State on a thrilling walk-off home run. Following the year, sophomore outfielder Tom Marcinczyk was named All-Big Ten Third Team after hitting .337 in the conference with seven home runs overall. Then in the MLB Draft, junior pitcher Mark McCoy was selected in the 29th round by the Kansas City Royals.
RUTGERS LEADERS
Hitting: .438 Devish
Hits: 10 Suseck
Runs: 8 Devish
2B: 2 Two Players
3B: 1 Two Players
HR: 1 Four Players
RBI: 7 Marcinczyk
BB: 8 Devish
SLG: .688 Devish
OBPCT: .667 Devish
SB: 6 Harris
W-L: 1-1 Two Players
SO: 13 Brey
ERA: 0.00 Five Players
Saves: 1 Two Players
CG: None
APP: 4 Brito
SOCIAL MEDIA
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