NORFOLK, Va. - Old Dominion University Baseball swept a doubleheader from Rutgers Saturday afternoon at the Bud Metheny Baseball Complex. ODU won game one, 4-2, and game two, 7-4.
With the sweep the Monarchs improve to 9-1 while Rutgers falls to 3-6.
The first game was a pitcher's dual between Sam Sinnen and Howie Brey. The Monarchs got on the board first in the fourth inning. Connor Myers led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on a Zach Rutherford one-out single. Jason McMurray reached on an error by the third baseman and Myers scored from second to put ODU on top, 1-0.
Gaby Rosa tied the score for Rutgers in the seventh with an RBI double.
The Monarchs came right back in the bottom half of the inning as Chris Livers led off the inning with a single. Cory Alexander pinch ran for Livers and he scored on an RBI double from Nick Lustrino. Grey Finwood reached on a fielder's choice and Justin Hayes drilled a single to right field to score Lustrino to make the score 3-1.
Rutgers added a run in the eighth to make the score 3-2 but the Monarchs added an insurance run as Rutherford led off the inning with a single and stole second. He advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by McMurray and scored on a fielder's choice by Darius Gillus.
Nick Hartman breezed through the ninth to pick up his second save of the season.
Sinnen went six innings for the Monarchs, allowing just two hits while striking out four. Morgan Maguire picked up his first win of the year, allowing one hit and a run in one inning of work.
The Scarlet Knights took a 4-1 lead in the fourth inning of game two but the Monarchs took the lead in the fifth with five runs and a 6-4 lead. McMurray led off the inning with a hit by pitch and moved to third on a double by Kurt Sinnen. Lustrino was hit by a pitch to load the bases to bring up Finwood, who knocked a single to left to score McMurray and make the score 4-2. Hayes singled to make the score 4-3 and a wild pitch brought home Lustrino with the tying run at four. Myers capped the score with a two-run single and 6-4 ODU lead.
ODU tacked on an insurance run with an RBI single by Lustrino in the sixth.
Thomas Busbice and Culver Lamb pitched the final five innings and did not allow another Rutgers run after the fourth. Busbice earned his first win of the season while Lamb pitched the final three innings for the first save of his career.
Myers, Sinnen and Lustrino each had two hits for the Monarchs. R.J. Devish, Chris Suseck and Tom Marcinczyk had two hits apiece for the Scarlet Knights.
The final game of the three game series is tomorrow at 1 p.m. at the Bud Metheny Baseball Complex.