NORFOLK, Va. -- Old Dominion baseball dropped a hard fought 10-7 game against the No. 17 Florida Atlantic Owls on Friday night at the Bud Metheny Baseball Complex. ODU dropped to 19-8 overall and 3-4 in Conference USA, while FAU improved to 19-4 overall and 6-1 in league action.
The Monarchs got on the board first with four runs in the bottom of the opening inning. With one out and the bases loaded, Kurt Sinnen doubled down the right field line to score all three runners. Sinnen then advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored after Nick Lustrino reached first on an throwing error by the pitcher.
Florida Atlantic responded with four runs of their own in the top of the third to tie the game (4-4) and took the lead after a RBI single from Austin Langham in the top of the fifth (5-4). Old Dominion followed with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead back from the Owls. Nick Walker singled to right field with two outs, giving Seth Woodard the chance to blast a triple to right center to tie the game once again (5-5). Sinnen picked up right where he left off and singled to left field to put the Monarchs ahead 6-5 heading into the sixth.
A solo home run and an sacrifice fly by the Owls in the sixth gave Florida Atlantic the one-run advantage once again (7-6), but Old Dominion tied the game at 7-7 after some heads-up baserunning by Cory Alexander II off a sacrifice fly by Myers in the bottom of the sixth. The Monarchs lost the game in the top of the eighth inning after two errors and a double, allowing the Owls to score three more runs (10-7).
Despite the three-run deficit, the Baseball Monarchs put up a fight in the bottom of the ninth, but could not capitalize. After Walker grounded out, Woodard was hit for the second-consecutive at bat and then advanced to second when Sinnen was walked. Jason McMurray then singled to right field to load the bases with one out. Cameron Ragsdale closed the door on the Monarchs after fanning the final two batters.
Sinnen and Lustrino were the only Monarchs to record two hits, while Sinnen drove in four runs. Myers went 1-for-3 on the night with a run scored and a RBI. Culver Lamb (2-2) suffered the loss for the Monarchs after pitching 1.1 innings and giving up two runs. Sam Sinnen pitched the first five innings and allowed five earned runs on seven hits, both a season high.
Christian Dicks led the Owls with a 2-for-3 showing with three runs and four RBIs. Stephen Kerr also went 2-for-4 for Florida Atlantic, scoring three runs and driving in another. Colyn Coursel earned the win on the mound for the Owls, pitching the eighth inning and striking out two batters.
The Baseball Monarchs will be back in action tomorrow for game two of the series, with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. The game can be watched on Monarch Media through odusports.com. Live stats will also be available once the contest begins.
FAU | 004 012 030 - 10 13 3
ODU | 400 021 000 - 7 10 2
FAU | Brandon Rhodes, Robbie Coursel (6), Colyn O'Connell (8), Cameron Ragsdale (9)
ODU | Sam Sinnen, Jake Josephs (6), Culver Lamb (7), Grayson Bailey (8), Thomas Busbice (9)
Win | Robbie Coursel
Loss | Culver Lamb
Save | Cameron Ragsdale
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