NORFOLK, Va. -- Old Dominion baseball ended a two-game skid with a 6-3 victory over UAB in game one of the weekend series on Friday night at the Bud Metheny Baseball Complex. With the win, the Monarchs moved to 26-16 overall and 9-10 in Conference USA play, while the Blazers fell to 17-23 on the year and 9-10 in league play.
Zach Rutherford led the Monarchs with a 3-for-5 outing with two runs and two RBIs. The outing marked his 13th multiple hit game of the year and his fifth 3-plus hit game of the season. Jason McMurray also went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while Will Morgan and Kurt Sinnen each drove in a run. Starting pitcher Sam Sinnen earned the win after pitching 6.1 innings and allowing just two runs on three hits. He faced 20 batters and walked five, while fanning six. Morgan Maguire pitched a solid 1.2 innings of relief for the Monarchs, as he allowed just one hit and recorded two strikeouts.
After two scoreless innings, the Monarchs put up three runs in the bottom of the third to take the early 3-0 lead. With runners on first and second, Sinnen laid down a perfect sac bunt to move the runners, while power hitter Connor Myers was intentially walked in his first at bat to load the bases. McMurray came to the plate and blasted a single through the left side to score two, while a single to center field by Morgan scored Myers from second base to give ODU the 3-0 advantage.
The Blazers cut the ODU lead to 3-2 after scoring one run in the top of the fourth and sixth, but the Monarchs responded with three more insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth. Justin Hayes and Nick Walker reached base on a walk and then proceed to come home on a Rutherford triple down the right field line. Rutherford scored the final run for the Monarchs off a sacrifice fly to center field by Sinnen. UAB would add one more run in the top of the ninth, but relief pitcher Brett Smith and the Monarchs' defense were to much, as Old Dominion secured the 6-3 victory.
Jared Nixon paced the Blazers after going 2-for-4, while Riley McCown added one hit and recorded all three RBIs. Starting pitcher Tanner Graham suffered the loss for UAB, pitching 3.2 innings and allowing three runs. He faced 20 batters and walked five and struck out two.
Due to a chance of thunderstorms in the area on Sunday, Old Dominion will play a doubleheader against UAB on Saturday starting a 2 p.m. The second game will begin approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first contest. Both games will be streamed live on Monarch Media, the official audio and video portal of odusports.com. Live stats will also be available through odusports.com once each contest begins.
UAB| 000 101 001 - 3 5 0
ODU| 003 000 03X - 6 7 1
UAB| Tanner Graham, Adam Lamar (4), Cory Eller (8)
ODU| Sam Sinnen, Morgan Maguire (7), Brett Smith (9)
Win| Sam Sinnen (4-1)
Loss| Tanner Graham (2-5)
Save| None
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