CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Behind a blistering six hit, eight run second inning, the Old Dominion Monarchs claimed the series against Charlotte with an 8-5 victory over the 49ers in game two at Hayes Stadium.With the win, ODU moved to 29-17 overall and 12-11 in Conference USA play, while Charlotte fell to 19-28 on the year and 8-15 in league play.
After falling behind, 1-0, after the first inning the Monarchs strung together a six hit, eight run inning to propel ODU to an 8-1 lead. The scoring started with a double down the right field line by Turner Bishop (1-1) and was followed by a single up the middle by Chris Livers (2-1). Nick Lustrino then reached on a fielder’s choice on an attempted sacrifice bunt, while Bishop scored on a throwing error by the pitcher (3-1). Livers advanced to third during that play and then scored on a wild pitch (4-1).
The scoring continued, as Nick Walker singled through the left side to score Lustrino (5-1) and was followed by a RBI double down the left field line by Kurt Sinnen (6-1). Connor Myers flied out to left field and scored Rutherford on the sacrifice fly after he drew a walk and advanced to third on Sinnen’s hit. McMurray closed the scoring with a single up the middle to score Sinnen and give the Monarchs the 8-1 advantage.
The 49ers added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth off a two-run homer from Derek Gallello (8-3) and another in the bottom of the fifth from a solo home run by Logan Sherer to cut the ODU lead in half (8-4). Charlotte put one more run on the board in the bottom of the seventh, but that is all relief pitcher Morgan Maguire would allow as he forced a 4-3 double play and struck out the final batter to end the 49ers threat. He then retired six of the next seven batters to secure the win for the Monarchs.
Bishop once again led the Monarchs with a 2-for-3 showing with one run and one RBI. Six other players registered one hit, while six players also had one RBI for Old Dominion. Culver Lamb earned the win for ODU after pitching two innings with two runs allowed and two strikeouts. Maguire earned his third save of the season after closing the final three innings.
Brett Netzer paced Charlotte with a 3-for-4 outing with two runs, while Gallello led the 49ers with two RBIs. Starting pitcher Josh Maciejewski suffered the loss after going 1.2 innings and allowed the Monarchs’ eight runs (5 earned).
The two teams will meet again tomorrow at 1 p.m. for the final game of the series. The contest will be broadcast on STAR 1310 with Ted Alexander on the call and will also be streamed live through charlotte49ers.com. Live stats will be available on charlottestats.com once the contest begins.
ODU| 080 000 000 - 8 8 1
CHA| 100 210 100 - 5 10 1
ODU| Victor Diaz, Culver Lamb (5), Morgan Maguire (7)
CHA| Josh Maciejewski, Brandon Vogler (2), Brandon Casas (8)
Win| Culver Lamb (3-2)
Loss| Josh Maciejewski (4-6)
Save| Morgan Maguire (3)
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