NORFOLK, Va. -- The Old Dominion baseball team opened the 2019 season with a doubleheader split against High Point on Friday at the Bud Metheny Complex.
Old Dominion (1-1) cruised to a 7-0 shutout win in the opening game, but High Point (1-1) answered with a narrow 5-4 victory in game two. The rubber match is scheduled for Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.
In GAME ONE, Nick Pantos (5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 0 K) and Hunter Gregory (4 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K) combined for a seven-hit shutout, marking the third time in the last four seasons that ODU has opened the season with a shutout.
Offensively, the Monarchs tagged High Point starter Andrew Gottfried, the Big South Preseason Pitcher of the Year, early. ODU plated three runs in the first and chased Gottfried after just 3.1 innings.
Matt Schwarz (2-4, 2B, 2 RBI) Vinnie Pasquantino (2-5, HR, RBI) and Tommy Bell (2-3, 2B, RBI) led the Monarchs at the plate in the opener. As a team, ODU finished with 11 hits and did not strike out. Four of ODU's seven runs came with two outs.
GAME TWO was a back-and-forth affair, but the back end of the Panthers' bullpen proved to be the difference.
Bell (1-4, 3B, 2 RBI) provided the Monarchs with a brief 4-3 lead in the sixth inning, but High Point quickly responded with two runs in the top of the seventh to regain the lead. Panther relievers Cooper Jeffers and Grey Lyttle then came in to shut the door for High Point, combining to allow no runs on just one hit with seven strikeouts in four innings.
In addition to Bell, Matt Burch (2-3, 2B, RBI, SB) and Erik Stock (2-4, RBI) had strong performances at the plate in game two.
On the mound, Morgan Maguire (5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 5 K) received the loss for ODU.
Sunday's finale pits righty Ryne Moore and High Point's right-hander Joe Johnson.
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