NORFOLK, Va. -- On a walkoff error on a pickoff attempt, the Old Dominion baseball team grabbed game one against Rutgers, 3-2, on a cold, soggy Friday afternoon at the Bud Metheny Complex.
After Rutgers (2-5) tied the game with an unearned run with two outs in the ninth, Old Dominion (6-2) had first and third with two outs in the bottom half.
The Scarlet Knights brought in a new pitcher, Tommy Genuario, and before he even delivered a pitch, soared a pickoff attempt to first base, where no one was covering, allowing Matt Schwarz to easily score from third.
Final | WALKOFF FAILED PICK OFF! HOW. ABOUT. THAT.
— Old Dominion Baseball (@ODUBaseball) March 1, 2019
ODU 3, RUT 2 pic.twitter.com/iujV4mr3uA
It was ODU's first walkoff win of the season, as the Monarchs have now won five straight.
The ODU pitching staff had yet another fine day on the mound. Nick Pantos went six innings, allowing only one unearned run and striking out a season-high eight. Hunter Gregory earned the win with three innings of relief, allowing just one unearned run and striking out five.
Pantos is now 2-0 with an 0.55 ERA on the season in 17.1 innings pitched.
Monarch pitchers have now struck out 10+ in four straight games.
Offensively, Bryce Windham and Ryan Teschko each had RBIs.
QUOTABLES
"It's a crappy way to end a good ballgame. We gave it to them in the ninth and then they gave it back to us. We'll take it. Sometimes you have to get a few wins like that." - Chris Finwood, on the walkoff ending
"What gets lost in all of that is how well Pantos and Gregory pitched. We just didn't make a play with two outs there in the ninth." - Finwood, on pitching
"I struggled a little early, but getting out of that jam in the second inning gave me some confidence. It helped me find my slider and work my fastball back, too." - Nick Pantos, on his performance
Postgame Audio: Finwood | Pantos
PLAYER NOTES
- Nick Pantos (6IP, 4H, 1R, 0ER, 4BB, 8K) struck out a season-high eight and lowered his ERA to 0.55 for the season.
- Matt Burch (2-5) and Kyle Battle (1-5) both extended their season-opening hitting streaks to eight games.
- Ryan Teschko (1-4, RBI) recorded his first career RBI with a single in the second inning.
- Hunter Gregory (W, 3IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, 1BB, 5K) earned his first win of the season and first since March 18 of last year.
UP NEXT
Game two is scheduled for tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET. Morgan Maguire will start for ODU against Rutgers' Tevin Murray.
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