NORFOLK, Va. – The No. 22 Old Dominion baseball team won game one, 11-2 and dropped game two, 11-2 to split the doubleheader with Rice on Saturday evening at the Bud Metheny Baseball Complex.
"We kind of took turns kicking each other's butts today," ODU head coach Chris Finwood said. "We played really well in the first game and Nick Pantos gave us another good start. Kyle Battle had a big game with two home runs. In the second game, Rice got a bunch of big hits and broke open a close game late. Nathan Becker had a big game for them with two homers."
ODU (26-7, 12-3 C-USA) got off to a hot start in game one of the doubleheader. In the first inning, Kenny Levari, Carter Trice and Andy Garriola loaded the bases with singles. Junior Brock Gagliardi ripped a three-run double to the warning track to score the three Monarch base runners. Battle hit a solo home run in the second to put ODU up, 4-0.
Rice (15-20, 3-11-1 C-USA) scratched a run in the third inning to make it a 4-1 game.
The Monarchs piled on the runs in the fourth inning. Matt Coutney led off with his eighth home run of the season. Battle hit a two-run jack to notch his second homer of the ball game. Four Monarchs walked to tack on another run. After leading off the inning with a homer, Coutney recorded a two RBI single to extend the Monarch lead, 10-1.
B4: HAVE A DAY, KB ?? Battle hits his second homer of the ball game and now leads the team with a whopping 1?1? dingers!
— Old Dominion Baseball (@ODUBaseball) April 17, 2021
ODU 7 | Rice 1#ODUSports | #ReignOn | #Monarchs pic.twitter.com/tlHxO2Z4H2
Thomas Wheeler launched a homer in the fifth inning add an insurance run.
Pantos (4-0, 1.94 ERA) picked up the win, pitching 5.0 innings, fanning four Owls, while Tom Scheffler and Vincent Bashara pitched a combined 2.0 innings of work, striking out two.
In game one, Gagliardi went 2-for-4 with three RBIs.
Rice struck first in the second game of the afternoon. Becker hit a two-run home run to put the Owls up, 2-0 in the second inning.
The Owls put up three more runs in the top of the sixth to make it a 5-0 ball game on Becker's second homer of the day. ODU chipped away at Rice's lead as Andy Garriola delivered a one-run double to knock in Carter Trice. Coutney scored Garriola with a two-out single to make it a 5-2 game through six innings.
Rice produced six runs in the top of the seventh to run away with the game. Junior Hunter Gregory (4-1, 2.76 ERA) was charged with the loss.
"Now we get a chance to win another series Sunday and I'm excited to see how we respond," said Finwood. "This has been a very resilient group and I expect us to come ready to play tomorrow."
Up Next
ODU and Rice will face off in the series finale on Sunday with a noon start.