NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion baseball team exploded for 20 hits in its 19-2 win over Norfolk State on Wednesday afternoon. ODU swept the Spartans in its four-game series at the Bud Metheny Baseball Complex.
"The weather warmed up and our bats warmed up with it. Offensively we did a really good job, especially with our starters in the game," said head coach Chris Finwood. "Thomas Wheeler got us going with the lead off triple in the first and Tommy Bell had a big day, along with Andy Garriola and Matt Coutney. We had really good swings up and down the lineup."
After trailing, 1-0, the Monarchs quickly broke the game open with a monster triple from sophomore Thomas Wheeler. The duo of Garriola and Coutney smacked two more hits, knocking in four RBIs altogether.
The Monarch (4-0) offense got going again in the bottom of the second, tacking on four more runs, highlighted by a Robbie Petracci home run. ODU added three more runs in the third with a Tommy Bell home run, who led the way with five RBIs on Wednesday afternoon.
In the following inning, ODU continued its offensive assault with Wheeler and Garriola singles, a Bell triple and a Ryan Teschko home run, which knocked in seven runs for ODU and rounded out the scoring for the Monarchs.
Norfolk State's two runs came in the first and eighth innings. Alsander Womack opened the game with a single to center, following a Monarch error and an NSU walk, Korey Singh notched a sacrifice fly to plate Womack. In the eighth, another Womack single plated a Spartan run and its last for the afternoon.
Junior Tommy Gertner got the start and win for ODU, fanning two batters in four innings of work. Redshirt sophomore Matt Busher and freshman Jacob Gomez combined for three shutout innings, before freshman Vincent Bashara made his first career appearance, striking out three in the ninth.
"It's early, with some of the early-season crazy stuff we all need to get out of the way, but overall the guys were ready to play and played hard," said Finwood.
Up Next
ODU will welcome the University of Rhode Island (0-3) to the Bud for a weekend series, Feb. 26-28.
Big Bats Beat Norfolk State for Series Sweep, 19-2
