HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Old Dominion baseball team won its second Conference USA series with a doubleheader sweep over Marshall on Saturday afternoon at the Kennedy Center YMCA. In game one, ODU edged the Herd, 8-7. In the second game of the twinbill, Hunter Gregory put together a complete game shutout against Marshall to give ODU its sixth consecutive victory, winning 8-0.
"I thought we showed a lot of toughness today. The first game we had to come back and find a way to grind out a close game," ODU head coach Chris Finwood said. "Our bullpen really did a good job with Jacob Gomez, Brad Dobzanski and Noah Dean throwing well for us. In the second game, Gregory was outstanding throwing a complete game shutout. Tommy Bell and Matt Coutney had big days for us at the plate too!"
Marshall took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning. ODU (20-5, 6-1 C-USA) answered in the second inning to tie up the game, 3-3. Andy Garriola made it 5-3 with a two-run home run as ODU took its first lead of the afternoon in the third inning.
The Herd (4-14, 0-7 C-USA) stormed back in the fourth inning with a lead-off home run. Marshall picked up a walk and plated a run with a Luke Edwards double. Left-handed pitcher Gomez entered the game and worked out of a jam with a runner on second. The game was knotted, 5-5 after four innings of action.
In the fifth inning, ODU produced three runs to regain the lead. Robbie Petracci sent one out of the park to score Garriola, who singled. With two outs, Marshall walked four Monarchs to bring home one more ODU run.
Marshall clawed back in the sixth, plating two but Dean struck out Peter Hutzal to close the inning and limit the damage to give ODU a one-run advantage into the seventh inning.
Dean pitched 1.1 innings of relief to pick up his fourth save of the season. The freshman took down the Herd in order in the final frame to clinch the win. ODU pitchers finished game one of the doubleheader with 12 strikeouts.
In game two, Gregory gave up just two hits in seven innings of work. The junior struck out eight batters and walked just one in his first career complete game.
Matt Coutney put two over the wall to highlight ODU's second game scoring. Additionally, ODU plated runs in all but two innings in the latter contest. In the shutout, three Monarchs in Jared Hancock, Bell and Coutney recorded multi-hit performances.
For the day, Coutney went 6-for-7, with four RBIs.
Up Next
ODU and the Herd will finish its series on Sunday with a 1 p.m. start at the Kennedy Center YMCA.
Strong Pitching Leads to Two Saturday Wins over Marshall for Baseball
