NORFOLK, Va. – The bats of the Old Dominion baseball team woke up in a big way on Saturday, notching 24 total hits in a 24-0 win over Iona. The Monarchs (2-0) had 11 hits go for extra bases and saw six players record multiple hits, including a career-high four from Thomas Wheeler.
"I thought our guys came out with much better focus today," head coach Chris Finwood said. "We had much better approaches at the plate and had a number of hits the other way, which is something we preached before the game. We put a lot of pressure on them early with a running game as well. Nick Pantos and Jacob Gomez both threw the ball well today, so that was good to see, and we played outstanding defense again. Tomorrow will be another day and we will have to come out ready to go."
After managing just four runs in Friday's season opener, a 4-2 win over the Gaels, the Monarchs scored four times in the first inning. Wheeler got the frame going with a leadoff single and soon was on third following a passed ball and a groundout. Carter Trice singled into right to drive home Wheeler and later scored on another passed ball. With runners on first and second, Tommy Bell singled to score Matt Coutney before Jared Hancock capped the inning with a run-scoring double.
Pantos worked around a leadoff walk in the second inning before Trice delivered a one-out solo shot to make it 5-0. The redshirt senior right-hander quickly retired the first two batters in the third before encountering trouble for the first time in the form of back-to-back two-out singles, but he escaped the jam with his fourth strikeout.
ODU tacked on another run in the third when Kenny Levari delivered a two-out double to bring home Chris Dengler from third.
Pantos (1-0) allowed a leadoff single in the fourth and stranded two in the inning to end his day. The native of Rockville, Maryland scattered three hits and two walks while fanning five to earn the win.
Jacob Gomez took the ball from Pantos in the fifth and struck out two Iona (0-2) batters and negating a two-out double. The Monarchs were once again aggressive on the basepaths in the fifth inning, using the combination of Wheeler's legs and another Iona miscue to plate their seventh run of the game. Wheeler led off the bottom of the fifth with a hit-by-pitch and promptly stole second before advancing to third on a flyout. Wheeler then scored on a passed ball.
A junior from Roy, Washington, Wheeler went 4-for-6 on Saturday and scored a career-high four runs while driving in three. He also swiped one bag.
Wheeler provided the big hit the following inning with a two-run triple into right that scored Dengler and James Tarkenton II. After six innings, ODU led 9-0.
The Monarchs exploded in the seventh and eighth innings, scoring a combined 15 runs on 11 hits. Tarkenton II knocked a homer over the wall in left with one out in the seventh to drive home Coutney and Andy Garriola. The plate appearance was the first of Tarkenton II's career. He finished the game 3-for-3 with three runs scored and three driven in.
ODU parlayed another error from the Gaels into four more runs in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs, Dengler reached on an error that should have ended the frame. Instead, it placed runners on the corner for Wheeler, who then singled home Kyle Edwards. Levari followed with a two-run triple before scoring on a double by Trice.
Levari went 3-for-7 in the game and fell one homer shy of a cycle. He drove home four and scored a pair of runs. Trice went 3-for-5 with a double and home run and three RBIs.
Gomez recorded three quick outs in the top of the seventh to finish his day. He struck out four, allowed two hits and did not issue a walk.
Old Dominion hung another crooked number in the eighth. Robby Barrientos delivered a two-run single before he scored on a Dengler double. Josh Trujillo tripled for his first hit as a Monarch and drove home two.
Pete Nielsen worked around on hit in the top of the eighth in his first appearance for the Monarchs before turning the ball over to John Keane, who struck out two in his first time on the mound for ODU.
Old Dominion stole six bases on Saturday without being caught. Trice had a personal best two steals, and Dengler set a career high with three.
ODU's four pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts and just two walks.
The Monarchs and Gaels conclude the series at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Baseball Rolls Past Iona, 24-0
