RICHMOND, Va. – The No. 24 Old Dominion baseball team scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning and received 4.1 innings of one-hit ball from reliever Jacob Gomez to beat in-state rival VCU 3-1 on Tuesday afternoon at The Diamond.
ODU (6-1) trailed 1-0 after five innings. Thomas Wheeler flied out to start the inning before Kyle Edwards reached on a throwing error by his counterpart at shortstop. Chris Dengler then hit a ground ball to second for the second out of the inning. Kenny Levari tied up the game with a crisp single into left field that scored Edwards from second. Carter Trice followed and reached on the second error of the inning before stealing second. With two runners in scoring position, Andy Garriola hit a ball over the left fielder's head for a two-run triple.
The nation's leader in runs batted in a season ago, Garriola provided the eventual game-winning hit for the second game in a row. The Sierra Madre, California native hit a two-run blast in the bottom of the eighth inning in Sunday's 8-7 win over Binghamton.
With the lead in hand, ODU reliever Jacob Gomez continued the deal. He struck out two batters and set down VCU (2-5) in order in the bottom of the sixth before tossing another clean inning in the seventh. The sophomore lefty from Rutherford, New Jersey added two more strikeouts in the eighth inning to set up Noah Dean in the bottom of the ninth.
Dean was electric en route to his second save of the season. He fanned the first two batters he faced before inducing a fly ball to right center to end the game.
Gomez (1-0) fell one out short of matching his career-long outing, authoring 4.1 innings of one-hit ball. He struck out four without issuing a walk.
The game was balanced on a razor's edge early as the Rams loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the first. Making his first collegiate start, freshman Blake Morgan walked the first two batters he faced before an infield single off the bat of Tyler Locklear put runners on every bag. Morgan buckled down and got a soft fly to Matt Coutney in foul territory before striking out the next two batters to escape the jam.
With his early-moment jitters vanquished, Morgan settled into a pitchers' duel with Tyler Davis. Davis struck out the side in the top of the second, but Morgan answered with three more strikeouts in the bottom of the inning. ODU's bats went down quietly in the top of the third, and Morgan set down the Rams in order in the bottom of the inning.
Morgan's day ended after three innings of work. He allowed one hit, issued two first-inning walks and struck out six.
Joey Rodriguez took over in the bottom of the fourth and started the frame with a strikeout. However, he then hit a batter and allowed a single that put runners on the corners. Connor Hujsak drove in the first run of the day with a sacrifice bunt before another VCU single put runners on the corners once again. That single ended the day for Rodriguez as head coach Chris Finwood turned to Gomez, who quickly struck out Logan Amiss to get the Monarchs out of the inning with limited damage.
VCU led off the bottom of the fifth with a single, but Gomez retired the next two batters before Brock Gagliardi cut down Locklear as he attempted to steal second.
Chase Hungate (1-1) took the loss for VCU, allowing three unearned runs on two hits over two innings.
The Monarchs return home for nine straight at home, starting this Friday with three games against Bryant.
Sixth-Inning Rally Gives No. 24 Baseball 3-1 Win at VCU
