NORFOLK, Va. – The No. 24-ranked Old Dominion baseball team secured a series sweep of Stony Brook with an 18-6 win on Sunday. The Monarchs (13-1) racked up 17 hits, including three more home runs, to give head coach Chris Finwood his 300th win as ODU head coach.
Stony Brook struck for a pair in the top of the second on back-to-back hits from David Alleva and Derek Yalon. Sam Armstrong then picked off Yalon at first base before ending the inning with a strikeout.
As has been the case so often this young season, the Monarchs had an answer in their half of the second, scoring five times all with two outs. Brock Gagliardi drew a one-out walk to get ODU going. After a fly out by Tommy Bell, Josh Trujillo left the park for his first career home run. Chris Dengler kept the inning going with a double down the line in left before scoring on a Kenny Levari single. Consecutive walks from Josh O'Neill loaded the bases before the junior righty walked Matt Coutney to force home Levari. Jack Carr then came in to replace O'Neill but walked Robbie Petracci to score Carter Trice.
A one-out double from Stanton Leuthner made the score 5-3 in the top of the third, but Old Dominion hung three more on the board in the bottom of the frame. Bell led off the Monarch half of the third with a double before Trujillo drew a walk. Dengler then loaded the bases with a bunt single, setting up a sacrifice fly from Levari. Trice then struck out for the second out of the inning, but Andy Garriola drove home Dengler and Trujillo with a single to cap the scoring.
The Seawolves got another run back in the top of the fourth with a leadoff homer from Yalon before tacking on two more in the fifth. After going down quietly in the fourth, the Monarchs' bats roared again in the fifth, once again scoring five times with two outs. Petracci cleared the bags with a bases-loaded double then scored when Gagliardi cranked one over the fence in center to make the score 13-6.
Twelve of ODU's 18 runs on Sunday were scored with two outs. For the game, the Monarchs hit 8-of-14 (.571) with two outs.
The Monarch bullpen allowed just two hits over the last four innings, keeping Stony Brook off the board in the process. Joey DeChiaro came on in the sixth and threw two innings of two-hit ball. Vincent Bashara worked a perfect eighth, striking out one, and John Keane struck out two in the ninth to strand a runner on second.
Old Dominion had one more big inning in the bag, scoring four times in the seventh. Dengler doubled home Kyle Edwards, and Trice hit a three-run homer into left field – his third long ball of the series. Luke Waters singled home Edwards in the bottom of the eighth for the final run of the game.
The Monarchs finished the game with 17 hits and drew 14 walks while striking out only four times. Dengler went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and raised his batting average to .350 on the season after starting 2-for-18 (.111) at the plate.
Levari added two hits from the leadoff spot, scored twice and drove in two more. Petracci had a game-high four RBIs, and Trice knocked in three. Trice also stole two bases.
Joey Rodriguez (4-0) picked up the win after getting the final out in the fifth inning. Stony Brook starter O'Neill (1-2) was tagged with the loss, giving up five runs on three hits in 1.2 innings.
Old Dominion hosts East Carolina on Tuesday at 3 p.m. before starting conference play at Middle Tennessee next Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
No. 24 Baseball Sweeps Stony Brook with 18-6 Win on Sunday
