No. 21 Old Dominion (14-1) at Middle Tennessee (7-10)
Game Location – Reese Smith Jr. Field (Murfreesboro, Tenn.)
Game 1 – Friday, March 18 at 7 p.m. ET
Game 2 – Saturday, March 19 at 4 p.m. ET
Game 3 – Sunday, March 20 at 2 p.m. ET
Follow – CUSA.tv | ODU Sports Radio Network | Live Stats
NORFOLK, Va. – The No. 21-ranked Old Dominion baseball team begins conference play with three games at Middle Tennessee this Friday through Sunday. All games are streaming live on CUSA.tv and going out on the airwaves of Money Talk 1310 AM 100.9 FM and 97.3 HD2.
Around the Horn
The reigning Conference USA Tournament champions, the Monarchs went 22-10 in conference play last season, including a 10-6 mark on the road.
ODU has split or won its last seven weekend series. Old Dominion has not lost a weekend series since it dropped three of four at No. 19 Charlotte last April.
Old Dominion outlasted East Carolina 9-8 in 10 innings on Tuesday. Tommy Bell drew a full-count walk with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th to walk off the Pirates. Carter Trice hit two more home runs in the game, finishing 2-for-5 with four RBIs. Andy Garriola, Brock Gagliardi and Bell also homered in the game.
Chris Dengler leads ODU in batting with a .364 average. After starting the season 2-for-18, Dengler has 14 hits in his last 26 at-bats.
Garriola and Trice share the team lead and are 33rd nationally with six home runs. Trice also leads the way in RBIs with 20.
Saturday starter Nick Pantos is 3-0 with a 2.29 ERA and 28 strikeouts. Jason Hartline is 1-0 with 18 strikeouts over 13.1 innings. Noah Dean has 18 punchouts in eight innings of work. The two lefties out of the bullpen have allowed just six combined hits and zero runs.
Scouting MTSU
MTSU is 7-10 overall and like the Monarchs are coming off a walk-off win in the midweek, beating Austin Peay 7-6 on Tuesday.
Mason Speirs leads MTSU in batting average (.417) and has a pair of home runs. Fausto Lopez is the team's hit leader with 18 and shares the lead for long balls with three. Nathan Sanders' 14 RBIs are the best on the team.
On the bump, Peyton Wigginton and Jaden Hamm have two wins apiece. Wigginton boasts a 3.12 ERA and 23 strikeouts.
Series History
The Monarchs are 8-11 all time against Middle Tennessee. ODU and MTSU have not met in the regular season since 2018, when the Blue Raiders took two of three at the Bud. The Monarchs beat Middle Tennessee 10-6 in the C-USA Tournament last season. Hunter Gregory threw seven innings of one-run ball, and Bell hit a grand slam in the fifth inning.
What's Next
Old Dominion hosts VMI on Tuesday before entertaining Charlotte for a three-game conference series next Friday through Sunday.
No. 21 Baseball Opens C-USA Play at Middle Tennessee
