By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – Nearly every college baseball team begins the season with a string of non-conference games that coaches use to work out the kinks and find out who's ready when conference play begins.
And as Old Dominion meets its first Conference USA opponent this weekend, with a three-game stand at Middle Tennessee, coach Chris Finwood could not have asked for a better start.
ODU won 14 of 15 games, but more importantly, the Monarchs have played with the type of poise, hitting power and camaraderie they displayed last season, the best in school history.
ODU used its big bats to go 44-16, win its first Conference USA title and advance to the final of the Columbia Region in the NCAA Tournament a year ago. For much of the season, the Monarchs led the nation in home runs.
ODU is again pounding the ball. The Monarchs rank fourth out of 293 Division I teams with a .579 slugging percentage, 13th with 154 runs scored and 20th with a composite .319 batting average.
Carter Trice and Andy Garriola are tied for 34th nationally with six home runs, and Robbie Petracci is tied for 24th with eight doubles.
ODU has also pitched well, especially from the bullpen. Jason Hartline is tied for 16th nationally with four saves and Noah Dean 31st with three. Joey Rodriguez is tied for second nationally with a 4-0 record in spite of throwing a total of just five innings.
Veteran starters Nick Pantos (2.29 ERA, 3-0, 28 strikeouts in 19.2 innings) and Tommy Gertner (3.38, 1-1, 18 strikeouts in 16 innings) have looked strong. Sam Armstrong (6.32, 1-0, 16 strikeouts in 15.2 innings) has struggled at times but will start Sunday against Middle Tennessee.
Yet there is an asterisk to this start – ODU hasn't played a particularly challenging schedule, and all but one game was at home. ODU is ranked 21st in the College Baseball Poll, and I think that's where the Monarchs belong.
But they rank only 144th in the NCAA Baseball RPI rankings.
The RPI rankings are based on strength of schedule, so even if ODU had gone 15-0, the Monarchs would still be well out of the Top 100.
Six C-USA teams – No. 37 LA Tech, No. 47 Southern Miss, No. 95, UAB, No. 111 Charlotte, No. 125 UTSA and No. 128 Middle Tennessee – are ranked ahead of ODU.
The RPI rankings will soon even out as the schedule gets a whole lot tougher. Conference USA is a power league in baseball, and ODU has 30 games against league opponents. There's also a home-and-home with Virginia, ranked fifth nationally by Baseball America.
An aside here: ODU hosts the Cavaliers on Tuesday, April 26th, at Harbor Park in a night game. Mark that one on your calendar. U.Va. knocked ODU out of the NCAA Tournament, 4-3, in ten innings last season.
ODU also plays three-game sets with Charlotte, Southern Miss and LA Tech, all of whom played in the NCAA Tournament last season, as well as a three-game home stand against Florida Atlantic, a traditional powerhouse.
So far, Finwood loves what he has seen in his team.
"Our energy and the camaraderie have been great," he said. "The guys are OK when we're down and they need to be.
"They realize we're just a couple of good at-bats of getting back in it. If we can hold teams down from scoring, we've always managed to have a big inning, at least we have so far.
"When you get used to winning, you find ways to win. Our guys know they have to earn each victory. But they expect to win and that's what you want to see."
ODU's last game came against East Carolina, which was ranked nationally during the early season and hosted an NCAA Regional last season.
ODU fell behind early, but came back and won, 9-8, when veteran shortstop Tommy Bell walked with two outs and the based loaded in the bottom of the tenth inning.
ODU turned the game into Home Run Derby, as Trice hit two home runs and catcher Brock Gagliardi, Garriola and Bell one apiece.
Blake Morgan, a true freshman pitcher from Marlton, New Jersey, had a rough start for ODU in that game, giving up six runs, all unearned.
"That was a tough spot for a true freshman," Finwood said. "But I was proud of how he hung in there.
"He didn't just blow up. He gave up six runs, but he hung in there and gave us a chance, and our bullpen only gave up two after that."
Second baseman Chris Dengler was a freshman All-American in 2020, missed most of last season with a hip injury and got off to an horrific start this season.
He had just two hits in his first 18 at bats, and was briefly benched. But he now leads the Monarchs with a .364 batting average.
"He's a super-talented kid," Finwood said. "We've just had to really dig in with him on his approach and his mental outlook on the game. He can be hard on himself.
"But he can play. He's a fantastic defender. Now he's starting to hit the ball."
Finwood said starting pitching is his biggest concern heading into the Middle Tennessee series.
"We haven't had a ton of long starts, especially on Sundays," he said. "I don't think Armstrong has gotten it going yet but he'll get another chance on Sunday
"Gertner and Pantos both threw well last weekend.
"Our starters just need to hang in there. If they can give us five good innings, we'll be OK because our bullpen is so strong."
ODU's defense has also been strong, but against ECU, three errors led to six runs.
Yet as they did so often last season, the Monarchs found a way to win.
"That's the best team we've played so far," Finwood said. "They are well-coached and aggressive on offense. Really good to play them and find a way to win.
"Tommy Bell showed what a veteran he is on that last at-bat. The guy was throwing a bunch of sliders out of the zone.
"He gets in a 3-2 count and so many college hitters aren't tough enough to take that last pitch. They swing at it because they don't want to strike out looking.
"That's a guy with (640) college at-bats under his belt. He's got a ton of toughness about him, and he was tough up there."
Finwood said his team's mental attitude is also tough.
"They've got a good mentality," he said. "They like each other. They're a lot of fun.
"They don't get too down when things aren't going great and don't get too crazy when they are.
"I think they realize they we can get better. They realize what the deal is, that we're always trying to sharpen the saw because, with conference play starting, we've got to get better."
Minium: At 14-1, ODU Baseball off to a Great Start, but the Schedule Now Gets a Lot Tougher
