No. 24 Old Dominion (6-1) vs. Bryant (3-3)
Game Location – Bud Metheny Ballpark (Norfolk, Va.)
Game 1 – Friday, March 4 at 3 p.m.
Game 2 – Saturday, March 5 at 2 p.m.
Game 3 – Sunday, March 6 at 1 p.m.
Follow – Live Stats | CUSA.tv
NORFOLK, Va. – The No. 24 Old Dominion baseball team looks for a third weekend series win in a row to start the season when it hosts Bryant for a trio of games this Friday through Sunday. Friday's opener is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start. Saturday's game will start at 2 p.m., and the Sunday finale begins at 1 p.m. All three games are streaming live on CUSA.tv.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (6-1) scored three times in the top of the sixth inning and received 4.1 innings of one-hit ball from reliever Jacob Gomez in Tuesday's 3-1 win at VCU. Down 1-0, ODU tied the game on a Kenny Levari single before Andy Garriola tripled and drove in two. A senior from Sierra Madre, California, Garriola has provided the eventual game-winning hit in each of ODU's last two games.
Gomez took to the mound with two outs and runners on the corners in the bottom of the fourth. He struck out the first batter he faced to get the Monarchs out of that jam then cruised through the eighth inning. He fell one out shy of matching his career-long outing and struck out four batters without issuing a walk.
Robbie Petracci continues to lead the Monarchs in batting average, hitting .400 (6-of-15). Garriola and Carter Trice are tied for the team lead with eight hits. Garriola also leads ODU with three home runs and is tied with Levari for the most RBIs (nine).
The Monarchs are a perfect 18-for-18 in stolen base opportunities this season with the duo of Thomas Wheeler and Josh Trujillo leading the team with five stolen bags apiece. ODU stole just 39 bases in 60 games last season.
Nick Pantos has yet to allow a run this season and is 2-0. He also leads the team with 14 strikeouts. Jason Hartline and Noah Dean each have two saves and have not given up a run so far. Hartline has 11 strikeouts in 5.1 innings, and Dean has six in three innings of work.
Scouting Bryant
Bryant enters the weekend at 3-3 having swept No. 12 East Carolina in the first weekend before being swept by Davidson.
The Bulldogs managed just two runs in their series with the Wildcats, both coming in Sunday's finale.
Logan Allen leads Bryant with eight hits and five runs scored. He hit 6-of-12 with three RBIs and four runs scored in the East Carolina series. Alex Lane, Tommy DiTullio and Derek Smith all have five hits.
Jared Burrows, Collin Lowe or Logan Frasier have started every game on the mound for Bryant. Burrows and Lowe each have a 1.80 ERA. Burrows owns 11 strikeouts, and Lowe has 10.
The Bulldogs are the nine-time defending Northeast Conference regular season champions. They were picked to finish first yet again prior to the start of the season.
The Series
ODU and Bryant are meeting for just the second time. The Monarchs edged the Bulldogs 9-8 at the Bud on March 10, 2015. Taylor Ostrich broke an 8-all tie in the bottom of the seventh, and Connor Myers made a diving catch in deep center field to end the game and strand the tying run on third base.
What's Next
ODU entertains Princeton for a pair of midweek games next Tuesday and Wednesday. Both games start at 3 p.m. Stony Brook, the preseason favorites in the America East, then comes to town for three games starting Friday, March 11.
Voucher Books!
The 2021-22 Old Dominion voucher book is available for sale on ynottix.com. Each voucher book contains 25 tickets and is priced at $50, which is a 60 percent savings off the single-game ticket price. Vouchers are good for any regular season home game played at the Bud Metheny Baseball Stadium. Vouchers can be presented at the gate for admission. Single-game tickets can also be purchased for $5.
Click here to purchase the 2021-22 ODU voucher book.
The Extra Finnings Podcast
The Extra Finnings Podcast is back for the 2022 season, which features an in-depth look at the ODU baseball program. Catch the most recent episode of the Extra Finnings Podcast, here.
No. 24 Baseball Welcomes Bryant for Three Games
