NORFOLK, Va. – Not even Ernest Hemingway could have scripted a better end to Old Dominion's baseball Senior Day.
Catcher Brock Gagliardi, a senior from Tacoma, Washington, hit a towering, walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Monarchs to a 5-4 victory over Marshall Sunday at the Bud Metheny Ballpark.
The Monarchs closed out their final homestand of the season by sweeping three games from Marshall, including two in dramatic fashion. It was ODU's first three-game Conference USA sweep of the season.
The Monarchs clinched a berth in the Conference USA Tournament early Sunday morning in a game that began at 8:15 Saturday night when Ryan Teschko drove in Matt Coutney with a one-out single in the bottom of the 12th at almost 1 a.m.
That followed a 13-8 victory Friday night in which the Monarchs hit three home runs.
Gagliardi's home run also broke the school single-season home run record as the Monarchs now have 106. The previous record was set last season with 105.
Gagliardi wasn't the only senior to stand tall. Shortstop Tommy Bell, who has struggled this season with injuries, blasted a home run over the left field wall in the bottom of the eighth on Sunday. Bell finished the three-game series with six hits in 11 at bats and scored five runs and had three RBIs.
He was also hit by pitches in all three games. He has been hit by a pitcher a school-record 50 times.
After Marshall erased a 4-2 Monarch lead with two runs in the top of the ninth, Gagliardi and senior relief pitcher Brett Smith combined to snuff out the rally.
Smith came into the game with one out and runners on first and second. The Herd tried a double steal, but Gagliardi threw out Kyle Schaefer trying to steal third.
Smith then struck out Jordan Billups to end the threat.
It was a sweet way for Smith to close out his last home game. The Chesapeake native is in his seventh season after four surgeries that sidelined him for most or all of three seasons.
Gagliardi's home run set off a wild celebration and a thunderous ovation from the crowd of 566, most of whom stayed until game's end.
"I was expecting a fastball and I saw it and hit it," he said. Winning his last home game with a walk-off home run, he said, "it just feels awesome."
He and everyone in the stadium knew when the ball left his bat the game was over, as the ball cleared the scoreboard in right field..
What he didn't know was that Mike Conrad, the athletic facilities director who is responsible for caring for The Bud's playing surface, retrieved the ball and presented it to his mother, Tammy, who traveled from the West Coast to see his final three home games.
She broke into tears when the ball was presented to her.
For the first time in memory, ODU played the Canadian national anthem prior to the game in honor of Coutney and his family, who traveled to Norfolk from Alberta, Canada for the weekend series.
"That got me charged up," Coutney said.
Coutney, who is second in the nation in home runs, was 5 for 12 with four RBIs and one run scored over the weekend.
The victories followed bitterly disappointing losses to VCU and William & Mary last week in which the Monarchs scored a total of two runs.
ODU (34-15, 16-11 Conference USA) won the league title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Regional final last season, but is further down in the college baseball RPI this season than last.
The three wins over Marshall boosts ODU's chances of getting an at-large bid. The Monarchs have four games left before the conference tournament begins in two weeks at Southern Miss.
Gagliardi said "the whole week has been emotional. It's been a long ride and we've put in so much hard work in.
"Some of the older guys sat down after the two losses and said, 'we can still do this. We can still make a run at the post season.'
"We took it upon ourselves to take control of things. We know we have to win every game from here on out. We won every game this weekend. It took two walk-offs, but a win is a win."
As ODU is joining the Sun Belt Conference on July 1, it was the last Conference USA event of any kind to be held in Norfolk. ODU has been in Conference USA for 10 seasons.
Playing their eighth game in 10 days, the Monarchs' pitching staff was depleted, yet ODU got strong performances on the mound.
Starter Sam Armstrong threw five good innings, allowing just two runs, and reliever Connor Muly, who had only pitched 7.1 innings this season coming into Sunday, was brilliant, allowing one run over 2 2/3 innings.
The Monarchs scored their first run in the bottom of the third when, with one out, senior Andy Garriola drove Tommy Wheeler in on a fielder's choice. The Herd went for the double play and but instead didn't record an out as Coutney was safe at second and Garriola safe at first.
Marshall then took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth, when centerfielder Luke Edwards drove in Geordon Blanton with a single and catcher Ryan Leitch followed by drilling a sacrifice fly deep to right field that scored Travis Sankovich.
Marshall threatened to stretch the lead in the top of the sixth when the Herd had runners on second and third with one out.
Muly combined with Gagliardi to snuff out the attempted rally. The Herd called for a squeeze play, but sensing one may be coming, Muly threw a fastball low and outside that Blanton attempted to bunt but missed.
Christian Lucio broke toward home on the pitch, then reversed course, but was chased down by Gagliardi.
Two pitches later, Muly struck out Blanton to end the threat.
Wheeler then erased the lead with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the sixth, when he hit a towering home run that bounced up against the parking deck over the right field fence. He drove in Chris Dengler, who doubled, to push ODU to a 3-2 lead.
Wheeler also made two great catches, one against the fence in the first inning and a diving catch in the second.
"Any time you finish up senior day with a senior hitting a home run in the bottom of the ninth, that's kind of story book," coach Chris Finwood said. "For Brock and Tommy Bell to hit home runs in their last at bats in the Bud, that was a neat thing.
"It wasn't cosmetically pleasing, but at this time of the year, a win is a win.
"This was a really good way to finish at home. We've got a lot of momentum now."
Senior Brock Gagliardi Hits a Walk-Off Home Run on Senior Day to Lift ODU Past Marshall, 5-4
