NORFOLK, Va. – Landen Burch threw five shutout innings, 11 different batters collected a hit and Old Dominion baseball rolled to a 23-0 win over Princeton on Wednesday afternoon at Bud Metheny Ballpark.
"Burch was really good today," said head coach Chris Finwood. "Nice to see him have an outing like that."
A freshman from Corning, New York, Burch (2-0) recorded seven strikeouts, allowed four hits and didn't issue a walk in his third career start. Ben Moore, Ron Cole, Robert Cook and Steven Trone all tossed one inning each.
Alex Bouche hit a solo home run, drove in three runs, scored twice and walked twice in a 3-for-5 day at the plate. Jay Tarkenton (2-for-3) had an RBI double and added two runs, one walk and a stolen base to his totals. Chris Dengler (2-for-3) doubled, collected three RBIs, came around twice and earned a base on balls. Kenny Levari (2-for-5) had three RBIs, two runs and a walk and Robbie O'Neal (2-for-5) contributed a double, two RBIs, three runs and a walk. Kyle Edwards (1-for-1) hit a three-run blast, walked once and scored twice.
The Monarchs (15-2) opened the scoring with a five-run bottom of the second. With two outs, Thomas Wheeler worked a full count, stole second base and took third on a wild pitch. Tarkenton scored him with a double to right center, and Princeton issued free passes to O'Neal and Dengler to load the bases. Two more walks and a fielding error by the Princeton third baseman made it 4-0, and Bouche capped off the inning with an RBI single to third base.
ODU plated another four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Bouche led off the frame with a solo shot to right center. The Monarchs then ran the bags full again, and Levari came home on an O'Neal ground out to first. Dengler then doubled in a pair to push the lead to 9-0.
A pair of RBI doubles by Wheeler and O'Neal and a sacrifice fly from Hunter Fitz-Gerald highlight a six-run bottom of the sixth. ODU put up another six-spot in the seventh, with Edward's three-run bomb highlighting that spurt. Already leading 21-0, ODU then wrapped up the scoring with two runs in the eighth. Edwards scored from second on a Bouche hit to the gap in right, and a fielding error by the Princeton first baseman allowed Josh Trujillo to cross the plate.
The offensive outburst allowed ODU to get multiple players in late. Trujillo, Logan Duffy, Jack Speights and Jackson Tone were all able to get into the game.
On getting some reserves in late, Finwood added, "Always good to get some guys in there that haven't gotten to play much."
The Tigers fell to 3-10 with the loss. ODU now leads the all-time series 15-8 and has won nine in a row against Princeton. The Monarchs outhit the visitors 17-5 and the 23 runs scored were the most since ODU's Conference USA opener at Middle Tennessee last season, a 23-7 final on March 18.
ODU opens Sun Belt conference play this weekend with three games at ULM. Friday's series opener is set for a 7 p.m. ET start, Saturday will begin at 3 p.m. ET and Sunday's finale will be a 2 p.m. ET first pitch. The series will be streamed on ESPN+ and fans can also hear Andy Mashaw call the action on FOX Sports 1310.
"Definitely have to get ready now for 10 tough Sun Belt Conference weekends," said Finwood.