Matchup – Old Dominion (20-5, 5-1 Sun Belt) at Georgia Southern (13-12, 4-2 Sun Belt)
Game Location – J.I. Clements Stadium (Statesboro, Ga.)
Game 1 – Friday, March 31 at 6:30 p.m.
Game 2 – Saturday, April 1 at 2 p.m.
Game 3 – Sunday, April 2 at 1 p.m.
Watch – ESPN+ (Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3)
Listen – FOX Sports 1310, 100.9 FM
Live Stats – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion baseball is on the road this weekend as the Monarchs travel to Statesboro, Georgia for a Sun Belt Conference series at Georgia Southern. Friday's series opener at J.I. Clements Stadium is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start. The teams will then play at 2 p.m. on Saturday before wrapping up the weekend with a 1 p.m. game on Sunday.
All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ and Ted Alexander will call the action on FOX Sports 1310, 100.9 FM. Live stats will also be available.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (20-5, 5-1 Sun Belt) faced their first ranked opponent this past Tuesday in Charlottesville, Virginia, falling to No. 5 Virginia 8-1. After the Cavaliers broke open the game with a seven-run bottom of the second and added another run in fourth, ODU finally got on the scoreboard in the fifth inning. Thomas Wheeler drew a two-out walk, then raced home on a Tyler Wheeler double down the left-field line.
At the plate, Alex Bouche leads ODU's starters with a .376 batting average. Other starters hitting over .300 include Hunter Fitz-Gerald (.365), Luke Waters (.340), Thomas Wheeler (.333), Kenny Levari (.326), Jake Ticer (.325) and Camden Grimes (.324). Fitz-Gerald and Ticer have both hit 12 home runs and Grimes is not far behind with 10 long balls. Fitz-Gerald also leads the team with 35 runs and 38 RBIs, Bouche has walked 20 times, and Thomas Wheeler is 9-for-10 on stolen base attempts.
ODU comes into this weekend's series ranked third in the nation in slugging percentage (.600) and home runs (57), fourth in home runs per game (2.28) and scoring (10.2 runs per game), sixth in runs (256) and hits (291), and seventh in batting average (.324).
The Monarchs will go with their same rotation of Blake Mogan (2-2, 4.91 ERA), Sam Armstrong (5-0, 2.16 ERA) and Dylan Brown (2-0, 2.28 ERA). ODU has a 3.67 ERA as a team with opposing teams batting .251 against.
Scouting Georgia Southern
The Eagles (13-12, 4-2) swept South Alabama to open conference play, but dropped two of three games at Southern Miss last weekend. The Golden Eagles earned a close 4-3 win last Friday, then won the first game of a Saturday doubleheader, 9-7. GS edged the hosts 10-8 in Game Two of the doubleheader to avoid the series sweep. The Eagles are coming off a 12-2 outburst at Georgia on Wednesday night. Luke Hatcher went 2-for-5 with a grand slam and Jarrett Brown finished 4-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.
Jesse Sherrill is hitting a team-best .368, Brown is next with a .347 clip, Sam Blancato owns a .344 average and Blake Evans comes into the weekend batting .333. Sherrill and Brown have combined to score 50 runs while Noah Ledford (.264) and Blancato have driven in 29 and 28 runs, respectively. Ledford has hit a team-high six homers with 21 walks. The Eagles are hitting .283 with a .413 slugging percentage and .406 on-base percentage, and have stolen 18 bags in 23 attempts.
Through games played on March 29, GS ranks third in the country in hit batters (56), ninth in sacrifice bunts (21), and 15th in batters hit by pitch (50).
The Eagles' rotation will see left-hander Ty Fisher (2-2, 3.50 ERA) on Friday and righty Ben Johnson (4-1, 5.08 ERA) on Saturday. GSU has not named a starter for Sunday. The Eagles own a combined 5.77 team ERA and opposing batters are hitting .284.
The Series
GSU is ahead in the all-time series, 3-1. The Eagles won the last meeting 6-0 in May 1996 in the NCAA Atlantic Regional. This weekend marks the first time the two programs will meet as conference opponents.
What's Next
ODU is back in Norfolk next weekend as the Monarchs host Southern Miss for three games at Bud Metheny Ballpark.
Road Series at Georgia Southern on Deck for ODU Baseball
