Matchup – Old Dominion (26-13, 10-8 Sun Belt) at VCU (20-20, 6-6 Atlantic 10)
Game Location – The Diamond (Richmond, Va.)
Start Time – Tuesday, April 25 at 6 p.m.
Watch – ESPN+
Live Stats – Click Here
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion baseball will head to Virginia's capital city this Tuesday as VCU hosts the Monarchs for a 6 p.m. midweek contest at The Diamond.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and fans can also follow along with live stats.
Tuesday marks the first game in a home-and-home series versus the Rams this season as ODU will host VCU on May 16.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (26-13, 10-8 Sun Belt) went 2-2 last week, starting with an 11-6 win at VMI on Wednesday. ODU was one strike away from securing a 6-5 win in its Sun Belt series opener on Friday, but the Mountaineers rallied with two runs in the bottom of the ninth. ODU evened the series with a 13-1 victory on Saturday, but fell 18-8 in seven innings on Sunday.
Hunter Fitz-Gerald leads ODU's starters with a .341 batting average. The junior from Margate, Florida currently ranks 11th in the country in home runs (17), 14th in RBIs (55) and total bases (117), 15th in home runs per game (0.44), and 20th in RBIs per game (1.41). Other starters hitting .300 or better include Alex Bouche (.328), Tyler Wheeler (.328), Kenny Levari (.327), Thomas Wheeler (.313) and Luke Waters (.307). Jake Ticer (.295) is close behind Fitz-Gerald with 15 homers and Camden Grimes (.295) has hit 11 long balls. Levari leads the team with 13 doubles while Thomas Wheeler is third in the nation in triples (6), seventh in triples per game (0.15), and has stolen 15 bags in 18 attempts.
ODU is batting .305 as a team with a .557 slugging percentage and .412 on-base percentage. Through games played on April 23, the Monarchs rank fourth nationally in home runs per game (2.08), fifth in home runs (81), seventh in slugging percentage, 12th in runs scored (346), 17th in scoring (8.9 runs per game) and triples (15), and 19th in triples per game (0.38). The team also leads the Sun Belt in batting average and walks allowed per nine innings (4.06).
Junior right-hander Vincent Bashara (1-0, 5.14 ERA) will make his second start this season in what will be a staff day for the Monarchs. Opposing teams are batting .272 against ODU's arms, who own a combined ERA of 4.77.
Scouting VCU
The Rams (20-20, 6-6 Atlantic 10) have lost three of their last four games and are coming off a 2-1 series loss at George Washington. After a 9-2 setback last Friday, VCU responded with an 11-4 win on Saturday. Sunday's rubber match was a pitchers' duel as GWU starter Chris Kahler tossed a complete game. After a pair of solo home runs helped the Colonials build a 3-0 lead, VCU's Nic Erricsson closed the gap with a two-run blast in the eighth. However, the Rams could only muster a leadoff single in the ninth as Kahler retired the next three batters.
VCU has three starters hitting over .300: AJ Mathis leads the way with a .340 average, Brandon Eike is hitting .337 and Cooper Benzin owns a .327 clip. Eike has the team highs in home runs (7), doubles (17) and RBIs (51) while Mathis has scored a team-best 55 runs with 15 stolen bases on 16 attempts. William Bean (.265) has walked 38 times and Ethan Brooks (.257) is 8-for-9 on stolen base attempts.
Entering Tuesday's game, the Rams rank 10th in the nation with 80 batters hit by pitch this season. VCU leads the A10 in runs scored (315) and shutouts (2) and is second in walks (198), on-base percentage (.394) and fielding percentage (.979). The Rams are batting .279 as a team with a .423 slugging percentage.
Sophomore lefty Jack Goleski (1-0, 9.33 ERA) will get the start, his fourth of the year. The Rams have a 7.11 ERA as a team and opposing batters are hitting .296 against them.
The Series
ODU is ahead in the all-time series, 90-60. The teams split their two meetings last year, with both winning on the road. The Monarchs won 3-1 in Richmond on March 1, 2022 thanks to a sixth-inning rally. Kyle Edwards tied the game at 1-1 as he scored from second on a Kenny Levari single to left field. Carter Trice then reached on an error and stole second before Andy Garriola drove both runners in with a triple over the left fielder's head. Jacob Gomez held the Rams to one hit through 4.1 innings in relief, striking out four and issuing one walk.
VCU then won 8-2 on May 10 in Norfolk as the Rams scored four runs in the first five innings. Brock Gagliardi led ODU in the loss, batting 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles.
What's Next
ODU welcomes Texas State to Bud Metheny Ballpark this weekend as the Monarchs and Bobcats meet for the first time. The Sun Belt series begins with a 6 p.m. game on Friday, followed by a 3 p.m. game on Saturday and a noon start on Sunday.
Baseball Travels to Richmond for Midweek Game at VCU
