NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion is sitting pretty at the midway point in the 2023 college baseball season. The Monarchs are 22-6, ranked 35th in the NCAA RPI and are tied with Coastal Carolina for the Sun Belt Conference lead with 27 games left to play.
Only 11 teams have won more games than the Monarchs, who rank fourth in the nation in home runs per game (2.18), fifth in slugging percentage (.588) and eighth in scoring (9.5 runs).
But ODU begins a seven-game stretch over ten days tonight with a home game today at 4 p.m. against Southern Miss at 4 p.m. that is so challenging that ODU players have nicknamed it "the Gauntlet." The game was moved to 4 p.m. to avoid rainstorms expected to roll through Norfolk tonight.
"We call it the Gauntlet and we know it's going to be a huge challenge," first baseman Hunter Fitz-Gerald said.
How ODU fares over those ten days could be critical to the Monarchs' at-large NCAA Tournament hopes in late May.
Southern Miss (17-10, 5-4 Sun Belt), the preseason Sun Belt favorite and No. 42 in the RPI, also plays at ODU Friday and Saturday.
Next Tuesday, ODU ventures to East Carolina, No. 12 in the RPI, in the first of a home-and-home series with the Pirates, who return to Norfolk May 9 to face the Monarchs at Harbor Park.
Then, next weekend there's a three-game home stand against Coastal Carolina (18-7, 7-2) which is No. 15 in the RPI, has won four games in a row and is tied with ODU (22-6, 7-2) for the Sun Belt lead.
ODU head coach Chris Finwood said as far as he's concerned, the gauntlet began last week with a game at Virginia, No. 3 in the RPI, and then three games against No. 78 Georgia Southern.
ODU lost at Virginia and then won two of three at Georgia Southern, leaving ODU 2-2 so far in the rugged 11-game stretch.
"If we could just play .500 over that stretch, we've got a chance to have a pretty good record," Finwood said.
"Some people would look at that and say, 'just .500?' But when you play .500 against Virginia, Georgia Southern, Southern Miss, East Carolina and Coastal Carolina, that's a pretty good job.
"Obviously, we're going to try to win every game. But at the end of the day, if we could come through that at .500, I think we'd feel OK."
Tonight's opener is drawing national attention. A reporter from D-1 Baseball is coming to report on the series and tonight's game will be broadcast by the America's Pastime Radio network.
ODU is also hoping that warm weather will attract more fans. A food truck will be available this weekend and for the Coastal Carolina series as well.
Tonight's game is a rematch of sorts of ODU's 3-1 victory over Southern Miss last season in Hattiesburg, when the Monarchs claimed two of three games against the Golden Eagles.
Southern Miss started pitching ace Tanner Hall, an All-American and Conference USA Pitcher of the Year, in Game 1 and he threw well, striking out a career-high 14 batters with no walks.
But thanks to magnificent pitching performances from starter Blake Morgan and reliever Jason Hartline, and home runs from Matt Coutney and Robbie Petracci, the Monarchs prevailed, 3-1.
Hall (5-2, 2.14 ERA) and Morgan (3-2, 4.67 ERA) face off again tonight.
ODU and Southern Miss both left Conference USA for the Sun Belt, which Finwood calls the toughest league he's coached in as a head coach. Eight of the Sun Belt's 14 teams are in the top 100 of the RPI. Only the ACC, SEC and Pac-12 have more.
Southern Miss hosted and NCAA Regional last year and won two of three games against LSU to head to a Super Regional.
"I have the greatest respect for their coach, Scott Berry, and the Southern Miss program," Finwood said. "Baseball is really a big deal in Hattiesburg. This weekend is another big challenge for us and we're going to face fantastic pitching, just like we did last year down there.
"They may have been more talented than us on the mound, but we certainly matched them. I was really proud of that.
I'm sure they haven't forgotten what happened. They will be ready to play.
"I hope our fans come out for this series. They're going to see a lot of great baseball and we could certainly use their support."
Contact Minium at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Minium: Home Series with Southern Miss is Beginning of a Tough Stretch ODU Players Calls "The Gauntlet"
