NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion baseball won the first game of Saturday's doubleheader 8-7, but a late rally in the rubber match fell short as Southern Miss handed the Monarchs an 11-8 setback.
"It was a hard-fought day of baseball. I was proud of how we competed all day in cold and wet conditions. Gave them a few runs in the second game and couldn't quite catch up. They have a very good team and we have to play a bit better to win the series," said head coach Chris Finwood.
In Game One of the twin bill, Kenny Levari singled to right center with the bases loaded to give ODU a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second. Jake Ticer then tagged up on a Robbie O'Neal sacrifice fly before Thomas Wheeler scored from second on a Luke Waters hit back up the middle.
Both teams scored a run in the fourth, and Matthew Etzel came home on a wild pitch to trim the ODU lead to 4-2 in the top of the fifth. The Monarchs (23-8, 8-4 Sun Belt) responded with another 3-spot in the home half of the frame. After Wheeler walked and stole second, Levari singled to second base as Wheeler raced home on a Southern Miss throwing error. Later in the inning, Logan Duffy brought in Levari with a triple to right field and Duffy crossed the plate on a Waters RBI ground out to third.
The Golden Eagles (19-11, 7-5) got back to within 7-4 on a two-out, two run home run by Danny Lynch in the sixth, but ODU came up with another response as Ticer singled in Hunter Fitz-Gerald in the Monarchs' next turn at the plate. The visitors manufactured another three runs on two hits in the eighth, but Robert Cook struck out a pair in the ninth to collect the save.
Sam Armstrong (6-0) earned the win after holding Southern Miss to two runs on three hits and three walks. The junior finished with three strikeouts in five innings of work. Duffy went 3-for-4 with a triple, run scored and RBI. Wheeler and Levari both hit 2-for-4 while Waters and Ticer contributed 2-for-5 efforts.
In Game Two, the Golden Eagles scored in each of the first three innings to build a 4-0 lead. ODU's offense finally got going in the home half of the third. With one out, back-to-back singles from Duffy and Waters and a Southern Miss fielding error put runners in scoring position for Camden Grimes. He singled to center field to plate Duffy, and Waters tagged up on a Fitz-Gerald sac fly to right.
Southern Miss pushed its lead to 8-2 with four runs on three hits and an error in the top of the fifth. The Golden Eagles then added an insurance run in the sixth. ODU managed to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh, and a wild pitch allowed Josh Trujillo to score. After Fitz-Gerald drove in two more with a single through the right side, he was waved home on an Alex Bouche double to left. However, Southern Miss was able to make the play at home and the Monarchs trailed 9-5 heading into the eighth.
Carson Paetow doubled in a run to put the Golden Eagles up 10-5, but ODU put another three up on the board in the bottom of the eighth. With one out and runners on first and second, Lincoln Ransom reached on an error. That allowed Levari to come around for the unearned run. Waters was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Fitz-Gerald worked a full count to cut the deficit to 10-7. Bouche then reached on a throwing error as Ransom scored the play, but Fitz-Gerald overran second and was tagged out.
Southern Miss made it 11-8 with a bases-loaded walk in the top of the ninth. The bottom of the ninth saw Jay Tarkenton draw a leadoff walk and Wheeler reach on a fielder's choice. Levari then singled to left and a wild pitch moved both runners up with one away. Tyler Wheeler went down swinging though and Ransom grounded out to third to bring the game to a close.
Dylan Brown (2-2) was handed the loss after giving up three runs, two of them earned, on four hits. He did not issue a walk and recorded one strikeout in the two-inning start. Waters scored twice, walked once and was hit by a pitch in a 2-for-3 outing. Levari hit 3-for-5 with a run, Duffy ended up 2-for-3 with a run, and Fitz-Gerald batted 1-for-2 with four RBIs, two walks and a sac fly.
"Logan Duffy had a big day and it's nice to get his bat in the lineup," continued Finwood. "He has been working hard and his swing is improving. We have to pitch better and defend better to win games like the third game of the series. Need a few guys to step up. We're not that far away and have to keep peddling the bike."
Up next for the Monarchs is a road game at East Carolina this Tuesday, April 11. First pitch from Clark-LeClair Stadium is set for 6 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and fans can also hear Ted Alexander call the action on Fox Sports 1310 AM, 100.9 FM.