ODU Baseball Drops Weekend Opener at JMU, 25-6

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Old Dominion's baseball team began a key Sun Belt Conference weekend series with one of its most lopsided losses in years.
 
The Monarchs lost starting pitcher Blake Morgan to an injury in the second inning, and James Madison pounded out 18 hits the rest of the way, as the Dukes claimed a 25-6 victory Friday night.
 
It was the most runs ODU has given up in a game since 1975, when JMU also scored 25 runs against the Monarchs.
 
"This is the worst single game I can ever remember being a part of in 35 years of Division I baseball," ODU head coach Chris Finwood said.
 
"We got killed in every phase. It was absolutely a debacle, and we should all be embarrassed to have played like that in an ODU uniform.
 
"Everyone in our dugout needs to look in the mirror and decide if they want to compete or not because it was about as non-competitive an effort as you could ever imagine.
 
"It falls on my shoulders. And I will get it fixed."
 
The Monarchs won't have to wait long to redeem themselves. The teams meet again Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Sam Armstrong, who at 9-1 has been ODU's most effective pitcher this season, will start Saturday.
 
The series, and next week's season-ending three-game set against Georgia State next week at ODU, are both critical for ODU's postseason hopes.
 
ODU (30-19, 13-12 Sun Belt) is ninth Sun Belt standings, a game behind  fifth-place JMU (28-20, 13-10).
 
The top six teams advance to the double elimination Sun Belt Tournament. The teams that finish seventh through 10th meet in two single elimination games with the winners advancing to the double elimination round.
 
ODU could still finish among the top six but has yet to clinch a place among the top 10.
 
Things went south for ODU in the bottom of the second when JMU's Mike Mancini grounded sharply down the first base line. First baseman Hunter Fitz-Gerald made a diving grab, but threw high to Morgan, who was trying to cover the base.
 
Morgan reached high for the ball, which he could not glove, and fell awkwardly to the ground and was shaken up. He was unable to continue, so pitching coach Mike Marron signaled for reliever Dylan Brown to pitch.
 
Finwood said after the game that it's too soon to tell how serious Morgan was injured.
 
Trevon Dabney was then hit by a pitch and Kyle Novak singled to load the bases.
 
Pinch hitter Jack Cannizzaro then walked, scoring Mancini.
 
Ryan Dooley then reached on an error, scoring Dabney, and Coleman Calabrese singled to score Novak to make it 3-0. Cannizzaro then scored on a wild pitch and Dooley scored on a sacrifice fly by Mason Dunaway.
 
ODU got two runs back in the top of the second. Kyle Edwards tripled to center field and Luke Waters grounded out to shortstop to score Edwards.
 
Kenny Levari then walked, Fitz-Gerald moved him to third with a single to right field and Alex Bouche then singled him home.
 
The Dukes scored three runs in the bottom of the third and then blew the game open with an eight-run fourth inning.
 
ODU got three runs in the top of the fifth on doubles from Waters, Bouche and Logan Duffy. Bouche, the freshman from Chesapeake, had two hits and three runs batted in. Waters led ODU with three hits.
 
Catcher Jackson Tone, a freshman from Chesapeake's Western Branch High School, got his first career hit at ODU with an eighth-inning triple.