Matchup – No. 10 Old Dominion (32-22, 15-15 Sun Belt) vs. No. 7 James Madison (30-23, 15-13 Sun Belt)
Game Location – Riverwalk Stadium (Montgomery, Ala.)
Start Time – Tuesday, May 23 at 4 p.m.
Watch – ESPN+
Listen – Fox Sports 1310, 100.9 FM
Live Stats – Click Here
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Old Dominion baseball is headed to Montgomery, Alabama this week to play in the 2023 Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship, presented by Troy University. ODU enters the conference tournament as the No. 10 seed and will take on No. 7 seed James Madison in a 4 p.m. ET single-elimination game on Tuesday.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and fans can hear Ted Alexander call the action on Fox Sports 1310, 100.9 FM. Live stats will also be available.
Tournament Information
The 10-team tournament is being held at Riverwalk Stadium, home of the Montgomery Biscuits, from Tuesday, May 23 to Sunday, May 28. The Championship begins with a pair of single-eliminations games on Tuesday, then shifts to a double-elimination format for the rest of the week. The Championship Final is scheduled for a 2 p.m. ET start next Sunday and every game will be nationally broadcast on ESPN+.
For more information and to purchase tickets, fans can visit the Sun Belt Championship Central page.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (32-22, 15-15 Sun Belt) hosted Georgia State for the final weekend of the regular season. After dropping a close game 5-4 in 10 innings on Thursday and falling 4-0 on Friday, ODU won the series finale 7-6 Saturday on what marked Senior Day for the Monarchs. Trailing 6-3, Hunter Fitz-Gerald hit a three-run home run to right field to even the score in the botton of the sixth. Kenny Levari then homered in the eighth for what proved to be the deciding run.
The Sun Belt released its postseason honors on Monday, and Fitz-Gerald was named to the All-Conference First Team while Sam Armstrong earned a spot on the Second Team. Kyle Edwards has been on a tear of late, turning in four straight outings with multiple hits. The sophomore from Virginia Beach went 7-for-13 (.538) against the Panthers and leads ODU's starters with a .345 average. Since May 3 at Liberty, he's hit .463 (19-for-41) with three home runs. Fitz-Gerald is next at .320, Levari is batting .315, Jay Tarkenton owns a .314 average and Luke Waters has an even .300.
With three home runs last Saturday, the Bud Bombers are up to 99 for the season. One more long ball and the Monarchs would become the first NCAA Division I team to hit 100 home runs in three straight seasons since the start of the BBCOR era in 2011.
ODU enters this week's championship batting .289 as a team with a .520 slugging percentage and .396 on-base percentage. The Monarchs rank 15th in the nation in home runs, 18th in home runs per game (1.83), 22nd in triples (18) and 25th in slugging percentage. The team is also second in the Sun Belt in walks (295), scoring (7.9 runs per game), shutouts (4), and triples per game (0.33).
Armstrong (9-3, 3.47 ERA) will get the nod on Tuesday. The junior out of Wantage, New Jersey has recorded 68 strikeouts while allowing 31 runs (28 earned) on 63 hits and 27 walks through 72.2 innings pitched. He finished fourth in the league in wins and was fifth in batting average against (.231).
Scouting James Madison
The Dukes (30-23, 15-13) capped off their regular season with a trip to Statesboro, Georgia for a three-game set against the Eagles. Weather forced the two teams to play a doubleheader on Friday, with the hosts claiming Game One 10-6 before JMU responded with a 4-3 victory in Game Two. Saturday's rubber match went to GSU, 4-2.
JMU had a couple of All-Conference Second Team selections in outfielder Fenwick Trimble and utility player Jack Cone. Kyle Novak leads the Dukes starters with a .365 batting average, Trimble and Cone are next, Mason Dunaway is hitting .310 and Coleman Calabrese .306. Trimble has the team highs in homers (13), hits (76), runs (62) and RBIs (52) while Mike Mancini (.289) has drawn 42 walks. The Dukes are a combined 80-for-119 on stolen base attempts, and Cone is the top threat to steal with a 14-for-19 success rate.
JMU has a combined batting average of .304 with a .468 slugging percentage and .404 on-base percentage. The Dukes currently rank eighth in the country in sacrifice bunts (49) and are second in the Sun Belt in batting average, double plays turned (47), double plays per game (0.89), on-base percentage and stolen bases per game (1.51).
Sophomore right-hander Todd Mozoki (1-4, 5.06 ERA) will get the start on Tuesday. A native of Cockeysville, Maryland, he's made 10 starts in 14 appearances and has allowed 37 runs (30 earned) on 55 hits and 30 walks in 53.1 innings. Mozoki has recorded 40 strikeouts on the season and opposing hitters are batting .270 against him.
All-Time Series
JMU hosted the Monarchs at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park on May 12-14. The Dukes took the first two games of the series 25-6 and 6-4 that Friday and Saturday, but ODU won the series finale 8-5 in 11 innings on Sunday. The Monarchs led 5-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Dukes prolonged the game with an RBI sacrifice bunt. An Alex Bouche RBI ground out and a two-RBI single from Chris Dengler helped clinch the road victory and secured ODU's spot in the conference championship.
The Monarchs hold a 59-49-1 lead in the all-time series.
What's Next
With a win, the Monarchs will play regular season champion Coastal Carolina on Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET.
Monarchs Open Sun Belt Championship Against No. 7 Seed JMU
