Matchup – Old Dominion (28-16, 11-10 Sun Belt) at Arkansas State (15-26, 5-14 Sun Belt)
Game Location – Tomlinson Stadium-Kell Field (Jonesboro, Ark.)
Game 1 – Friday, May 5 at 7 p.m.
Game 2 – Saturday, May 6 at 4 p.m.
Game 3 – Sunday, May 7 at 12 p.m.
Watch – ESPN+ (Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3)
Listen – FOX Sports 1310, 100.9 FM
Live Stats – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion baseball is headed to Jonesboro, Arkansas this weekend for a Sun Belt Conference series at Arkansas State. The Monarchs and Red Wolves start off with a 7 p.m. ET game on Friday, then play again at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday before wrapping up the weekend with a 12 p.m. contest on Sunday.
Fans can watch all three games on ESPN+ or tune into Fox Sports 1310, 100.9 FM to hear Andy Mashaw. Live stats will also be available.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (28-16, 11-10 Sun Belt) are in a five-way tie for sixth place in the conference standings with three Sun Belt series remaining in the regular season. ODU dropped a close game at Liberty, 3-2 on Wednesday night. The team had runners on first and second with no outs in the top of the ninth, but was unable to capitalize. The Flames then walked it off with an RBI single to right field.
ODU has six starters batting .300 or better. Tyler Wheeler leads the way with a .338 average and Hunter Fitz-Gerald is close behind him at .333. Kenny Levari and Alex Bouche are both batting .308, and Thomas Wheeler and Jake Ticer come into the weekend with a pair of .304 clips. Fitz-Gerald leads the team with 20 home runs (seventh in the country), 50 runs scored, 62 RBIs and 130 total bases. Levari has doubled a team-best 15 times, and Thomas Wheeler is first in triples (6), walks (29) and stolen bases (16-for-19).
As of May 3, the Monarchs rank seventh nationally in home runs (87), eighth in home runs per game (1.98), and 17th in both runs scored (373) and slugging percentage (.539). ODU leads the Sun Belt in ERA (4.74), triples (15), triples per game (0.34) and walks allowed per nine innings (4.19. The team is also second in the league in walks (237), double plays per game (0.84), scoring (8.5 runs per game) and shutouts (3).
This weekend will see a change in the rotation as ODU will start Vincent Bashara (2-0, 4.33 ERA) on Friday, Sam Armstrong (8-1, 3.02 ERA) on Saturday and Blake Morgan (3-4, 6.63 ERA) on Sunday.
Scouting Arkansas State
The Red Wolves (15-26, 5-14) were swept at Southern Miss last weekend and are coming off a 13-4 loss to Memphis this past Tuesday. A-State is currently 12th in the league standings and its only Sun Belt series win came against ULM on April 21-23 after taking two of three games from the Warhawks.
Brandon Hager leads the Red Wolves at the plate with a .331 batting average. Following him are Wil French (.314), Cross Jumper (.293) and Allen Grier (.279). Hager also leads the team with 11 home runs, French has scored 50 runs with 38 walks, and Kody Darcy (.264) has driven in 39 runs. French is 10-for-11 on stolen-base attempts, Blake Burris (.271) is 7-for-10 and Grier is 6-for-8.
The Red Wolves are batting .271 as a team with a .411 slugging percentage and .374 on-base percentage. A-State ranks 11th nationally with 2.41 doubles per game and is third in the Sun Belt in doubles (99) and double plays per game (0.83).
A-State has not announced its weekend rotation yet and was picked to finish last in the conference preseason coaches' poll with 23 total points.
The Series
ODU and A-State are meeting for the first time this weekend.
What's Next
ODU will host East Carolina next Tuesday, May 9 at Harbor Park for the Commonwealth Classic. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
ODU Set for Road Series at Arkansas State
