Matchup – Old Dominion (30-17, 13-11 Sun Belt) vs. No. 14 East Carolina (34-14, 12-6 American)
Game Location – Bud Metheny Ballpark (Norfolk, Va.)
Start Time – Wednesday, May 10 at 3 p.m.
Watch – ESPN+
Listen – FOX Sports 1310, 100.9 FM
Live Stats – Click Here
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion baseball and No. 14 East Carolina meet for the second time this season when the Monarchs host the Pirates in the 2023 Commonwealth Classic on Wednesday afternoon at Bud Metheny Ballpark. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
Originally scheduled for Tuesday, May 9 at 7 p.m., inclement weather and travel issues forced the Classic be moved to The Bud. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and simulcast on Fox Sports 1310, 100.9 FM with Ted Alexander on the call. Live stats will also be available.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (30-17, 13-11 Sun Belt) won two of three games at Arkansas State last weekend, defeating the Red Wolves 19-14 on Friday and 3-0 on Saturday. The shutout in Game Two marked career win number 600 for head coach Chris Finwood, who is in his 21st season overall and 12th at ODU. A-State then avoided being swept by taking the series finale 12-4 on Sunday.
Hunter Fitz-Gerald leads the team's starting bats with a .335 average. He's fifth in the country in home runs (21), eighth in home runs per game (0.45), 11th in RBIs (66), 12th in total bases (141), 15th in RBIs per game (1.40) and 19th in sacrifice flies (6). Tyler Wheeler is next in batting average with a .329, Kenny Levari is hitting .316, Alex Bouche owns a .308 clip, Jake Ticer is at .304 and Luke Waters sits at an even .300. Logan Duffy (.364) has also broken into the lineup with five starts in the last seven games.
As a team, ODU is batting .297 with a .538 slugging percentage and .404 on-base percentage. The Monarchs enter Wednesday's game ranked eighth nationally in home runs per game (1.94) and ninth in home runs (91). The Bud Bombers are also 15th in slugging percentage, 16th in runs scored (399), 21st in triples (16) and 22nd in scoring (8.5 runs per game).
It will be a staff day for the Monarchs with Vincent Bashara (2-0, 6.51 ERA) making the start. It will be the fifth start in the past six appearances for the junior from Norfolk, Virginia. ODU's arms have a combined 4.99 ERA, good for third in the Sun Belt, and opposing teams are batting .272 against them. The Monarch have also recorded four shutouts this season, which ranks 17th nationally.
Scouting East Carolina
ECU is coming off a series sweep at Cincinnati. The Pirates (34-14, 12-6 American) defeated the Bearcats 9-3 last Friday and 11-3 on Saturday. With Sunday's series finale knotted at 5-5 through nine innings, a Ryley Johnson double down the right-field line and a Jacob Jenkins-Cowart single through the left side brought home the deciding run in the 10th as the Pirates earned the win, 6-5.
Five starters are hitting .300 or better, led by Justin Wilcoxen at .345. Next is Johnson at .319 and Jacob Starling at .311. Jenkins-Cowart has a .306 average and Luke Nowak is right behind him at .303. Starling and Lane Hoover (.282) have scored 45 and 42 runs, respectively. Jenkins-Cowart and Josh Moylan (.283) have both hit nine home runs, and Moylan has driven in 44 runs. The Pirates have stolen 65 bases on 75 attempts. Nowak is the primary threat to steal at 17-for-21, Starling follows at 12-for-13, Johnson is 9-for-10 and Hoover 8-for-9.
The Pirates come into the Classic hitting .287 as a team with a .459 slugging percentage and .386 on-base percentage. Through games played on May 8, ECU is fourth in the country in WHIP (1.25), fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.17), 10th in walks allowed per nine innings (3.22), 16th in ERA (4.07), 19th in hits allowed per nine innings (8.01) and 24th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.2).
ECU will start right-hander Garrett Saylor (1-0, 4.25 ERA) in what will also be a staff day for the Pirates. Opponents are batting .236 against them.
In the latest rankings released on Monday, ECU is listed 14th by D1Baseball, 11th by the NCBWA ,13th by Baseball America and 15th in the USA Today Coaches' Poll.
The Series
ODU made the trip to Greenville, North Carolina on April 11, falling to the then-No. 9 ranked Pirates 7-3 at Clark-LeClair Stadium. The Monarchs couldn't overcome an early 4-0 deficit as the hosts scored two runs in the first inning and two more in the second. Kyle Edwards drove in two runs in the top of the fourth, but ECU went up 7-2 with a three-run bottom of the seventh. A Fitz-Gerald solo shot in the eighth rounded out the scoring.
The Monarchs hold a 35-31 lead in the all-time series.
What's Next
ODU continues Sun Belt play with a three-game set at James Madison this weekend. Friday's series opener in Harrisonburg, Virginia is scheduled for 6 p.m. The Monarchs and Dukes play again Saturday at 6 p.m. and conclude the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Voucher Books!
The 2022-23 Old Dominion voucher book is available for sale on ynottix.com. For the cost of $50, you get 25 tickets that can be presented at the gate for admission to any regular season home game at Bud Metheny Ballpark. Single-game tickets can also be purchased for $5.
Click here to purchase the 2022-23 ODU voucher book.
ODU Hosts No. 14 East Carolina in the Commonwealth Classic Wednesday
