Matchup – Old Dominion (8-1) vs. Saint Joseph's (1-3)
Game Location – Bud Metheny Ballpark (Norfolk, Va.)
Game 1 – Friday, March 3 at 3 p.m.
Game 2 – Saturday, March 4 at 2 p.m.
Game 3 – Sunday, March 5 at 1 p.m.
Watch – ESPN+(Game 1 | Game 2)
Live Stats – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion baseball team will host Saint Joseph's for three games at Bud Metheny Ballpark this Friday through Sunday, March 3-5. Friday's series opener is set for a 3 p.m. start. The teams will then play again at 2 p.m. on Saturday before wrapping up at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The first two games will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available.
Around the Horn
For the second time in as many weeks, ODU defeated William & Mary by one run, 6-5 on Wednesday at The Bud. The Monarchs (8-1) led 6-2 through five innings when the Tribe manufactured a run with a sacrifice fly to center field. Later in the eighth, a solo home run and an RBI triple got the visitors to within a run at 6-5. Enter John Holobetz, who recorded five strikeouts to close the door on the Tribe and earn his earn his second save of the season.
Hunter Fitz-Gerald, the reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week, drove in two runs with a homer and a sac fly as he finished 2-for-3 at the plate and scored once. Luke Waters had the other multi-hit outing for the Monarchs, batting 2-for-4 with a double and one run. Camden Grimes went 1-for-3 with an RBI, Thomas Wheeler drove in a run and came around once in a 1-for-4 performance, and Robbie O'Neal turned in a 1-for-4 outing with one RBI.
ODU's offense has been clicking through its first nine games of the season. Alex Bouche leads the Monarchs with a .435 batting average. Jake Ticer is next with a .394 clip, O'Neal is close behind him at .391, Waters owns a .387 average, Fitz-Gerald enters the weekend ta .386, Kenny Levari is batting .343 and Tyler Wheeler is at an even .300. As a team, ODU owns a combined .327 average with 107 hits, 47 extra-base hits, 88 runs and 84 RBIs.
On the mound, ODU's weekend rotation of Blake Morgan, Sam Armstrong and Dylan Brown has helped secure a 2-1 series win over St. John's and a series sweep of Fordham. The Monarchs own a 3.36 ERA as a team and have tallied 86 strikeouts against 81 hits and 31 walks. ODU's arms are holding opposing hitters to a .251 clip.
Scouting Saint Joseph's
The Hawks (1-3) opened the season at Duke, dropping the first two games 16-0 and 2-1 before avoiding the sweep with a 5-4 win in 10 innings in the finale. Right hander David Owsik was named the Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 21 after holding the Blue Devils hitless through five innings of work. He did not allow a Duke baserunner until the fifth inning and his final line included three strikeouts, one walk and one hit batter.
SJU is coming off a 6-3 loss at Rutgers on Wednesday. The Scarlet Knights jumped out two an early 2-0 lead at the end of the first, but the Hawks answered in the next frame with a two RBI double to pull even. However, the hosts scored another four runs on as many hits and an error in the bottom half of the second. Neither side scored again until the ninth when SJU hit a solo shot to right center, but that was the last bit of offense the Hawks could muster.
Conlan Wall's .308 batting average is tops for the Hawks. Brett Callahan is the next-best bat at .294 and Max Hitman is hitting .250. SJU is batting just .165 through its four games and has produced nine runs on 21 hits and 17 walks. Domenic Picone (0-1, 9.00 ERA) started the season opener, Will McCausland (0-0, 2.25 ERA) started game two at Duke, and Owsik (0-0, 0.00 ERA) started game three. SJU has a team ERA of 6.09 with a .254 batting average against them.
The Series
ODU is up 14-2 in the all-time series. The teams last squared off in 2017 when SJU closed out the ODU Baseball Tournament against the host Monarchs, who trailed 6-4 entering the bottom of the ninth. Vinnie Pasquantino drew a leadoff walk and Shaun Wood followed with a pinch-hit single. A balk allowed Pasquantino to cross the plate, Turner Bishop tied the game with an RBI triple, and he then scored the decisive run on a Nick Walker walkoff sac fly.
What's Next
The Monarchs are at home next Tuesday, March 7, as they welcome Norfolk State for a 3 p.m. game at The Bud.
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.
Baseball Welcomes Saint Joseph’s for Three Games This Weekend
