LEXINGTON, Va. – Five different Monarchs combined to hit six home runs as Old Dominion baseball earned an 11-6 win at VMI on Wednesday night at Gray-Minor Stadium.
ODU scored in each of the first seven innings to build an 11-2 lead. Kenny Levari got the offense started with a one-out solo home run in the top of the first. Jake Ticer and Lincoln Ransom then went back-to-back to lead off the second and push the lead to 3-0. The Keydets (20-17) responded in the home half of the frame as Morris walked and then scored on a Koza double to the gap in right.
Hunter Fitz-Gerald joined the slugfest with a one-out blast in the top of the third. Chris Dengler then drew a leadoff walk to start the fourth and reached second thanks to a throwing error by the VMI shortstop. Dengler advanced to third as Levari reached on a fielder's choice, and he raced home on a Thomas Wheeler ground out to first.
The hosts trimmed the ODU lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the fourth with a pair of singles, a sacrifice bunt, and an RBI ground out. In the fifth, Alex Bouche singled to left and moved up to second on a wild pitch. A throwing error then allowed him to cross the plate and give the Monarchs a 6-2 advantage.
The Monarchs (25-11) pushed across three more runs in the sixth. Luke Waters singled, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a fielding error by the VMI second baseman. With two outs and the bases loaded later in the inning, another wild pitch brought in Thomas Wheeler from third. Josh Trujillo and Tyler Wheeler then drew a pair of walks for another run as ODU went up 9-2. Waters and Fitz-Gerald then capped off ODU's scoring with a pair of solo home runs in the seventh.
A double, two singles and a two-run homer helped VMI manufacture four runs in the bottom of the seventh, but the Keydets weren't able to get any closer. In the eighth, Joey DeChiaro picked off a runner who was then caught trying to steal, struck out a batter an induced a fly out center field. Ron Cole then struck out the side in the ninth to close out the game.
"I thought it was as good a pitched game on that field that I've seen since I've been at ODU," said head coach Chris Finwood. "We swung the bats well with six home runs and defended well. It was a good road win to start the trip against a VMI team that has been playing well."
Vincent Bashara (1-0) earned the win in what was a staff day for ODU. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk, striking out one batter in two innings pitched. Four Monarchs turned in multi-hit efforts. Fitz-Gerald went 2-for-4 with two homers, three runs, two RBIs, one walk and one stolen base. Tyler Wheeler hit 2-for-4 as he drove in a run and walked once, while Waters and Levari both homered and finished 2-for-6. Ticer and Ransom contributed a pair of 1-for-2 outings.
ODU will travel to Boone, North Carolina this weekend for a Sun Belt series at App State. The teams will play at 6 p.m. on Friday, at 3 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Six Home Runs Spark 11-6 Win at VMI for ODU Baseball
