Matchup – Old Dominion (27-13, 10-8 Sun Belt) vs. Texas State (27-15, 10-8 Sun Belt)
Game Location – Bud Metheny Ballpark (Norfolk, Va.)
Game 1 – Friday, April 28 at 6 p.m.
Game 2 – Saturday, April 29 at 3 p.m.
Game 3 – Sunday, April 30 at 12 p.m.
Watch – ESPN+ (Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3)
Live Stats – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
NORFOLK, Va. – After a five-game road swing, Old Dominion baseball is back home this weekend as the Monarchs welcome Texas State for a Sun Belt Conference series at Bud Metheny Ballpark.
Friday's series opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. The teams will then play at 3 p.m. on Saturday and conclude the weekend with a noon game on Sunday. Andy Mashaw will call all three games on ESPN+ and fans can also follow along with live stats.
Saturday's Game will also be Bark in the Park.
Around the Horn
An Alex Bouche grand slam highlighted an 11-4 win at VCU this past Tuesday. Bouche finished 3-for-5 and scored twice. Jake Ticer (2-for-3) and Hunter Fitz-Gerald (1-for-3) also homered. Vincent Bashara (2-0) made his second career start, tossing four shutout innings. He recorded four strikeouts, allowed three hits and didn't walk anyone.
The Monarchs come into the weekend 27-13 overall with a 10-8 mark in the Sun Belt. Fitz-Gerald leads ODU's starters with a .341 batting average and ranks ninth in the nation in home runs (18), 12th in home runs per game (0.45) and total bases (121), 13th in RBIs (57) and 18th in RBIs per game (1.42). Other starters hitting over .300 include Bouche (.338), Tyler Wheeler (.328), Kenny Levari (.321), Thomas Wheeler (.313), Luke Waters (.310) and Ticer (.304).
Ticer follows Fitz-Gerald with 16 long balls this season, Camden Grimes (.286) has hit 11 and Bouche is at 10. Levari has hit a team-high 13 doubles and Thomas Wheeler has tripled six times, good for third in the country. He's also eighth in triples per game (0.15) and has stolen 15 bases in 18 attempts. The Monarchs are batting .305 as a team and .283 in conference play.
The Bud Bombers currently rank fourth nationally in home runs per game (2.10), sixth in home runs (84), seventh in slugging percentage (.560), 13th in runs (357) and 17th in scoring (8.9 runs per game). ODU also leads the league in triples (15) and triples per game (0.38) and is second in walks (223) and batting average.
ODU will start Blake Morgan (3-3, 6.00 ERA) on Friday and Sam Armstrong (7-1, 3.19 ERA) on Saturday. Sunday's starting pitcher has yet to be decided. The Monarchs ranked second in the league with a team ERA of 4.75 and opponents are hitting .271 against them.
Scouting Texas State
The Bobcats are 27-15 overall and are also tied for third in the league standings at 10-8 in conference play. TXST is coming off a series loss at Troy last weekend and avoided the series sweep by defeating the Trojans 9-5 on Sunday. The Bobcats then hosted Prairie View A&M on Tuesday and secured a 7-2 victory over the Panthers.
Davis Powell leads the team with a .338 clip, Jose Gonzalez and Chase Mora are both hitting .290, and August Ramirez owns a .286 average. Mora and Gonzalez are the top home run hitters with 12 and 10, respectively. The pair have also combined to drive in 81 runs. Powell has doubled a team-best 14 times and has scored 37 runs. Gonzalez is a perfect 10-10 on stolen-base attempts, Ben McClain (.248) is 9-for-10 and Kameron Weil (.262) is 7-for-7.
The TXST rotation will see three right-handers this weekend: Levi Wells (6-2, 4.81 ERA) on Friday, Tony Robie (5-1, 4.25 ERA) on Saturday and Zeke Wood (1-2, 4.67 ERA) on Sunday. Wells is one of six Sun Belt pitchers who have tossed a complete game this season and reliever Triston Dixon (3-1, 3.83 ERA) leads the conference with 21 appearances. The Bobcat arms own a combined 5.81 ERA with opposing batters hitting .273.
TXST was picked to finish tied for second in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches' Poll with one first-place vote and 158 total points. Wells, Wood, Dixon and Gonzalez represented the Bobcats on the Preseason All-Sun Belt Team.
The Series
This weekend marks the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
What's Next
ODU will travel to Lynchburg, Virginia next Wednesday, May 3 for the second game of a home-and-home series with Liberty. First pitch from Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium is scheduled for 6 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 and Texas State Meet this Weekend at The Bud
