NORFOLK, Va. – With one out in the bottom of the ninth inning Steven Meier hit a walk-off home run to give Old Dominion University Baseball a 6-5 win over No. 11 East Carolina Tuesday evening at Bud Metheny Ballpark.
"Well, it was a good game. Our guys competed hard and we made a lot of big pitches. It was good to see Blake Morgan get back on the mound and I thought all the guys pitched well today," ODU Head Coach Chris Finwood said. "Bailey Matela was fantastic at the end for us and obviously Steven Meier had a big day with two home runs and the game-winner. I'm proud of the guys!"
Old Dominion (5-3) held a 5-4 lead into the eighth inning before East Carolina (5-3) tied it. Carter Cunningham led off with a triple and scored on a double by Jacob Starling. But Bailey Matela came on to face Jacob Jenkins-Cowart, who was batting .500, and struck him out and struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning.
With one out in the ninth, Meier lifted a deep fly over the left field fence to set off a celebration at home plate.
ECU scored first with a three-run homer by Jenkins-Cowart in the first inning. ODU followed with a two-run home run by Alex Bouche.
The Pirates plated a run in the third on an RBI ground out but Meier followed by slugging his first home run of the day over the right field fence to make the score 4-3.
The Monarchs took their first lead of the day an inning later. Gavin Abrams and Jake Ticer led off the inning with walks and were moved to second on an Evan Holman sacrifice bunt. Kyle Edwards scored Abrams with a sacrifice fly and Luke Waters drove in Ticer with a single to give ODU the 5-4 advantage.
Waters finished the day 3-for-4, while Meier was 2-for-4 with the two homers.
Blake Morgan made his first start of the season, allowing three runs in two innings. Matela earned the win with two scoreless innings, striking out five of the six batters he faced.
ODU begins a three-game weekend series on Friday at 2 p.m. against Charlotte.
Steven Meier Walk-Off Blast Gives ODU a 6-5 win over No. 11 East Carolina
