Old Dominion (5-3) vs. Charlotte (5-4)
Game Location – Bud Metheny Ballpark (Norfolk, Va.)
Game 1 – Friday, March 1 at 2 p.m.
Game 2 – Saturday, March 2 at 2 p.m.
Game 3 – Sunday, March 3 at 1 p.m.
Watch – ESPN+ (Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3)
Live Stats – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion Baseball and Charlotte meet for three games at Bud Metheny Ballpark this weekend. Game One in the series will start at 2 p.m. on Friday, Saturday's Game Two is also scheduled for 2 p.m., and Sunday's series finale with feature a 1 p.m. first pitch.
Fans can watch all three games on ESPN+. Eric Bohannon and Brock Gagliardi will call Friday's game, David Strickland will cover Saturday, and Andy Mashaw has Sunday's game. Live stats will also be available.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (5-3) go into the weekend coming off a 6-5 win over No. 11 East Carolina on Tuesday. After ECU's Jacob Starling evened the score at 5-5 in the eighth, Steven Meier (2-for-4) walked it off with a solo home run to left, his second long ball of the day. Bailey Matela picked up his first win of the season after recording five strikeouts without allowing a baserunner in two innings out of the pen.
Meier is batting .375 to lead ODU at the plate. The junior from Kennewick, Washington has scored a team-high 11 runs and is 6-for-6 on stolen base attempts. He's been hit by pitch five times so far, which ranks 22nd in the nation, and he's also 27th with 0.75 stolen bases per game. Luke Waters is hitting .344 with a team-best nine RBIs and Alex Bouche owns a .296 average with seven RBIs and seven walks. Kyle Edwards (.259) is tied for the national lead in sacrifice flies with four and has stolen four bags in as many attempts. As a team, the Monarchs are hitting .223 with a .328 slugging percentage and a .350 on-base percentage. ODU is 19-for-19 when attempting to steal, ranking 19th in stolen bases and 24th in stolen bases per game (2.38). The team is also 13th in the country in hit batters (20).
The Monarchs will go with their same weekend rotation of John Holobetz (1-1, 4.50 ERA), Dylan Brown (1-0, 5.00 ERA) and Trent Buchanan (1-0, 6.00 ERA). Jacob Gomez (0-1, 1.13 ERA) has two saves, which puts him eighth nationally. ODU's arms have combined for a 4.31 ERA with opposing teams hitting .257 against them. The Monarchs are second in NCAA Division I in walks allowed per nine innings (2.15) and fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.18).
Scouting Charlotte
The 49ers (5-4) split a four-game series with West Virginia last weekend and are coming off a 3-2 win over Wofford on Tuesday. Trailing 2-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, Thad Ector hit a leadoff single and Brandon Stahlman walked before Noah Furcht brought everyone home with a three-run blast to left. Ryan Degges earned the win and Tony Rossi retired the Terriers in order in the ninth to collect the save.
Ector is the top hitter for Charlotte with a .478 clip. Also hitting .300 or better are Furcht (.355) and Rene Lastres (.310). Stahlman (.286) has driven in a team-high 10 runs and Furcht has scored 10 runs. The 49ers are batting .263 as a team with a .434 slugging percentage and a .388 on-base percentage. The team hasn't attempted a lot of steals, but is 3-for-3 when they do. Four different players have combined to hit six sac flies, which ranks 31st nationally.
ODU will face lefthander Cole Reynolds (0-1, 9.95 ERA) on Friday and righty Cameron Hansen (1-1, 7.56 ERA) on Saturday. The 49ers haven't named a starter for Sunday and own a combined 5.92 ERA with a .255 batting average against. AJ Wilson (0-0, 7.27 ERA) is 16th in the country with 18 strikeouts through 8.2 innings in relief while Tony Rossi (1-0, 0.00 ERA) has a pair of saves in three outings. Charlotte ranks 18th with 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
The 49ers were picked to finish second in the American Preseason Coaches' Poll behind ECU and Hansen was named to the Preseason All-Conference Team. Head coach Robert Woodard is in his fifth season leading the program.
The Series
Former Conference USA rivals, Old Dominion and Charlotte have met 95 times previously with the Monarchs ahead in the all-time series, 52-43. ODU and Charlotte split two games in The Queen City on March 10-11 last season. After the 49ers claimed the series opener 10-2, the Monarchs bounced back with an 11-2 victory in Game Two. The series finale was canceled due to weather.
Up Next
ODU will play a pair of midweek games against William & Mary next week. The Monarchs will host the Tribe for a 3 p.m. game at The Bud on Tuesday, then make the trip to Williamsburg for a 3 p.m. game at Plumeri Park on Wednesday.
Weekend Series Versus Charlotte Up Next for ODU Baseball
