Old Dominion (9-6) vs. Princeton (2-8)
Game Location – Bud Metheny Ballpark (Norfolk, Va.)
Game 1 – Tuesday, March 12 at 3 p.m.
Game 2 – Wednesday, March 13 at 3 p.m.
Watch – ESPN+ (Game 1 | Game 2)
Live Stats – Game 1 | Game 2
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion baseball has a pair of midweek games Princeton this Tuesday and Wednesday at Bud Metheny Ballpark.
Both games are scheduled for 3 p.m. starts and will be streamed on ESPN+. Live stats will also be available.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (9-6) went 2-2 last week. After defeating William & Mary, 6-2 last Tuesday in Norfolk and having its second meeting with the Tribe called off due to weather, ODU won the first game of a Friday doubleheader 7-5 over Northeastern. However, the Huskies answered with an 8-4 decision in Game Two and claimed Sunday's rubber match, 17-9.
Through games played on March 10, the team leads the Sun Belt and ranks 12th in the country in stolen bases per game (2.33) and 13th in stolen bases (35). On the mound, ODU's arms are 11th nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.28) and 17th in walks allowed per nine innings (3.16). The Monarchs are hitting .236 with a .346 slugging percentage and a .345 on-base percentage and have stolen safely 35 out of 39 times.
Leading ODU at the plate are Kyle Edwards (.339), Luke Waters (.317) and Alex Bouche (.300). Edwards has driven in a team-best 14 runs, though Waters is close behind him with 12 RBIs and Steven Meier (.280) and Kenny Levari (.216) are both at 10. Meier and Edwards have scored a combined 25 runs, not quite a third of the team's total. Meier is also 8-for-8 when attempting to steal, Waters is 8-for-9 and Edwards is 7-for-9.
ODU will have a couple of staff days against the Tigers, but will start Blake Morgan (1-0, 6.23 ERA) on Tuesday and Garrett Harker (0-0, 13.50 ERA) on Wednesday.
Scouting Princeton
The Tigers (2-8) are currently making their trek through the Commonwealth. Princeton has seven games in as many days and started off their road trip with a 24-8 loss at Richmond on Monday afternoon. Following the two midweek contests at ODU, the Tigers will return to the state capital for a four-game set at VCU.
Princeton took an early 2-0 lead against the Spiders on a Jake Bold RBI double to left center and a Kyle Vinci RBI single to left, but Richmond answered with three runs in the second inning and two more in the third. U of R then broke the game open with a 12-run bottom of the fourth.
Coming into the week, Princeton was ranked sixth in the country with 1.22 double plays turned per game. Not including the numbers from Monday's game, the Tigers were also leading the Ivy League in double plays (12) and triples (3) and were second in their conference in walks (42), on-base percentage (.351), sacrifice bunts (2), stolen bases (10), stolen bases per game (1.11) and triples per game (0.33).
Princeton's updated numbers have the Tigers hitting a combined .265 with a .399 slugging percentage and a .358 on-base percentage. Caden Shapiro has the hot bat for the team with a .341 average, Jake Koonin and Jake Kernodle are both batting .333, and Bold owns a .308 clip. Koonin has the team high in RBIs with 13 and Nick DiPietrantonio (.227) has stolen three bags in four attempts.
On the bump, the Tigers own a 9.57 ERA as a team and are allowing opponents to hit .339 against them.
Princeton was picked to finish fourth in the Ivy League's Preseason Poll after reaching the Conference Championship Final last season. Head Coach Scott Bradley is in his 26th season leading the program.
The Series
ODU is ahead in the all-time series, 15-8 and won both meetings with the Tigers last season. On March 14, the Monarchs plated four runs in the second and another seven in the third for what would be a 13-0 victory in seven innings. Hunter Fitz-Gerald and Chris Dengler both went 3-for-4 with an RBI while Dylan Brown earned the win after recording two strikeouts with one hit allowed in a three-inning start.
The next day saw the Monarchs come away with a 23-0 win. Landen Burch threw five shutout innings and tallied seven strikeouts with four hits and no walks. ODU had 11 different batters collect a hit, led by Bouche with a 3-for-5 outing. He hit a solo home run, drove in three runs, scored twice and also walked twice.
Up Next
ODU opens Sun Belt play against Georgia Southern this weekend at The Bud. The Monarchs and Eagles begin their series with a 6 p.m. start on Friday. Saturday's game will begin at 3 p.m. and the weekend will wrap up with a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday.
Monarchs Host the Princeton Tigers This Tuesday and Wednesday
