Old Dominion (16-16, 5-7 Sun Belt) vs. James Madison (20-12, 6-6 Sun Belt)
Game Location – Bud Metheny Ballpark (Norfolk, Va.)
Game 1 – Friday, April 12 at 6 p.m.
Game 2 – Saturday, April 13 at 4 p.m.
Game 3 – Sunday, April 14 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 is back at Bud Metheny Ballpark this weekend for a Royal Rivalry series versus James Madison. The Monarchs and Dukes will play at 6 p.m. on Friday, at 4 p.m. on Saturday, and at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ with Andy Mashaw calling the series opener and Tim Wentz calling Games Two and Three. Live stats will also be available.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (16-16, 5-7 Sun Belt) wrapped up a five-game road swing with a 7-5 loss at No. 9 East Carolina on Wednesday night. It marked ODU's fifth-straight game against a ranked opponent after playing at No. 15 Virginia on April 2 and a Sun Belt series at No. 20 Coastal Carolina last weekend. That's the most consecutive games the Monarchs have played against ranked teams since ODU played four games at No. 19 Charlotte on April 23-25, 2021 before hosting the 49ers came to Norfolk for another four-game series on April 30-May 2 when they were ranked 15th.
ODU comes into the weekend hitting .240 as a team with a .381 slugging percentage and a .340 on-base percentage. Luke Waters continues to lead the Monarchs at the plate with a .345 average. Following him are Steven Meier (.275), Alex Bouche (.274) and Kyle Edwards (.264). Waters has hit a team-high seven home runs and driven in 27 runs while Kenny Levari (.252) is close behind him with 24 RBIs. Meier has scored a team-best 30 runs and is 18-for-18 on stolen base attempts, good for 22nd nationally in swiped bags and 32nd in stolen bases per game (0.56), while Waters has 16 steals on 17 attempts. ODU leads the Sun Belt in both stolen bases (60) and stolen base per game (1.88).
Jay Cassady (0-1, 3.63 ERA) will start Friday's series opener and Blake Morgan (2-0, 3.86 ERA) will get the nod on Saturday. The Monarchs have not named a starter for Sunday and currently rank 14th in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.83), 21st in walks allowed per nine innings (3.47), and 22nd in WHIP (1.32). ODU is also second in the league with a team ERA of 4.43 and is holding opposing batters to a .245 clip against.
Through games played on April 10, the Monarchs are 57th in the RPI.
Scouting James Madison
The Dukes (20-12, 6-6 Sun Belt) have won four straight after sweeping App State last weekend and earning a 14-4 victory over Richmond on Wednesday night. JMU had three players join Waters on the Sun Belt Baseball Podcast's Starting Nine this week. Catcher Jason Schiavone hit 3-for-7 (.429) with two long balls and two RBIs against the Mountaineers, outfielder Fenwick Trimble hit 6-for-12 (.500) with one home run, three RBIs and six runs, and designated hitter Ryan Dooley finished the series 6-for-11 (.545) with two doubles, a home run, three RBIs and four runs.
JMU has four starters hitting over .300: Trimble leads the team with a .354 average, Wyatt Peifer is second at .343, Schiavone is third with a .311 clip, and Dooley is batting .303. Brendan O'Donnell (.281) and Schiavone have gone yard 10 and nine times, respectively, and seven different Dukes have driven in at least 20 runs. Mike Mancini (.289) is the top threat on the basepaths with 14 steals on 16 attempts. Dooley has a 9-for-11 success rate when trying to steal and Trimble is 8-for-9. The team is second in the conference with a .300 batting average and is third in the country in sac bunts with 34 and 24th with 20 sac flies.
The Dukes' rotation for the series will see right hander Ryan Murphy (2-2, 7.28 ERA) on Friday, lefty Donovan Burke (2-0, 3.98 ERA) on Saturday, and righty Casey Smith (1-2, 3.26 ERA) on Sunday. JMU's arms have a combined ERA of 5.84 with teams hitting .292 against them. The Dukes have turned the seventh-most double-plays in Division I this season with 33 and rank 10th nationally with 1.03 double plays per game.
James Madison is listed 23rd in the most recent RPI rankings and is receiving votes in this week's NCBWA Poll. The Dukes were picked to finish 10th in the Sun Belt's Preseason Coaches' Poll with Trimble earning a spot on the Preseason All-Sun Belt Team. Head Coach Marlin Ikenberry is in his ninth season leading the program.
The Series
ODU made the trip to Harrisonburg last season, falling 25-6 and 6-4 in the first two games. The Monarchs avoided being swept though, rallying from a 4-0 deficit to win the third game 8-5 in 11 innings. The two programs then met in the single-elimination round of the Sun Belt Championship, with the 10th-seeded Monarchs falling to the No. 7 Dukes, 2-1.
Old Dominion holds a 59-50-1 lead in the all-time series.
The Keydet Connection
Both coaching staffs have a shared connection with VMI. ODU Head Coach Chris Finwood was a four-year starter for the Keydets from 1985-88 and served as the Head Coach of the program from 1992-94. Ikenberry played for Finwood as a four-year starting catcher for the Keydets and was the Head Coach from 2004-14. ODU Assistant Coach Jonathan Hadra was a four-year letterman for Ikenberry, graduating in 2004, and was the Head Coach of the Keydets for eight seasons (2015-22). Additionally, JMU Associate Head Coach Michael Roberts served as a volunteer assistant coach for Ikenberry at VMI from 2012-14. A team captain for the 2008 season, he played three seasons at VMI before being drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Up Next
ODU and Virginia meet for the third time this season when the Monarchs host the Cavaliers next Tuesday, April 16 for the Commonwealth Classic at Harbor Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the gates will open to the public at 5 p.m. General admission tickets are on sale for $10 each and can be purchased here.
ODU Hosts JMU for Royal Rivalry Series this Weekend
