NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion baseball loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning but could not plate the tying run as the Monarchs fell 4-3 to App State on Saturday afternoon at Bud Metheny Ballpark.
ODU trailed 3-0 for most of the game, but finally scratched across a run in the eighth as Kyle Edwards hits a two-out double off the wall in center field and ran home on a Luke Waters triple to center. In the ninth, Alex Bouche was hit by a pitch to start the frame and was pinch ran for by Jack Speights. Jake Ticer then came through with a game-tying, two-run blast down the right-field line.
App State retook the lead, 4-3 in the top of the 10th on a Wilder line drive home run to right field. Edwards singled to center field to start the bottom of the inning, advanced to second on a Waters single through the left side, and reached third on a Kenny Levari fly out to right. Speights was then drilled to run the bags full, but Ticer popped up to second base and Maverick Stallings went down swinging to end the game. The Monarchs fall to 26-23 overall and 12-14 in conference play with the loss.
The Mountaineers (30-16-1, 15-10-1) scored two runs on as many hits in the top of the first. With one out, Drew Holderbach doubled to left center and was waved home on a Banks Tolley single through the right side, who advanced to second on Waters’ throw to the plate. A wild pitch allowed Tolley to move up to third, and he then scored on a CJ Boyd ground out to short. Austin St. Laurent then made it a 3-0 App State lead with a leadoff home run in the third inning.
Brandon Pond (1-3) took the loss after giving up the go-ahead run. He faced four batters in the 10th. Starter Ben Moore allowed two runs on two hits and a walk while striking out two in two innings of work. John Holobetz was tagged for one run, but retired 12 in a row between the fourth and eighth innings. The junior from Pottsville, Pennsylvania held App State to two hits and finished with five strikeouts without issuing a walk.
ODU was led at the plate by Edwards and Waters, who both turned in 4-for-5 performances on the day. Waters was a home run shy of the cycle as he singled twice, doubled and tripled with one RBI. Edwards doubled, scored a run and also stole a base. Ticer went 1-for-5 with the two-run homer and Bouche hit 1-for-3 for the team’s other hit.
The Monarchs will look to avoid the sweep when the teams return for Sunday’s series finale, scheduled for a 1 p.m. start at The Bud. The game marks Senior Day for ODU and the team will recognize Levari, Ticer, Lincoln Ransom, Pond, Hunter Cole, Trent Buchanan, Aiden Kuhle, Jacob Gomez, Vincent Bashara and Jay Cassady as well as team managers Samuel Phelps and Jacob Zidow prior to first pitch.