Old Dominion (19-17, 7-8 Sun Belt) at Marshall (12-24, 5-10 Sun Belt)
Game Location – Jack Cook Field (Huntington, W.Va.)
Game 1 – Friday, April 19 at 6 p.m.
Game 2 – Saturday, April 20 at 7 p.m.
Game 3 – Sunday, April 21 at 1 p.m.
Live Stats – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion Baseball begins the second half of Sun Belt Conference play this weekend with a road series at Marshall. The Monarchs and Thundering Herd will play at 6 p.m. on Friday, at 7 p.m. on Saturday, and at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Marshall isn't streaming the series, but live stats will be available.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (19-17, 7-8 Sun Belt) secured their third win over a ranked opponent this season as the team defeated No. 10 Virginia on Tuesday night in the Commonwealth Classic at Harbor Park. ODU jumped out to a 4-0 lead and the bullpen held one of the best offenses in the country to just one run through eight innings.
ODU heads into the weekend ranked 51st in the latest RPI and tied for seventh alongside JMU in the conference standings. Luke Waters leads the team in batting average (.348), OPS (1.001), slugging percentage (.585), on-base percentage (.416), hits (47), home runs (8), RBIs (30), and total bases (79) and is second in stolen bases (16-for-17). Alex Bouche is hitting .274, Kenny Levari is next at .262, and Kyle Edwards is right behind him at .261. Steven Meier (.258) ranks 27th nationally with 19 stolen bases and has scored a team-high 32 runs. As a team, the Monarchs are batting .245 with a .382 slugging percentage and a .342 on-base percentage.
Through games played on April 17, Old Dominion is 12th in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.80), 19th in walks allowed per nine innings (3.50), 20th in WHIP (1.31), and 25th in ERA (4.32). For the rotation, the Monarchs will keep Jay Cassady (0-1, 2.95 ERA) as the Friday starter and Blake Morgan (2-1, 4.22 ERA) as the Saturday starter with Sunday's starter yet to be named. ODU pitching is holding opponents to a .244 average against them.
Scouting Marshall
The Herd (12-24, 5-10) comes into the series listed 176th in the RPI rankings and tied for 12th in the league standings. After getting swept by No. 19 Louisiana last weekend in Lafayette, Louisiana, Marshall dropped a pair of midweek games to Morehead State, 7-2 and 18-7 on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Cam Harthan leads Marshall's bats with a .330 clip. Owen Ayers is next at .296 and ranks eighth in the country with 17 doubles and 10th with 0.47 doubles per game. He's also scored a team-best 24 runs and is tied with Elijah Vogelsong (.222) for the most RBIs with 21. Caden Stairs sits third on the team with a .292 average and AJ Havrilla is hitting .255. Harthan and Gio Ferraro (.212) are both 9-for-10 when attempting to steal. The Herd is batting .230 as a team with a .354 slugging percentage and a .330 on-base percentage and ranks second in the Sun Belt in stolen bases (55) and stolen bases per game (1.53).
Marshall's rotation will see Drew Harlow (5-4, 4.78 ERA) on Friday, Bryce Blevins (2-1, 1.60 ERA) on Saturday, and Carter Lyles (0-3, 5.26 ERA) for the series finale on Sunday. The team is fourth in the league with two shutouts and also fifth in walks allowed per nine innings (4.31).
The Herd was picked to finish 12th in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches' Poll. Head Coach Greg Beals is in his second season leading the program.
The Series
ODU leads the all-time series, 19-9 and hosted Marshall on March 24-26 last season. The Herd won the opener, 6-1, but the Monarchs responded with a 21-5 final in Game Two and a 12-2 victory in the rubber match.
Get Your Gear!
Need some ODU gear to rep the Monarchs? The ODU Bookstore has you covered as the on-field hats the Monarchs wear during games are now in stock.
Up Next
ODU hosts VCU next Tuesday for the first game in a home-and-home series with the Rams. First pitch from Bud Metheny Ballpark is set for 6 p.m.
Monarchs Resume Conference Play at Marshall this Weekend
