ODU Baseball Hosts VCU for Bark in the Park Game on Tuesday

Old Dominion (21-18, 9-9 Sun Belt) vs. VCU (25-14, 7-4 Atlantic 10)
Game Location – Bud Metheny Ballpark (Norfolk, Va.)
Start Time – Tuesday, April 23 at 6 p.m.
Watch – ESPN+
Live Stats – Click Here

NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion Baseball welcomes VCU to Bud Metheny Ballpark this Tuesday in what will mark ODU's Bark in the Park game. First pitch at The Bud is scheduled for 6 p.m., and fans will be allowed to bring their dogs. Additionally, ODU will recognize its student-athletes who made the Dean's List during the fall semester before the start of the game.

Those unable to attend can watch the contest on ESPN+ with Eric Bohannon calling the action. Live stats will also be available.

Around the Horn
After winning the Commonwealth Classic with a 7-4 victory over No. 10 Virginia last Tuesday at Harbor Park, the Monarchs (21-18, 9-9 Sun Belt) won two of three games at Marshall over the weekend. ODU dropped a close series opener 4-2 on Friday, but evened the series with a 3-1 decision on Saturday. The team then claimed the rubber match 12-2 on Sunday as Bryce Jones (2-for-4, one double, three RBIs) and Kyle Edwards (2-for-4, one double, five RBIs) had big days at the plate and Trent Buchanan retired 12 Herd batters in a row and tossed 4.2 scoreless innings.

Through games played on April 21, the Monarchs are ranked 60th in the RPI and ODU and sit in seventh place in the Sun Belt standings. Luke Waters continues to lead the team in batting average (.320), slugging percentage (.537), hits (47), home runs (8), RBIs (31) and total bases (79). The Laurel, Delaware native is also second on the team with 16 stolen bases in 18 attempts. Alex Bouche has the next-best batting average at .274, Kenny Levari is batting .265 and Edwards comes into Tuesday's game hitting .258. Edwards currently ranks 12th in the country with six sacrifice flies while Steven Meier (.248) is 27th nationally with 20 steals in 21 attempts. ODU is hitting .241 as a team with a .376 slugging percentage and a .341 on-base percentage.

Old Dominion's pitching has been a key factor to the team's success this season. The Monarchs come into Tuesday's game ranked 10th in Division I with a 2.87 strikeout-to-walk ratio. They're also 13th in WHIP (1.28), 16th in walks allowed per nine innings (3.39), 18th in ERA (4.15) and 24th in hits allowed per nine innings (8.13). Jacob Gomez is tied for the national lead in multi-inning saves with seven, and ODU is holding opponents to a .239 batting average against them. Nick Sulpizio (0-0, 9.00 ERA) will get the start in what will be a staff day for the Monarchs. It will be the ninth appearance and third start for the freshman from Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Scouting VCU
The Rams (25-14, 7-4 Atlantic 10) edged Liberty 2-1 in Richmond last Tuesday, then split a pair of games with Dayton on Friday and Saturday. VCU dropped the first game 5-1, but responded with an 8-3 victory the next day. Sunday's series finale was rained out.

The latest RPI rankings see the Rams listed 93rd, and they're currently tied for second alongside Dayton in the A10 standings. The Rams also rank second in their conference in walks (210), double plays (31) and double plays per game (0.79) and are batting .264 with a .403 slugging percentage and a .389 on-base percentage. VCU has three starters hitting over .300: Brandon Eike leads the way with a .340 clip, Aden is second at .310, and Anderson Fulke is third with a .308 average. Eike is also fourth in the nation in doubles with 19 and fifth in double per game at 0.49. He leads the A10 with 98 total bases. Hill has the team high in steals with nine on 14 attempts, followed by Ethan Iannuzzi (.243) with eight swiped bags on 11 attempts.

Right hander Jack Hoeymans (1-1, 5.28 ERA) will get the start for the Rams on Tuesday. A redshirt junior from McLean, Virginia, he's allowed 18 runs (17 earned) on 31 hits and 22 walks in 12 appearances. Hoeymans has also tallied 31 strikeouts in 29 innings pitched with opposing teams hitting .277 against him. VCU owns a team ERA of 4.58, good for 34th in all of DI. The team is second in the A10 in hits allowed per nine innings (9.34) and shutouts (2).

VCU was picked to finish fifth in the A10's Preseason Coaches' Poll. Head Coach Bradley LeCroy is in his second season leading the program.

The Series
ODU is ahead in the all-time series, 91-60 and won last year's meeting in Richmond, 11-4 on April 25. Vincent Bashara tossed four shutout innings to pick up his second win in as many starts, Alex Bouche went 3-for-5 at the plate with a grand slam and two runs scored, Jake Ticer finished 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and a hit by pitch, and Hunter Fitz-Gerald hit 1-for-3 with a solo home run, two RBIs, two runs and a walk.

The teams were scheduled to meet again in Norfolk on May 16, but the game was canceled due to inclement weather. ODU has won three of the last four meetings and six of the last eight and will play VCU again on May 7 at The Diamond.

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 ULM this weekend, beginning with a 6 p.m. start to Friday's series opener. The two teams then return for a 4 p.m. game on Saturday and wrap up with a 1 p.m. first pitch for Sunday's series finale.