Old Dominion (0-3) at Charlotte (2-1)
Game Location – Hayes Stadium (Charlotte, N.C.)
Game 1 – Friday, Feb. 21 at 2 p.m.
Game 2 – Saturday, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m.
Game 3 – Sunday, Feb. 23 at 1 p.m.
Watch – ESPN+ (Game 1 | Game 3)
Live Stats – Click Here
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion baseball will be in the Queen City this weekend for three games at Charlotte.
Friday’s series opener was originally scheduled for a 4 p.m. start, but has been moved up to 2 p.m. to avoid colder temperatures later in the day. The two teams will then play again Saturday at 2 p.m. before wrapping up the weekend with a 1 p.m. game on Sunday.
Charlotte is streaming the series opener and series finale on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (0-3) opened their season at Georgia Tech last weekend and battled with the Yellow Jackets in all three games. The hosts took a close Game One, 3-2 last Friday and then rallied with a seven-run bottom of the ninth to take a 7-3 final on Saturday. On Sunday, ODU tied the game at 4-4 with three runs in the top of the seventh, but GT answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning and the Monarchs fell, 7-4.
Efrain Morales hit .455 (5-for-11) against the Yellow Jackets, Tyler Zedalis finished with a .250 clip (3-for-12), and Kainen Jorge posted a .222 average (2-for-9). Scotty Young (.500), Evan Holman (.333), Jack Slater (.250), and Zach Leite (.250) each appeared in two games in Atlanta. As a team, ODU is batting .200 with a .242 slugging percentage and .330 on-base percentage heading into this weekend’s series.
ODU will go with the same weekend rotation of Ben Moore (0-0, 0.00 ERA) on Friday, Dylan Brown (0-0, 0.00 ERA) on Saturday, and Blake Morgan (0-0, 5.40 ERA) on Sunday. Monarch pitchers own a combined ERA of 5.63 and are holding opposing batters to a .225 clip against them.
Scouting Charlotte
The 49ers (2-1) split their doubleheader with Northeastern last Friday, defeating the Huskies 6-1 in the opener but falling 3-1 in the second game of the twin bill. The series finale was canceled as sustained rain in the area on Saturday and early Sunday morning made Hayes Stadium unplayable. Charlotte then played at Wofford on Tuesday and came back from Spartanburg, South Carolina with a 4-2 victory.
Dawson Bryce leads the team with a .636 average, batting 7-for-11 with two doubles and two runs scored through three games. Also hitting .300 or better are Cody Gunderson (.333) and Noah Furcht (.300). The 49ers enter this weekend hitting .250 as a team with a .390 sugging percentage and a .312 on-base percentage.
Charlotte is expected to go with three right-handers for this week, beginning with Mike Szturma (1-0, 1.50 ERA) on Friday. Blake Gillespie (0-1, 5.40 ERA) will get the nod on Saturday, and Andrew Kribbs (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will start on Sunday. The 49ers have a team ERA of 2.00 with opponents batting .204 against them.
The Series
The former Conference USA rivals have met 98 times in the all-time series, with the Monarchs ahead 54-44. ODU hosted Charlotte on March 1-3 last season. After dropping the first game 4-2, the Bud Bombers evened the series with a 4-1 final in the second game. Brown kept the 49ers in check for four innings, retiring the first 10 batters he faced. The Monarchs plated three runs on as many hits and one error in the first inning and added a run in the seventh for some insurance.
Old Dominion then blanked Charlotte, 3-0 in the rubber match. Luke Waters finished 2-for-4 on the day with two doubles, Kyle Edwards (1-for-4) doubled and drove in a run, Alex Bouche (1-for-4) also had a two-base knock, and Kenny Levari (1-for-4) provided a solo home run. Hutson Trobaugh picked up the win while Bailey Matela earned the save. Starter Trent Buchanan held the 49ers to just three hits and two walks while striking out two in four scoreless innings.
Up Next
ODU has its first midweek game of the season next Tuesday, Feb. 25 when the Monarchs make the short trip down to Greenville, North Carolina for a 4 p.m. meeting with East Carolina.