AUBURN, Ala. – After rallying for an 11-9 win at No. 22 Auburn on Saturday, Old Dominion Baseball could not come up with a repeat performance as the Monarchs dropped the rubber match to the Tigers, 7-3 on Sunday.
The hosts opened the scoring in the bottom of the second with three straight singles by Cade Belyeu, Chase Fralick and Chris Rembert. The Tigers (13-3) then went up 2-0 with another run in the third. With one out and a runner on first, Deric Fabian appeared to hit a two-run home run over the top of the wall in left center, but upon review the call was changed to an RBI double.
Auburn’s Eric Snow made it 3-0 with a two-out RBI single back up the middle. Fabian then led off the fifth inning with a deep fly down the left-field line. Belyeu reached on an ODU fielding error, allowing him to reach second, and he was waved home on a Fralick base hit to left center as the Tigers led 5-0.
The Monarchs (4-9) finally broke through in the sixth. Tahraun Hammond and Kainen Jorge both singled, and the pair moved up on a failed pickoff attempt. Hammond then tagged up on a Luke Waters sacrifice fly to left to cut the deficit to 5-1.
Kyle Edwards singled up the middle to start the top of the seventh. The senior shortstop advanced to second on an Efrain Morales ground out to short and then proceeded to steal third. He was left stranded though as Evan Holman went down swinging.
Auburn extended its lead to 7-1 in the eighth inning as Snow singled to center field and Cooper McMurray homered to right field. ODU got a spark in the ninth as Tyler Zedalis singled to right and Edwards hit a two-run blast to right, but the next three Monarchs were retired in order to end the game.
Blake Morgan (1-1) took the loss after allowing five runs, four of them earned, on nine hits and two walks. The Marlton, New Jersey native recorded four strikeouts in a 4.2-inning start.
Edwards (2-for-4) led ODU at the plate and Zedalis finished 1-for-2 with a run scored. Hammond, Jorge and Waters all went 1-for-3 on the day. Hammond walked once and added a run to his totals, Jorge also earned a base on balls, and Waters doubled and drove in a run.
The Monarchs hit just 6-for-32 (.188) in the game and were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. They tallied six hits on the day, compared to 13 by the Tigers.
ODU has a quick turnaround as the Monarchs will play Mississippi State on Tuesday as part of the Hancock Whitney Classic. The game will be held at Keesler Federal Park, home of the Biloxi Shuckers, with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. EST.