HAMPTON, Va. – A four-run bottom of the third inning allowed Old Dominion Baseball to seize the lead, and the Monarchs held off Georgia State down the stretch as ODU won 8-5 on Saturday afternoon at War Memorial Stadium.
The Monarchs improved to 7-13 overall and 3-2 in conference play. ODU captured its first Sun Belt series win of the series and will go for the sweep when the teams return tomorrow for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
GSU’s Kaleb Freeman led off the top of the first with a home run to left center, but ODU starting pitcher Dylan Brown settled down after that and kept the visitors in check until the sixth inning.
ODU took over in the bottom of the third inning. TJ Aiken drew a one-out walk and moved up to third on a Kyle Edwards double down the left-field line. Both runners then raced home on a Luke Waters base hit to left, and the senior outfielder proceeded to steal second and score on another double down the left-field line, this time by Zach Leite. After Efrain Morales poked a ball through the left side of the defense and Tanner Schaedel wore a pitch to load the bases, Jack Slater made it a 4-0 lead with a four-pitch walk.
The Monarchs went up 6-1 in the fifth as Morales doubled to the gap in left before Schaedel hit his second two-run homer in as many days. The guests responded with an Andon Lewis two-run shot in the sixth and pulled to within 6-5 in the eighth as Colin Hynek also hit a two-run blast, but that was all the offense the Panthers (15-9, 3-2 Sun Belt) could muster.
In the bottom of the eighth, Tahraun Hammond earned a base on balls and then touched home on an Edward standup triple to right center. GSU conceded another run as Edwards then trotted home on a Waters ground out to short.
ODU then brought in Bailey Matela to face the Panthers in the ninth, and the left-hander retired the side to collect his second save of the season.
Brown (2-0) earned the win and allowed three runs, two of them earned, on seven hits and two walks. He recorded eight strikeouts in six complete innings on the bump. The Lansdale, Pennsylvania native struck out the side in the second inning.
Edwards (3-for-4) had another solid day at the plate and was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle. The Virginia Beach native scored twice, drove in a run and added a walk to his totals. Morales (3-for-4) doubled and scored a run, Leite (3-for-5) contributed an RBI double and a run, and Waters (1-for-5) tallied three RBIs with a stolen base.
The Monarchs combined to hit .353 (12-for-34), to include .381 (8-for-21) with runners on and .364 (4-for-11) with runners in scoring position.