BOONE, N.C. – Old Dominion baseball split its doubleheader at App State on Saturday. After dropping the first game of the twin bill 6-1, the Monarchs avoided the Sun Belt series sweep with a 7-6 victory in the second game.
Saturday was changed to a doubleheader after Sunday’s forecast showed signs of showers throughout the day.
Game One
The Monarchs (8-17, 4-5 Sun Belt) opened the scoring in the top of the second as Maverick Stallings hit his first home run of the season, a two-out solo shot that just cleared the wall to the right of the batter’s eye.
The Mountaineers (14-13, 5-4) quickly tied the game in the home half of the second. Braxton Church drew a leadoff walk and Juan Correa reached on an ODU fielding error. Tyler Lichtenberger then knotted the game at 1-1 with an RBI base hit to center field.
App State added to its lead with a Kameron Miller two-run homer in the bottom of the third. The hosts then went up 6-1 with another three runs in the fifth inning. Joseph Zamora singled, stole second, took third on a wild pitch, and scored on a Miller single through the left side. Correa then belted a 2-1 pitch over the wall in left center.
Dylan Brown (2-1) received the loss after giving up six runs, five of them earned, on eight hits and one walk. He had five strikeouts in five innings pitched. Ethan Hubbell shut out the Mountaineers for three innings, holding them to two hits and one walk with four strikeouts.
ODU failed to get a base runner after the fourth inning. TJ Aiken led ODU at the plate with a 1-for-2 outing. Zach Leite went 1-for-3 and was hit by a pitch, Maverick Stallings also went 1-for-3 with the long ball, Kainen Jorge doubled in a 1-for-4 outing, and Tyler Zedalis also went 1-for-4 for the team’s other hit.
Game Two
Old Dominion was the first to score again in the second game, this time on a leadoff home run by Aiken in the top of the first. The Monarchs looked to add to their lead as Scotty Young and Leite both walked, but Young tried to advance on a Kainen Jorge fly out to left and was tagged out when he over slid third base. Leite advanced to third on a wild pitch and Luke Waters earned a base on balls, but he was thrown out at second to end the inning.
In the second inning, Stallings hit a one-out double to right field and Jack Slater singled through the left side to put runners on the corners, but Kyle Edwards grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. App State then pulled ahead 2-1 on a Riley Luft two-run homer in the bottom of the frame.
ODU pulled even in its next turn at the plate. Young singled to left, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and raced home on another wild pitch. App State again had an answer though as Graham Smiley drove in two runs with a base hit in the home half of the second.
The Monarchs moved ahead, 5-4 with three runs on four hits in the top of the fourth. With two outs and runners on the corners, Young collected an RBI with a base hit to right. Leite then tacked on two more with a double to right.
Neither side scored again until the bottom of the eighth when Dillon Moquin tied the game at 5-5 with an RBI single through the right side. Leite and Jorge put together a pair of one-out doubles in the ninth to give ODU a 6-5 lead, and Tahraun Hammond poked a ball to right for an insurance run.
That proved to be a critical hit as, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Smiley doubled to left center and trotted home on a Riley Luft single to right field. Bailey Matela got the next batter to ground out to second though to bring the game to a close.
Matela (1-1) got the win after holding the Mountaineers to one run on three hits and a walk in 1.2 innings in relief. Blake Morgan went five innings and was tagged for four runs on six hits and a pair of walks. He recorded five strikeouts in the no decision.
Leite (3-for-3) doubled twice, walked twice and drove in two runs. Slater (3-for-4) doubled and score once, Young (2-for-3) had a couple of walks with two runs and one RBI, Aiken (2-for-5) hit his fourth home run of the season and contributed two runs, and Hammond (1-for-2) drove in the deciding run.
The Monarchs round out their five-game road trip this Tuesday when they travel to Charlottesville for a 6 p.m. meeting with Virginia.