Old Dominion (3-7, 0-0 Sun Belt) at #22 Auburn (11-2, 0-0 SEC)
Game Location – Plainsman Park (Auburn, Ala.)
Game 1 – Friday, March 7 at 7 p.m. EST
Game 2 – Saturday, March 8 at 6 p.m. EST
Game 3 – Sunday, March 9 at 3 p.m. EST
Watch – SEC Network + (Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3)
Listen – Fox Sports Radio 1310 AM
Live Stats – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion Baseball continues its 18-game road swing with a weekend series at No. 22 Auburn. Friday’s opener is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST, Saturday will start at 6 p.m. EST, and Sunday’s series finale will have a 3 p.m. first pitch.
All three games will be streamed on SEC Network + and live stats will also be available. Fans can also tune into Fox Sports Radio 1310 AM to hear Josh Caray, the Director of Broadcast Operations for the Rocket City Trash Pandas and the grandson of Harry Caray, call each game.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (3-7, 0-0 Sun Belt) played in a round robin tournament at Middle Tennessee last weekend. After falling 7-4 to St. Bonaventure last Friday and 6-0 to UT Martin on Saturday, ODU defeated the host Blue Raiders 5-3 on Sunday. MTSU loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Bailey Matela induced a fly ball to left for the final out.
ODU enters the weekend hitting .232 as a team with a .316 slugging percentage and a .348 on-base percentage. Zach Leite is batting .368, Efrain Morales and Tahraun Hammond both own .300 averages, Scotty Young has a .294 clip, and Brody Connors is close behind him at .286. Kainen Jorge (.235) and Kyle Edwards (.206) have scored seven runs each, TK Aiken (.250) owns a team-high seven RBIs, and Jorge has drawn 10 walks. The Monarchs have stolen 17 bags on 20 attempts, with Edwards a perfect 6-for-6. ODU is second in the Sun Belt with 1.70 stolen bases per game.
Old Dominion will go with its same rotation of lefthanders: Ben Moore (0-0, 3.55 ERA) on Friday, Dylan Brown (1-0, 0.00 ERA) on Saturday, and Blake Morgan (1-0, 5.19 ERA) on Sunday. Brown is the Sun Belt leader and ranks sixth nationally with 30 strikeouts this season. He’s also 24th in Division I with a 0.68 WHIP, 30th in hits allowed per nine innings (3.79), and 33rd in strikeouts per nine innings (14.21). The Monarchs have a team ERA of 5.40 with opponents hitting .234 against them.
Scouting Auburn
The Tigers (11-2, 0-0 SEC) saw their 10-game win streak snapped on Wednesday, falling 6-5 at UAB. After Auburn’s Lucas Steele tied the game at 5-5 with an RBI double in the top of the eighth inning, UAB put runners on first and second with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Wesley Helms then came through with a walk-off RBI single to left center to seal the victory for the Blazers.
Leading the team at the plate are Chase Fralick (.488), Cooper McMurray (.444), Eric Snow (.362), Deric Fabian (.348), and Cade Belyeu (.333). McMurray leads the team with four home runs and six doubles. Belyeu is 12th in the country in hit by pitch (8), 19th in stolen bases (9), and 20th in hit by pitch per game (0.67). The Tigers currently rank third nationally in double plays (14), 10th in shutouts (2), 20th in double plays per game (1.08), 21st in hits (141), 22nd in home runs (20), and 23rd in batting average (.331). The team also owns a .538 slugging percentage and a .441 on-base percentage.
Auburn’s rotation will see right-hander Samuel Dutton (2-1, 0.56 ERA) on Friday, lefty Cade Fisher (0-0, 5.40 ERA) on Saturday, and righty Christian Chatterton (1-0, 3.68 ERA) on Sunday. The Tigers have a team ERA of 3.50 with opponents batting .230 against them. Their 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings ranks 25th nationally.
The Series
ODU and Auburn have met twice before, with the Tigers ahead 2-0 in the all-time series. The first meeting was during the 1986 season, a road game that went to Auburn, 7-5. The two teams then faced off in the 1994 NCAA East Regional, hosted by Clemson, with Auburn edging ODU, 11-8.
Up Next
ODU will play Mississippi State next Tuesday, March 11 as part of the Hancock Whitney Classic in Biloxi, Mississippi. First pitch at Keesler Federal Park, home of the Biloxi Shuckers, is set for 7 p.m. EST.