MONROE, La. – Tied at 6-6 through nine innings, an RBI double from Zach Leite and a two-run home run by Maverick Stallings proved to be the difference as Old Dominion baseball won the rubber match at ULM, 9-6 on Sunday afternoon.
The Monarchs (15-25, 10-11 Sun Belt) led 6-3 through six innings, but the Warhawks (21-23, 7-14) scored a run in the seventh, eighth, and ninth to send the game to extras.
With one out in the top of the 10th, Brody Connors singled to right field before Luke Waters popped up to the ULM shortstop. Leite then smacked a 3-2 pitch that rolled to the wall in right center. Connors was running on contact and was well ahead of the throw to the plate as ODU retook the lead, 7-6. Stallings provided some insurance as he hit his second two-run blast of the day to make it 9-6.
ODU brought in Tyler Stott to face ULM in the bottom of the 10th. Jake Haggard grounded out to short for the first out, but Major Brignon won a nine-pitch battle for a base on balls. Tony Lindwedel flew out to center field for the second out, and Isaiah Walker singled to center as the hosts had two on and the tying run at the plate.
Angelo Aleman fouled off the first pitch and fell behind 0-2 on a called strike. He tried to hold up on the next pitch, but on an appeal to the first base umpire, he was ruled to have gone around as Jack Slater applied the tag to end the game.
Marco Levari (2-1) entered the game with one out and runners in scoring position and ODU leading 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth. An RBI ground out knotted the game at 6-6, but Levari got out of the inning with another ground out. He faced three batters and issued one walk in 0.2 innings pitched. Stott earned his first save of the season after holding the Warhawks to one hit and one walk in one inning in relief.
Stallings finished 3-for-5 with the two home runs, five RBIs, and one walk. Leite went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs, three RBIs and a pair of walks. Slater had a 2-for-5 day at the plate, Connors hit 2-for-6 with a double and two runs, and Waters also turned in a 2-for-6 performance with a couple of runs.
ODU took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Connors hit a one-out double down the left-field line, then moved up to third base as Waters singled through the right side of the ULM defense. Connors came around on a Leite ground out to second base, and Waters scored as Stallings singled to first base. The Monarchs then went up 3-0 in the third inning when Waters singled to right field and scored on a Leite double to the gap in right.
ULM scratched across its first run in the bottom of the third following a pair of doubles by Lindwedel and Kade Dupont. ODU then pushed its lead back to three runs, 4-1 in the fourth. With no outs and the bases loaded, Scotty Young tagged up on a Kainen Jorge sacrifice fly to center field.
The two sides both scored two runs in the fifth. Following a leadoff walk by Leite, Stallings hit a ball 400 feet to left field. In the home half of the frame, Haggard doubled down the right-field line, Brignon walked, and Lindwedel moved them into scoring position with a sac bunt. Walker then cut the Monarch lead to 6-3 with a two-RBI single to center field.
A Bryce Blaser sac fly in the seventh made it 6-4. In the eighth, Michelle Artzeberger doubled down the right-field line and scored on a Brignon base hit back up the middle as ULM was back within a run.
ODU hit a combined 16-for-44 (.364) in the game, to include 4-for-14 (.286) with two outs and 8-for-27 (.296) with runners on. The Monarchs also outhit the Warhawks, 16-10.
The Monarchs now lead the all-time series, 7-2.
ODU will be back at War Memorial Stadium next weekend as the Monarchs host Marshall for a Sun Belt series.