Old Dominion (15-25, 10-11 Sun Belt) vs. Marshall (24-22, 9-12 Sun Belt)
Game Location – War Memorial Stadium (Hampton, Va.)
Game 1 – Friday, May 2 at 6 p.m.
Game 2 – Saturday, May 3 at 3 p.m.
Game 3 – Sunday, May 4 at 1 p.m.
Watch – ESPN+ (Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3)
Listen – Fox Sports Radio 1310 AM (Game 2)
Live Stats – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion Baseball is back at War Memorial Stadium this weekend as the Monarchs host Marshall for three games. The Sun Belt series will start with a 6 p.m. first pitch on Friday, followed by a 3 p.m. start on Saturday and a 1 p.m. game on Sunday.
All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Ted Alexander calling the action. Additionally, Saturday’s game can also be heard on Fox Sports Radio 1310 AM. Live stats will also be available.
Tickets for single games at War Memorial Stadium can be purchased through the Peninsula Pilots website and go for $10 for general admission, $15 for grandstand seating, and $20 for field level box seats. ODU students with a valid student ID will be admitted free.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (15-25, 10-11 Sun Belt) earned a series win at ULM last weekend by taking the rubber match, 9-6 in extra innings on Sunday. After the Warhawks evened the score at 6-6 in the bottom of the 10th, an RBI double by Zach Leite and Maverick Stallings’ second two-run home run of the game helped clinch the victory. The hosts won the series opener 7-6 on Friday, but ODU responded with a 9-5 final on Saturday.
Leite is batting .346, Scotty Young owns a .318 average, and Efrain Morales has a .308 clip to lead the team at the plate. Kainen Jorge (.286) and Kyle Edwards (.270) have both scored 31 runs. Leite has the team high in RBIs with 27, though Jorge and Edwards are right behind him with 26 each and Luke Waters (.252) enters the weekend with 25. Edwards leads ODU on the basepaths with 21 stolen bases on 22 attempts. He’s currently second in the conference in total steals and first in steals per game (0.53). Jorge is 11-for-11 while Waters and Young are both 5-for-8. Old Dominion is batting a combined .258 with a .383 slugging percentage and a .363 on-base percentage.
The weekend rotation will see Ben Moore (2-4, 5.79 ERA) on Friday, Dylan Brown (2-2, 4.17 ERA) on Saturday, and Blake Morgan (3-3, 5.14 ERA) on Sunday. Brown continues to lead the league with 11.57 strikeouts per nine innings and is second in the Sun Belt with 75 strikeouts. Monarch pitching has a combined ERA of 6.43 with a .278 batting average against.
With three weeks remaining in conference play, the Monarchs are tied for seventh in the Sun Belt standings alongside Georgia Southern. They’re also 119th in the latest RPI rankings.
Scouting Marshall
The Herd (24-22, 9-12 Sun Belt) is looking to continue a six-game winning streak. After taking both games of a home-and-home series against Morehead State on April 22-23, Marshall swept South Alabama over the weekend and then took down No. 16 West Virginia, 7-6 on Wednesday. The game was tied at 6-6 with one out and runners on first and second in the bottom of the ninth when Marshall’s Tyler Kamerer hit a ground ball to WVU third baseman Chase Swain. Swain charged the ball and fired to first, but his throw sailed wide and the error allowed Marshall to plate the winning run. It marked the Herd’s fourth victory over a ranked opponent this season.
Eddie Leon leads Marshall’s starters with a .275 batting average. Following him are AJ Havrilla (.270), Ethan Murdoch (.268), and Cam Harthan (.263). Havrilla is the Sun Belt leader and ranks third in the nation with eight sacrifice flies, and Elijah Vogelsong (.234) is third in the league with 40 walks and 0.87 walks per game. Murdoch has hit a team-high nine home runs and shares the team lead in RBIs with Havrilla at 33 apiece. Vogelsong has scored 35 runs, Maika Niu (.261) is next with 33 runs, and Murdoch has 32. Jackson Halter (.255) and Niu are the team’s top base stealers. Halter is 13-for-14 and Niu is 11-for-12. The Herd leads the conference and is 21st nationally with 15 triples this season. They’re batting a combined .259 with a .408 slugging percentage and a .365 on-base percentage.
The Monarchs will face left hander Bryce Blevins (4-5, 5.73 ERA) in the opener, right hander Griffin Miller (5-2, 2.56 ERA) in game two, and righty Clint Moak (2-1, 2.93 ERA) in game three. The Herd has tallied three shutouts and is third in the SBC with 8.39 hits allowed per nine innings, but is also second in the conference in hit batters (83). Marshall has a team ERA of 4.69 and opponents are batting .246 against them.
Marshall is in a three-way tie for ninth in the Sun Belt standings with Georgia State and Texas State. The Herd is 136th in the latest RPI rankings.
The Series
Marshall hosted ODU on April 19-21 last season. After dropping the series opener 4-2, the Monarchs bounced back with a 3-1 victory the next day and then captured the series win with a dominant 12-2 final in the rubber match. Old Dominion holds a 21-10 lead in the all-time series.
Up Next
ODU and VCU resume their home-and-home series next Wednesday, May 7 when the Monarchs travel to Richmond for a 6 p.m. game at The Diamond.