Old Dominion (21-26, 15-12 Sun Belt) vs. No. 8 Coastal Carolina (41-11, 23-4 Sun Belt)
Game Location – War Memorial Stadium (Hampton, Va.)
Game 1 – Thursday, May 15 at 6 p.m.
Game 2 – Friday, May 16 at 3 p.m.
Game 3 – Saturday, May 17 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 hosts No. 8 Coastal Carolina this week in the Sun Belt regular season series finale in Hampton, Virginia. Thursday’s first pitch at War Memorial Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday’s game will start at 3 p.m., and Saturday’s series finale is set for 1 p.m.
All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ with Andy Loce as play-by-play announcer. Ted Alexander will call Friday's game on Fox Sports 1310 AM. Fans can also follow along with live stats.
The Monarchs will host a graduation ceremony before first pitch on Friday, and will also hold a Senior Day ceremony before the start of Saturday’s game.
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 (21-26, 15-12 Sun Belt) have won six straight and eight of their last 10 games. The team is coming off a series sweep against James Madison over the weekend, defeating the Dukes 6-4 (12 innings), 9-6, and 4-2. Luke Waters was the star of the series with a two RBI double in the top of the 12th inning in game one, and he hit 5-for-5 with two home runs in game two. For the series, he posted a .600 batting average with a 1.067 slugging percentage and a .647 on-base percentage.
ODU is currently 104th in the RPI rankings and is tied with Louisiana for fourth in the conference standings.
Zach Leite leads the team with a .333 batting average, Efrain Morales is second with a .306 clip, and Kyle Edwards is hitting .292 heading into the weekend. Kainen Jorge (.288) has hit seven home runs, and leads the team with 33 RBIs. Edwards has scored a team-best 37 runs and is also 25-for-26 when attempting to steal, tied for first in the Sun Belt in stolen bases and first in stolen bases per game (0.53). As a team, the Monarchs are batting .259 with a .392 slugging percentage and a .370 on-base percentage.
ODU will start Dylan Brown (4-2, 4.29 ERA) on Thursday and Blake Morgan (5-3, 4.64 ERA) on Friday. Saturday's starter is yet to be determined. Brown is second in the SBC with 87 strikeouts and 10.98 strikeouts per nine innings. The team leaders in saves are Bailey Matela (1-1, 5.31 ERA) with five and Kellen Davis (0-3, 5.40 ERA) with three. ODU pitching has a combined ERA of 6.10 with opponents batting .274 against them.
Scouting Coastal Carolina
Coastal Carolina (41-11, 23-4 Sun Belt) has won 11 straight and 14 of their last 15 games, coming off a series sweep against ULM last weekend. The scores were 8-6, 10-0 and 4-0 with Jacob Morrison tossing six shutout innings of one-hit ball in game two.
The Chanticleers are currently 12th in the RPI and are first in the Sun Belt standings. The latest polls have them ranked eighth by Baseball America, 11th by both D1Baseball and the USA Today Coaches’ Poll, and 15th by the NCBWA.
Caden Bodine leads the Chanticleers with a .332 batting average. Following him are Dean Mihos (.320), Ty Dooley (.313), and Walker Mitchell (.297). Blake Barthol is hitting .275 and owns team highs in home runs (10) and tied for first in RBIs with Sebastian Alexander (41). Alexander has scored 44 runs and is 22-for-25 on stolen base attempts while Mitchell and Barthol are 11-for-14. The Chants are second in the SBC with 381 runs and 80 stolen bases. They are ranked third with 38 sacrifice bunts. The team is batting .283 with a .438 slugging percentage and a .409 on-base percentage.
Coastal Carolina will go with Cameron Flukey (5-1, 3.38 ERA) on Thursday, Jacob Morrison (9-0, 1.84 ERA) on Friday, and Riley Eikhoff (5-2, 3.39 ERA) will take the mound Saturday. Morrison is number two in the nation with a 1.84 ERA in 73.1 innings pitched, and number three in the SBC with 74 strikeouts. Dominick Carbone (4-0, 2.27 ERA) leads the team with five saves and Ryan Lynch (2-1, 0.68 ERA) owns four saves. The Chanticleers enter the series with a team ERA of 3.36 and are allowing opposing batters to hit .224 against them.
The Series
The Chants took two of three games against the Monarchs on April 5-7, 2024 at Spring Brooks Stadium last season. CCU won the series opener 9-2, ODU responded with a 15-4 win in Game Two, and CCU then took the final game 10-0.
Coastal Carolina holds a 7-6 lead in the all-time series.
Up Next
The 2025 Sun Belt Championship will be held May 20-25 at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama. Riverwalk Stadium is home to the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, the Montgomery Biscuits.