ODU Baseball Played Sun Belt Leader Coastal Well Before Giving up Three Runs in the Ninth and Falling, 6-3
Coastal and ODU meet again Friday at 3 and Saturday at 1 in the final two regular-season games for the Monarchs.
By Harry Minium
HAMPTON, Va. – The Old Dominion baseball team played on even terms with No. 8 Coastal Carolina, the best team in the Sun Belt Conference, much of the game Thursday night thanks in large part to stellar pitching.
But the Monarch pitching collapsed in the ninth inning and Coastal scored three runs to claim a 6-3 victory at War Memorial Stadium.
The game, the first of a three-game series, drew a small but supportive crowd of 447.
The series continues Friday at 3 and Saturday at 1. Friday’s game will be preceded by a graduation ceremony for 11 players who missed graduation last weekend while the Monarchs were on the road at James Madison.
Saturday will be Senior Day for a dozen players who will be honored, along with their parents, before the game.
The loss ended a six-game winning streak for ODU (21-27 overall, 15-13 Sun Belt). ODU has already clinched a bid to the Sun Belt Tournament but needs a victory this week to ensure the Monarchs finish sixth or better and thus avoid the single elimination play-in round.
Coastal (42-11, 24-4) won its 12th game in a row.
The game was tied, 3-3, entering the ninth inning when ODU’s pitching began misfiring.
Coastal’s Ty Barrango singled with one out in the top of the ninth, scoring pinch runner Freddy Rodriquez to give Coastal a 4-3 lead.
ODU then hit three Coastal batters and walked another, allowing the Chants to add two more runs.
ODU had no men on base with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. but managed to load the bases before left fielder Scotty Young grounded out sharply to the right side.
“I’m really proud of this group,” said Chris Finwood, ODU’s head coach. “I mean, they fight their butts off every game. They never quit.
“It was a 3-3 game in the ninth and we made too any mistakes. We kind of gave it to them.
“That’s disappointing. But I thought we were ready to play. You know, we faced a guy tonight (Cameron Flukey) who’s going to be a first-round draft pick. And we fought him neck and neck.”
Flukey, a sophomore, is fourth in the Sun Belt with a 3.37 ERA.
ODU took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the third. Kyle Edwards doubled and then was driven in by catcher Evan Holman. Luke Waters then tripled to right, scoring Young and Holman.
Starter Dylan Brown, who tossed four no-hit innings, struck out the side to end the fourth inning. He was replaced by Ben Moore, who gave up a two-run home run to Walker Mitchell in the top of sixth but otherwise threw well until the ninth.
“I thought Dylan and Ben pitched really well," Finwood said.
“But that’s how it goes sometimes. You’ve got to finish. You’ve got to play all nine innings.”
ODU faces a tall task Friday against Coastal starter Jacob Morrison, who is 9-0 with a 1.86 ERA.
“They’ve got three really good starters,” Finwood said. “That’s why they’re in first place.”
Minium is ODU’s senior executive writer. Contact him at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram