HAMPTON, Va. – Marshall scored in each of the first four innings and Old Dominion Baseball dropped the Sun Belt series opener, 11-4 on Friday night at War Memorial Stadium.
The Monarchs fall to 15-26 overall and 10-12 in conference play. The Herd improves to 25-22 and is also 10-12 in the league.
Marshall jumped out to an early lead with three runs on as many hits in their first turn at the plate. With no outs and runners on the corners, AJ Havrilla opened the scoring with an RBI single through the right side. Eddie Leon then doubled to left center to make it 2-0, and another runner came home on an Elijah Vogelsong ground out to second base.
Havrilla pushed the Marshall lead to 4-0 with a sacrifice fly in the second inning, then made it 5-0 in the third as he singled to the gap in right and scored on a Cam Harthan double.
ODU cut into the deficit in the bottom of the third. With two outs, Kyle Edwards poked a ball through the left side of the Herd defense, and Kainen Jorge followed with a no-doubter to left field as the Monarchs trailed 5-2.
Marshall wasn’t done though as the visitors plated another four runs on as many hits in the fourth to pull away, 9-2. Maika Niu started the response with a two-run homer to left, and Havrilla and Leon added back-to-back doubles for another run. A pair of wild pitches then allowed Leon to cross the plate, and Vogelsong walked, stole second, and was waved home on an Ethan Murdoch double to right field.
In the sixth, Luke Waters led off with a double down the left-field line. Maverick Stallings then hit the first pitch he saw to left field. Vogelsong made a leaping attempt at the wall, but could not make the play and Stallings’ two-run blast trimmed the Herd lead to 9-4.
Niu then rounded out the scoring with a two-run homer of his own in the top of the seventh.
ODU had another opportunity in the bottom of the eighth as Zach Leite walked, Stallings singled through the left side, and TJ Aiken also walked to load the bases. With two outs though, Tanner Schaedel grounded out to second to end the inning. Jorge reached base with a one-out single in the ninth, but Brody Connors and Waters both flew out to end the game.
Ben Moore (2-5) took the loss after giving up nine runs on nine hits and five walks. He recorded two strikeouts in a 3.2-inning start.
Jorge and Stallings both finished 2-for-3 with a two-run home run. The pair now lead the Monarchs with five homers each this season. Jorge also drew a pair of walks while Stallings had one base on balls. Edwards also turned in a multi-hit performance, batting 2-for-4 with one run scored.
ODU will look to even the series tomorrow when the teams return for Game Two. Originally scheduled for 3 p.m., the game has been moved up to a 2 p.m. start.