Minium: ODU Baseball Success in 2021 Paved Way for the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex
By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – They weren’t among the dozens of people, from donors to fundraisers to coaches and other university officials, feted during ceremonies on Thursday afternoon as Old Dominion broke ground on the $24 million renovation of its 43-year-old baseball stadium.
But at the end of the nearly hour-long ceremony, Ryne Moore and John Keane were among the 30 people who lined up to turn over the ceremonial shovel-full of dirt.
And that was so appropriate, for were it not for Moore, Keane and 43 other players from the 2021 ODU baseball team, there would have been no groundbreaking, and no new stadium.
That team finished 44-16, won a Conference USA title, was the first ODU team to play in a regional final and ranked 16th nationally in the final Baseball America and D1 Baseball polls.
There may have been better teams in ODU's nearly 100 years of baseball but none accomplished more, especially for the future or ODU baseball.
“We’re here because of all that team accomplished,” said Chris Finwood, ODU’s head baseball coach. “This stadium is being built on their shoulders.”
That team won 10 of its last 11 regular-season games and defeated homestanding Louisiana Tech, 7-5, in the Conference USA championship game. Seeded 11th nationally, the Monarchs should have hosted an NCAA regional.
But because Bud Metheny Ballpark was so out of date, the Monarchs were forced to play at South Carolina.
“It was a bitter pill,” said Dr. Wood Selig, ODU’s director of athletics. “And it may have cost that 2021 team a trip to the College World Series.”
Indeed, ODU won more than 70 percent of its home games at Bud Metheny Ballpark.
After beating Jacksonville in the opener, the Monarchs stood tall against South Carolina, winning, 2-1, before a raucous crowd of 7,315, the largest ever to see an ODU baseball team. Ryne was untouchable on the mound as he limited the Gamecocks to three hits over seven innings.
Aaron Holiday finished off the Gamecocks with two shutout innings of relief.
They fell three days later to Virginia, 4-3, in the regional final in a heartbreaking loss that the Cavaliers clinched with a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Even before that loss to U.Va., Monarch alumni, donors and officials were already brainstorming as how to replace Bud Metheny Ballpark with a facility befitting the University’s baseball program.
So many stepped up to make that happen, including ODU President Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D, who rolled up his sleeves and raised a ton of money, and worked with the Board of Visitors to provide half the funding for the new stadium.
Norfolk native Dennis Ellmer and his wife, Jan, donated $2.5 million at President Hemphill’s behest. The new stadium will be known as the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex at Bud Metheny Ballpark.
Moore is now director of player development and analytics for ODU baseball. Four years ago, he was on the mound and threw a three-hitter against South Carolina.
Keane is now director of operations and a special pitching assistant for ODU. He did not play an inning in 2021, but he was such an emotional leader for the team that his teammates asked coaches that he be able to travel to Columbia.
Moore and Keane say most of the players from 2021 remain close. They text almost daily on a group chat and often reminisce about the past.
Many are still playing.
Outfielder Andy Garriola is starting in South Bend, Indiana in the Midwest League – he was recently named league player of the week – along with former ODU teammate Carter Trice.
Kyle Battle is playing for the Lincoln (Nebraska) Salt Dogs of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. Pitchers Noah Dean (Greenville, South Carolina) and Jacob Gomez (Rome, Georgia) are both playing in the South Atlantic League.
First baseman Matt Coutney, the 2022 C-USA Player of the Year, is playing for the Tri-City Dust Devils in Pasco, Washington.
Others are spread across the country.
Keane said there wasn’t a lot of chatter between the players on Thursday, and perhaps that’s because construction on the stadium actually began five months ago.
“But anytime the stadium gets brought up again, it’s special,” he said. “It reminds us of what we did that year.
“What Ryne did against South Carolina, that was pivotal. And Kyle Battle, he was one of the best players in college baseball.
“We think about what the next group of guys, the first group to play in the stadium, are going to get, and it makes us feel good.”
Moore said that at the time the players weren’t all that upset about not hosting a regional. Four years earlier, ODU had one of its worst records ever at 15-37.
“We were so happy to be winning, to be playing, to be going to the NCAA Tournament,” he said. “We were just a bunch of best friends playing baseball. To be in a position to go to a regional, that was the coolest thing in the world to us.
“It would have been awesome to play here, obviously.”
It’s not often that a mid-major school qualifies to host a regional, but ODU isn’t just any mid major and plays in the Sun Belt, which in baseball is a Power league. The Sun Belt has put four teams in the NCAA Tournament three of the last four years and this spring, both Southern Miss and Coastal Carolina hosted regionals.
“We’re going to do everything we can to put us into a position to host a regional,” Finwood said. “And this new stadium, with all of the amenities, is going to be a huge help.
“Those guys from the 2021 team, I told them at the time that eventually a new stadium will be built and that all of you made it possible.
“I can’t wait for those guys to come back and see the stadium they’re responsible for.”
Minium is ODU’s senior executive writer. Contact him at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram