Old Dominion (2-2) vs. Niagara (0-3)
Game Location – Ellmer Family Baseball Complex (Norfolk, Va.)
Game 1 – Friday, Feb. 20 at 3 p.m.
Game 2 – Saturday, Feb. 21 at 2 p.m.
Game 3 – Sunday, Feb. 22 at 1 p.m.
Watch – ESPN+ (Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3)
Live Stats – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Tickets – Click Here
Social Media – Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion Baseball welcomes Niagara University for three games at the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex this weekend. Originally scheduled for a 2 p.m. start on Friday, the series opener has been pushed back to a 3 p.m. first pitch. The Monarchs and Purple Eagles will then play at 2 p.m. game on Saturday and at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available.
Game Day Information
Fans planning to attend this weekend’s series will be able to park at the Elkhorn Garage, located on the corner of 43rd Street and Elkhorn Avenue, as well as in Lot 43 at the LR Hill Sports Complex. This year’s entrance to the stadium is located in the outfield next to ODU’s Chemistry Building, and temporary seating will be available in left center field. A Power Alley Patio, presented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), will feature a food truck and beer garden. Portable toilets have been set up outside, and fans will also be able to use restrooms inside of the Jim Jarrett Athletic Administration Building.
General admission tickets are $10 apiece, with faculty and military tickets priced at $8 and $5 for children ages 2-12. Fans can also purchase ODU Baseball Voucher Books here, which includes 25 tickets for $100 plus applicable fees.
New this year, Big Blue’s Kids Club members will receive free admission for all ODU Baseball home games. For more information and to sign up for the Kids Club, click here. For those wishing to do a group outing to the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex, please fill out an interest form here or reach out to ODU Director of Ticket Sales Steven Landry at slandry@odu.edu or by calling the ODU Ticket Office at 757-683-3360.
The Series
This weekend will be the first time the two programs will take the field against each other since the 1989 season. The Monarchs swept the Purple Eagles that year, defeating them 6-2, 4-0, and 4-2.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (2-2) hosted Manhattan on Wednesday. A Tyler Zedalis grand slam gave ODU a 5-1 lead through three innings, but the Jaspers hit a grand slam of their own to highlight a seven-run top of the fourth. Down 10-6 heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Monarchs got a run back on a leadoff home run by Will Johnson. They then had the tying run at the plate after Scotty Young was hit by a pitch and TJ Aiken singled to right field, but the visitors turned a 5-3 double play and held on for a 10-7 final.
ODU has eight starters hitting over .300, led by Young with a .500 average. Zach Leite is second on the team with a .438 clip, Maverick Stallings is batting .429, Efrain Morales .385, Zedalis and Aiken are both at .357, Macaddin Dye has a .333 average, and Johnson enters the weekend hitting .313. Johnson leads the team with nine runs scored, and Leite has driven in nine runs. Dye is the leader in walks with five, and Aiken is 4-for-4 when attempting to steal. ODU is hitting .343 as a team with a .490 slugging percentage and a .449 on-base percentage.
Darin Kuskie (1-0, 5.40 ERA) will get the start on Friday and JJ Gatti (0-0, 2.70 ERA) will start on Saturday. The Monarchs have not named a starter for Sunday’s series finale. Monarch pitchers own a team ERA of 5.91 with opponents hitting .317 against them.
Scouting Niagara
The Purple Eagles (0-3) opened the season at Texas State last weekend. Niagara dropped its season opener 13-0 last Friday, then fell 11-3 on Saturday and 11-0 on Sunday. Nick Cote was voted the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s Rookie of the Week on Tuesday after hitting 5-for-9 against the Bobcats. He entered as a pinch hitter in the first game and recorded a double, then recorded back-to-back multi-hit games to close out the series, adding an RBI in the second game.
Cote is Niagara’s leader at the plate with a .556 average, and Jacob Brooks is hitting an even .300. Cote, Rees Kozar (.222), and Jason Green (.182) have driven in one run each, and Cote, Kozar, and Noah Konings (.200) have each hit one double. The Purple Eagles come into this weekend hitting .187 with a .253 slugging percentage and a .253 on-base percentage.
Niagara’s weekend rotation will see right-hander Carter Fink (0-1, 3.86 ERA) on Friday, righty Nate Bennett (0-0, 1.80 ERA) on Saturday, and righty Gage Wheaton (0-1, 15.00 ERA) on Sunday. The Purple Eagles have a team ERA of 13.50 with opponents hitting .363 against them.
Head coach Matt Spatafora is in his second season leading the program and is 19-31 (.380) so far. Niagara was picked to finish eighth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
Up Next
ODU will play a midweek game at Norfolk State next Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 3 p.m.