Old Dominion (5-2) at Norfolk State (2-4)
Game Location – Marty L. Miller Field (Norfolk, Va.)
When – Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 3 p.m.
Social Media – Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion Baseball has its first game in a home-and-home series versus Norfolk State this Wednesday when the Monarchs head across town for a 3 p.m. meeting with the Spartans at Marty L. Miller Field.
NSU will not be streaming the game and live stats will not be available. Fans can follow the ODU Baseball twitter account here for in-game updates.
The Series
ODU improved to 43-9 in the all-time series with a 12-8 win at NSU on April 8 last season. The Monarchs built a 10-1 lead and held off a late rally by the Spartans, who plated six runs in the final three innings. It was the first time that NSU had hosted ODU since May 11, 2013. Old Dominion has now won nine of the last 10 meetings with Norfolk State.
The two teams will meet again on Wednesday, March 18 at the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (5-2) completed a series sweep of Niagara last weekend. Zach Leite hit two home runs, including a grand slam, to power ODU to a 5-4 victory in the series opener last Friday. The team then came from behind in both games of Saturday’s doubleheader, scoring eight runs in the eighth inning to take the first game, 8-5 and then a four-run bottom of the seventh to edge the Purple Eagles, 5-4 in the second game. Leite finished the weekend 5-for-12 (.417) with the two homers, four runs, and seven RBIs.
ODU has six starters hitting over .300, with Leite leading the way with a .429 average. Following him are Tyler Zedalis (.368), TJ Aiken (.360), Maverick Stallings (.360), Macaddin Dye (.316), and Scotty Young (.316). Leite, Zedalis, and Johnson have homered twice each. Leite ranks seventh in the country with 2.29 RBIs per game and is eighth nationally with 16 RBIs. Aiken and Johnson both rank second in the Sun Belt with 10 runs scored and 1.43 runs per game. Aiken, a junior outfielder from Greenwood, South Carolina, is also 11th in Division I and second in the SBC with two sac flies. He’s also 5-for-5 when attempting to steal, good for third in the conference in both stolen bases and steals per game (0.71).
Old Dominion owns the best batting average in the Sun Belt with a .315 clip. The Monarchs also have a .456 slugging percentage and a .408 on-base percentage. The team is second in the SBC with five sac flies and 2.29 doubles per game, and ranks third in the league with 16 doubles and 8.6 runs per game.
Sophomore right-hander Ryan Sheehy will get the midweek start against the Spartans. The Shelton, Connecticut native is 0-0 with a 3.86 ERA through two appearances. He has allowed four runs on four hits and four walks while striking out four in 2.1 innings of work. ODU enters the week with a team ERA of 4.79 and opponents are hitting .292 against Monarch pitching.
Scouting Norfolk State
The Spartans (2-4) hosted Manhattan this past weekend in what was originally scheduled as a four-game series, but canceled Sunday due to inclement weather. The Jaspers won the series opener 16-10 last Friday, then captured the series win with a 13-4 final in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader. NSU avoided the sweep by edging Manhattan, 11-10 in the second game of the twin bill. The Spartans scored in each of the first four innings to build a 11-2 early lead. The Jaspers put up a late charge with six runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh, but NSU caught two fly outs to end the game in seven innings. Justin Journette was voted Northeast Conference Player of the Week and Mason Mompoint the league's Rookie of the Week on Tuesday.
Mompoint is the team’s best hitter at .471. Thomas Ealey is batting .400, Journette owns a .348 average, and Cameron Mazell comes into Wednesday hitting an even .300. Journette, a senior outfielder from Richmond, Virginia, owns team highs with eight runs and eight RBIs. He leads the Northeast Conference with 1.33 runs per game and is third in the league with two home runs and 0.33 home runs per game. Ealey is 3-for-4 on stolen-base attempts and is the NEC leader with 0.5 steals per game. Jayden Israel (.211) has drawn five walks and Jalan Jones (.150) has been hit by pitch three times, the second-most in the conference.
As a team, the Spartans are hitting .264 with a .394 slugging percentage and a .352 on-base percentage. They own the best batting average in the NEC and rank second in scoring (5.7 run per game), hits (51), doubles (11), home runs (4), home runs per game (0.67), slugging percentage, sac bunts (2), stolen bases (9), and stolen bases per game (1.50).
Spartan pitching has combined for an 8.64 ERA with opponents hitting .352 against them. NSU leads the NEC with a 1.33 strikeout-to-walk ratio and is second with 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
Norfolk State was picked to finish 10th in the NEC Preseason Coaches Poll. The Spartans are led by first-year head coach M.L. Morgan, who spent time as an assistant coach at his alma mater VCU as well as at Division III Randolph-Macon. He also served as an area scout supervisor for the Tampa Bay Rays and spent two years at ODU working as an Assistant Director of Compliance and SAAC Advisor.
Up Next
ODU will be back at the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex this weekend for a three-game series against Charlotte. The Monarchs and 49ers will play at 2 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 1 p.m. on Sunday.