Old Dominion (6-2) vs. Charlotte (5-3)
Game Location – Ellmer Family Baseball Complex (Norfolk, Va.)
Game 1 – Friday, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m.
Game 2 – Saturday, Feb. 28 at 2 p.m.
Game 3 – Sunday, March 1 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 will host the Charlotte 49ers for three games this weekend at the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex. First pitch for Friday and Saturday is scheduled for 2 p.m., and Sunday’s series finale will start at 1 p.m.
All three games in the series will be streamed on ESPN+, with Weston DeWitt calling the series opener and Andy Mashaw calling games two and three. 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
The 49ers hosted the Monarchs on Feb. 21-23 last season with ODU winning the series, 2-1. After Charlotte took the series opener, 10-9 in 11 innings, Old Dominion bounced back with a 4-2 decision in game two. Starting pitcher Dylan Brown went on to earn Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week and Dick Howser Trophy National Pitcher of the Week honors after tossing eight shutout innings with 13 strikeouts. Kyle Edwards was the hero in the rubber match, hitting a three-run home run to highlight a four-run top of the ninth to help secure the series victory with a 7-6 final.
The former Conference USA rivals have met 101 times with the Monarchs leading 56-45 in the all-time series. ODU has won four of the last five games against Charlotte.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (6-2) made the trip across town to Norfolk State on Wednesday and shut out the Spartans, 15-0 in seven innings. ODU broke open the game with a seven-run top of the fourth. Eight different Monarchs combined for 12 hits in a game, and ODU’s pitchers held NSU to just three hits, all singles. The two teams will meet again on Wednesday, March 18 at Old Dominion.
Zach Leite leads the team with a .433 batting average. The senior infielder is third in the nation with 2.38 RBIs per game and is fourth with 19 RBIs. Also hitting over .300 are Maverick Stallings (.414), Tyler Zedalis (.391), Macaddin Dye (.381), TJ Aiken (.357), and Scotty Young (.316). Aiken leads the Sun Belt with 13 runs scored and 1.63 runs per game. The junior outfielder is also 6-for-6 on stolen base attempts this season, ranking second in total steals and third in steals per game with 0.75. As a team, the Monarchs are second in the league in batting average (.325) and on-base percentage (.431) and own a .458 slugging percentage.
ODU currently leads the Sun Belt in scoring with 9.4 runs per game. The Monarchs are also second in doubles per game (2.25) and sacrifice flies (6) and rank third in hits (88), doubles (18), hit by pitch (20), and runs scored (75).
The weekend rotation will see Darin Kuskie (2-0, 4.91 ERA) on Friday and JJ Gatti (0-0, 1.00 ERA) on Saturday with Sunday’s starter still to be determined. Kuskie leads the Monarchs with 13 strikeouts, is tied for the Sun Belt lead in wins, and is fourth in the conference with a 13.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 0.82 walks allowed per nine innings. Gatti tossed 5.2 scoreless frames against Niagara in his last start, scattering four hits with one walk and three strikeouts. ODU owns a 4.30 ERA as a team and opponents are hitting .280 against the Monarchs.
Scouting Charlotte
The 49ers (5-3) have won four in a row as they swept Wright State last weekend at home and then defeated Maine, 9-4 on Wednesday. Charlotte jumped out to an 8-0 lead and didn’t give up a run until the seventh when the Black Bears tallied four runs on two hits and two errors. The game was a last-minute addition to the schedule after a winter storm forced Maine to stay in the area following their weekend series at High Point.
Charlotte has four players hitting over .300: Spencer Nolan leads the team with a .400 average, Cody Gunderson is next at .379, Robert Nedry owns a .346 clip, and Alec DeMartino enters the weekend batting .333. Gunderson currently leads the American Conference with four home runs and 0.5 home runs per game and ranks second with a .931 slugging percentage. He also owns team highs with four doubles and nine RBIs. He and Nedry have scored eight runs each. On the basepaths, Dawson Bryce (.290) is 2-for-2 on stolen base attempts and Nolan is 2-for-3.
As a team, Charlotte is hitting .278 with a .452 slugging percentage and a .405 on-base percentage. The 49ers plate 6.9 runs per game and rank second in the American Conference in triples (2), triples per game (0.25), double plays (9), and double plays per game (1.13). They are third in their conference in slugging percentage, walks (49), and sac flies (6).
Charlotte’s rotation for this weekend will feature all right-handers. Eddie Copper (0-0, 1.93 ERA) will start on Friday, Drew Munn (1-0, 2.57 ERA) will get the nod on Saturday, and Wesley Jones (1-1, 4.26 ERA) will take the series finale. The 49ers lead the American and rank 23rd in Division I with 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings. They own a team ERA of 4.63 with opposing teams hitting .265 against them.
Head coach Robert Woodard is in his seventh season leading the program. The 49ers were picked to finish third in the American’s Preseason Coaches’ Poll with Bryce named the Preseason Player of the Year. He was joined on the Preseason All-Conference Team by pitchers Andrew Kribbs and Joseph Taylor.
Up Next
The Monarchs will make the trip to Richmond next Wednesday, March 4 for a 1:30 p.m. meeting with the VCU Rams.