GREENVILLE, N.C. – Old Dominion Baseball struggled to get baserunners on as the Monarchs dropped their midweek game at East Carolina, 11-0 in seven innings on Wednesday afternoon at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
Will Johnson, who finished the day 1-for-2 at the plate with a walk, helped the Monarchs (8-7) apply pressure early when he led off the top of the first with a walk, stole second, and moved up to third on a TJ Aiken fly out to right center field. ODU was unable to bring Johnson home though as Maverick Stallings popped up to second and Zach Leite grounded out to short.
ODU starting pitcher Bailey Matela managed to pick off a runner at second base in the home half of the first, but ECU’s Jack Herring singled through the left side with two outs and runners in scoring position to give the Pirates (9-7-1) a 2-0 lead. The hosts then tacked on another run in the bottom of the second as, with two outs and the bases loaded, a wild pitch allowed the lead runner to score.
ECU went up 4-0 in the home half of the third. Herring drew a one-out walk and advanced to third on an Alex Bouche base hit to the gap in right. Herring then came around as Jeff Sabater reached on a fielder’s choice.
In the fourth, a throwing error by Johnson allowed Colby Wallace to reach base. JJ Gatti walked Walker Barron, but ODU turned a 6-3 double play before the Monarchs brought in Owen Yarussi with two outs and a runner on third. Yarussi proceeded to hit the next batter and issued a walk to load the bases, and Austin Irby made him pay with a two-RBI single. ODU turned to Maddox Jack, but Herring greeted him with another RBI single as the Pirates pulled away, 7-0.
Barron made it 8-0 with an RBI double in the fifth, and Davin Whitaker scored on a Bouche sacrifice fly to deep center field in the sixth. Carlos Jacome then walked it off with a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Tyler Zedalis went 1-for-3 for ODU’s other hit in the game. Matela (1-1) was handed the loss after allowing three earned runs on three hits and one walk in a 1.1-inning start. The Monarchs only stranded three runners and were outhit, 10-2.
Up Next
The Monarchs open Sun Belt Conference play at Troy this weekend. The series starts with a 7 p.m. ET first pitch on Friday. The two teams then return for a 4:33 p.m. ET start on Saturday before capping off the weekend at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday.