TROY, Ala. – Old Dominion Baseball could not recover from a five-run fifth inning by Troy and the Monarchs dropped the Sun Belt series rubber match, 9-4 on Sunday afternoon at Riddle-Pace Field.
The Monarchs (9-9, 1-2 Sun Belt) opened the scoring in the top of the second as Macaddin Dye hit a solo home run 427 feet over the wall in left, his second long ball of the season. The Trojans (8-11, 2-1) were able to pull even in the bottom of the second without recording a hit. ODU starting pitcher JJ Gatti issued a pair of walks and plunked another two batters to load the bases with two outs. The junior then walked former Monarch Steven Meier to knot the game at 1-1.
The hosts then pulled away with another five runs on three hits in the bottom of the third. After Gatti walked the first two batters, ODU brought in Connor Schumann. The lefthander fielded a bunted ball right back at him and spun towards third to get the force out, but his throw sailed wide and the error allowed the lead runner to score. Blake Cavill singled in another run, and the Trojans went up 4-1 on a sac bunt by Houston Markham. Troy’s Nolan Book hit an RBI double, and a Josh Pyne RBI single extended Troy’s lead, 6-1.
In the top of the fifth, Dye drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a Scotty Young ground out to first, and came around on a Cash Jay double down the left-field line. The Trojans answered right back though as Sean Darnell scored from second on a Meier base hit to right field.
With two outs and runners on first and second in the top of the sixth, Dye and Grayson Sparr hit a pair of RBI singles through the left side to trim the host’s lead to 7-4, but that was as close as the Monarchs would get. Zaid Diaz tagged up on a Drew Nelson sac fly in the bottom of the sixth.
Troy had another opportunity with no outs and runners on the corners in the bottom of the eighth. Drew Nelson hit a bunt back towards ODU reliever Nick Sulpizio, who fired home in time to get Diaz out at the plate. Cavill smacked a 2-1 pitch to deep right field though, scoring Jimmy Janicki from second for a 9-4 lead. The Monarchs then went down in order in the ninth to bring the game to an end.
Dye (2-for-3) stood out for the Monarchs, delivering two hits, including a homer, driving in two runs, and crossing the plate twice himself. Tyler Zedalis had a 2-for-4 day at the plate, Jay hit 1-for-2 with an RBI double and a swiped bag, and Sparr went 1-for-3 with one RBI.
Gatti fell to 0-3 after conceding three runs, two earned, along with five walks and a pair of strikeouts.
Troy outhit ODU, 9-7, and left more runners on base, 10-5. The Monarchs also committed two errors.
Up Next
The Monarchs return to Norfolk for their second meeting with their cross-town rival Norfolk State this Wednesday. The midweek meeting with the Spartans is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start at the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex.