Old Dominion (9-9, 1-2 Sun Belt) vs. Norfolk State (4-14, 2-4 NEC)
Game Location – Ellmer Family Baseball Complex (Norfolk, Va.)
When – Wednesday, March 18 at 2 p.m. ET
Watch – ESPN+
Live Stats – Click Here
Social Media – Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion Baseball resumes its home-and-home series versus Norfolk State this Wednesday at the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex. Originally scheduled for a 6 p.m. start, first pitch has been moved up to 2 p.m. due to weather.
The midweek contest will be streamed on ESPN+ with Andy Mashaw covering the action, and live stats will also be available.
Game Day Information
Fans planning to attend Wednesday’s game 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
Norfolk State hosted Old Dominion on Feb. 25, and the Monarchs routed the Spartans 15-0 in seven innings. Up 2-0 through three innings, ODU broke open the game with seven runs in the top of the fourth. Eight different Monarchs combined for 12 hits, with Maverick Stallings going 3-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored, and three RBIs. Ryan Sheehy picked up his first win as a Monarch, tossing two shutout innings while scattering two hits with one walk and two strikeouts.
Defensively, ODU held NSU to just three hits, all singles. ODU catcher Macaddin Dye threw out two runners attempting to steal and Sheehy also picked off a runner.
Old Dominion has now won 10 of the last 11 meetings with Norfolk State and leads the all-time series, 44-9.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (9-9, 1-2 Sun Belt) opened Sun Belt Conference play with a 10-8 win at Troy last Friday, but the Trojans won the next two games, 13-4 on Saturday and 9-4 on Sunday, to take the series. Dye hit .500 (5-for-10) on the weekend with one home run, a double, three runs, three RBIs, and a walk. Tyler Zedalis hit .462 (6-for-13) against the Trojans with one long ball, one double, three runs, and three RBIs. Grayson Sparr (.273) also drove in three runs, and Will Johnson (.250) drove in four runs with a pair of doubles.
Zedalis leads the team and is ranked third in the Sun Belt with a .407 batting average. The junior from Charlotte, North Carolina is also fourth in the league with 1.50 hits per game and is tied with Zach Leite with a team-high four home runs. Leite is batting .379 and is 22nd in the nation with 1.56 RBIs per game and 29th nationally with 28 RBIs. Dye enters the week hitting .385, Stallings owns a .379 average, and TJ Aiken is batting .343. Aiken has scored a team-high 22 runs, ranking fourth in the SBC with 1.22 runs per game, and is 8-for-8 when attempting to steal.
Nick Sulpizio (0-0, 9.95 ERA) will get the nod for the midweek start. The junior right-hander from Cherry Hill, New Jersey native has made six appearances this season and has allowed 11 runs, seven of them earned, on 10 hits and two walks. Sulpizio has also recorded seven strikeouts over 6.1 innings pitched, all in relief. He threw one inning in the first meeting with the Spartans, retiring the side in order with back-to-back strikeouts swinging. ODU pitching has combined for a 6.82 ERA with opposing teams hitting .306 against them.
As a team, the Monarchs rank third in the Sun Belt with a .303 batting average and are also third with 10 sacrifice flies. The teams owns a .451 slugging percentage and a .388 on-base percentage. ODU is averaging 6.8 runs per game, but is allowing opposing teams to score 7.4.
Through games played on March 16, the Monarchs are 241st in the RPI rankings.
Scouting NSU
The Spartans are 4-14 overall and 2-4 in the Northeast Conference. NSU lost eight in a row before earning a 2-1 NEC series victory over Central Connecticut this past weekend in Norfolk. NSU grabbed the series opener 10-9 in 10 innings last Friday thanks to an RBI single by Cameron Mazell. The Blue Devils evened the series with a 10-5 decision on Saturday, but the Spartans held off a late CCSU rally to capture Sunday’s rubber match, 6-5.
NSU has five starters hitting over the .300 mark. Thomas Ealey leads the team with a .379 clip, Justin Journette and Josiah Harrison are both hitting .344, Mason Mompoint comes into the midweek game batting .308, and Mazell is next at .302. Journette leads the NEC with eight home runs, 0.44 home runs per game, 51 total bases, and a .797 slugging percentage. The senior outfielder from Richmond, Virginia is also second in the conference with 23 runs scored and is third with 1.28 runs per game. Ealey ranks first in the NEC with two triples and is third in the league with 0.11 triples per game. The sophomore outfielder from Fort Mill, South Carolina is also the top threat to steal with seven swiped bags on 11 attempts.
The Spartans come into the week hitting .263 as a team with a .409 slugging percentage and a .355 on-base percentage. NSU leads its conference with 32 doubles, is second in hits (155) and sac bunts (7), and ranks third in runs (104), home runs (17), home runs per game (0.94), and slugging percentage.
On the mound, Spartan pitching has a team ERA of 10.01 with opponents hitting .351 against them. NSU averages 5.8 runs per game, but is allowing 12.2. The team is led by first year head coach M.L. Morgan, who worked two years at ODU as an Assistant Director of Compliance and SAAC Advisor.
NSU is 307th in the latest RPI rankings.
Up Next
ODU resumes Sun Belt Conference play this weekend as the Monarchs welcome App State for three games at the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex. The two teams will play at 6 p.m. on Friday, at 3 p.m. on Saturday, and at 1 p.m. on Sunday.