NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion Baseball struggled to put together hits as the Monarchs fell 10-3 on Saturday afternoon at the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex.
The Mountaineers (11-10, 1-4) got out to a quick start with two runs in the top of the first. With one out and two runners on, App State’s Ethan Puig opened the scoring with an RBI single back up the middle. Colton Denton then made it 2-0 with a single through the right side of the defense.
The Monarchs (11-10, 2-3 Sun Belt) had a chance to respond as TJ Aiken reached on a throwing error, stole second, and moved to third on a Will Johnson ground out to short. Zach Leite popped out to third though and Tyler Zedalis went down swinging.
The visitors widened the gap with another two-spot in the second inning. Charlie Evans and Steven Smith put together a couple of one-out singles and Riley Luft brought the pair home with a double down the left-field line. ODU loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom as Maverick Stallings doubled, and Scotty Young and Cash Jay both walked. A wild pitch by App State starter Gage Peterson allowed Stallings to score on the play and cut into the deficit, 4-1.
A Smith sacrifice fly to right center field put App State ahead 5-1 in the fourth, and the Mountaineers tacked on three more runs in the fifth. Puig scored from second on a Tank Yaghoubi base hit to center field. Jalen Seward singled and Nico Soul walked to load the bases. Yaghoubi then came around on a Joseph Zamora sac fly to center, and Seward made it 8-1 crossed the plate when Evans singled to third.
Both teams scored two runs each in the sixth inning. For the Mountaineers, Puig scored from second base on a Yaghoubi base kit to center field. Denton added another tally for the visitors as he raced home on a Seward ground out to ODU pitcher JJ Gatti. In the home half of the frame, Macaddin Dye doubled to center field and scored on a Grayson Sparr single to second base. Efrain Morales also doubled down the right-field line, moving Sparr up to third. He then scored on an Aiken single to second base as ODU trailed, 10-3.
Neither side scored again from there, though the Monarchs had a chance to do some damage in the bottom of the ninth. Aiken drew a four-pitch walk to lead off the inning. Denton, App State’s catcher, tried a snap throw to first to try to pick off Aiken, but the ball sailed too wide for Seward, going down the line and bouncing out of play. Aiken advanced to third on the play and the Monarchs still had three outs to work with. Bennett Siegel, pinch hitting for Cole Mckenna, went down looking before Leite lined out to App State reliever Logan Tibbett. Zedalis then watched a called third strike to end the game.
Morales finished 2-for-2 with a double and Aiken went 1-for-2 with one RBI, three walks, and a stolen base. Dye (1-for-3) doubled and scored a run, Stallings (1-for-4) also had a double and a run, and Sparr (1-for-4) scored once and drove in a run.
Cole Lanford (1-1) took the loss after giving up four runs on six hits and an error in a 1.1-inning start.
Up Next
Sunday’s rubber match, originally scheduled for 1 p.m., was moved back an hour due to the Celebration of Life Ceremony for the late Lieutenant Colonel Brandon A. Shah. Parking will be available in the Elkhorn parking garage on 43rd street and admission is free.