Old Dominion (11-11, 2-4 Sun Belt) vs. William & Mary (10-12, 3-3 CAA) | at Richmond (12-12, 1-5 A10)
Game Location – Ellmer Family Baseball Complex (Norfolk, Va.) | Pitt Field (Richmond, Va.)
Game 1 – Tuesday, March 24 at 3 p.m.
Game 2 – Wednesday, March 25 at 2 p.m.
Watch – ESPN+ (Game 1 | Game 2)
Listen – Game 2 on Fox Sports Radio 1310 AM
Social Media – Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion Baseball has a pair of midweek games this week as the Monarchs host William & Mary at 3 p.m. on Tuesday and a 2 p.m. road game at Richmond on Wednesday.
Both games will be streamed on ESPN+, with Andy Mashaw calling Tuesdays’ meeting with the Tribe and Ted Alexander covering Wednesday’s road game on Fox Sports Radio 1310 AM. Live stats will also be available for both contests.
Game Day Information
Fans planning to attend Tuesday’s home 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
ODU leads the all-time series versus William & Mary, 89-56 and has won seven of the last nine meetings with the Tribe. W&M hosted the Monarchs on March 19 last year, a game that went to the Tribe, 10-8. Trailing 10-4 through five innings, Old Dominion plated two runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh, but the Silver & Blue could not complete the rally.
ODU is also ahead in the all-time series versus Richmond, 57-42. The two programs last squared off on March 19, 2024 in Norfolk with the Monarchs coming out on top, 3-2. Tied at 2-2, Luke Waters hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth and Vincent Bashara retired the Spiders in order in the ninth to close out the victory. The two teams were scheduled to play on May 13 in Richmond last season, but that game was canceled.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (11-11, 2-4 Sun Belt) won last Friday’s Sun Belt series opener versus App State, 13-7, but the Mountaineers took the next two games, 10-3 and 10-6. Friday’s victory also marked the 424th for head coach Chris Finwood in his time at ODU, making him the winningest coach in program history. He passes Bud Metheny, who went 423-363-6 in his time leading the Monarchs.
Zach Leite leads the team with a .395 batting average. The senior first baseman enters the week ranked ninth in the nation with 1.64 RBIs per game, 17th with 36 RBIs, and 21st with four sacrifice flies. Other starters hitting .300 or better include Maverick Stallings (.367), Tyler Zedalis (.361), Macaddin Dye (.344), TJ Aiken (.329), and Will Johnson (.300). Zedalis has hit a team-high five home runs, Stallings has legged out nine doubles, and Aiken has scored 27 times, has walked 17 times, and is 9-for-9 when attempting to steal.
ODU is hitting .301 as a team, good for third in the Sun Belt. The Monarchs also own a .443 slugging percentage and a .394 on-base percentage. They rank 25th in the country with 15 sac flies and have stolen 30 bases on 31 attempts. Old Dominion averages 7.3 runs per game, but is allowing 7.5 runs.
Nick Sulpizio (1-0, 6.10 ERA) will start Tuesday in what will be a staff day for the Monarchs. The junior right-hander has made one start in seven appearances and has allowed 11 runs, seven of them earned, on 12 hits and three walks. Sulpizio has recorded 11 strikeouts in 10.1 innings and opponents are hitting .293 against him. ODU has not named a starter for Wednesday’s game. The Monarchs have a combined ERA of 7.03 with opposing teams hitting .307 against them.
Through games played on March 22, ODU is listed 219th in the RPI rankings.
Scouting William & Mary
The Tribe (10-12, 3-3 CAA) has won five of its last six games and is coming off a CAA series sweep of North Carolina A&T this past weekend. W&M defeated the Aggies 9-5, 6-5, and 11-10. Jett Humphreys (.368) was named the CAA Rookie of the Week on Monday after collecting four hits and a pair of wins on the mound against N.C. A&T.
Jamie Laskofski is the top hitter for William & Mary, his .386 batting average ranking third in the Coastal Athletic Association. The sophomore infielder leads his conference with 32 hits, 1.45 hits per game, 29 runs, 1.32 runs per game, and 21 walks. He is also 12th in Division I with three triples, 21st in the nation with 16 stolen bases, 22nd in steals per game (0.73), second in the CAA in walks per game (0.95), and third in the league in triples per game (0.14).
Charlie Iriotakis (.264) has homered five times, Matthew Kosuda (.250) has driven in 21 runs with four homers, and Trey Christman (.291) has also gone yard four times. Chase Ecker (.247) is 18-for-18 when attempting to steal.
As a team, the Tribe is hitting .249 with a .394 slugging percentage and a .349 on-base percentage. W&M is currently fourth in the country with 76 stolen bases, sixth with 3.45 steals per game, 22nd with eight triples, and 26th with 0.36 triples per game. On defense, they lead the CAA with 17 double plays and 0.77 double plays per game.
ODU will face right-hander Stephen Christopher (1-0, 2.08 ERA), who has made two starts in eight appearances this season. He has been tagged for three runs on six hits and seven walks while striking out 13 in as many innings pitched. W&M has a combined ERA of 6.96 and is holding opposing batters to a .261 clip.
The Tribe is 196th in the latest RPI rankings. The team was picked to finish fifth in the south division in the CAA Preseason Coaches’ Poll with Laskofski named to the Preseason All-Conference Team. Head coach Rob McCoy is in his second season in Williamsburg.
Scouting Richmond
The Spiders (12-12, 1-5 A10) traveled to the Bronx to take on Atlantic 10 foe Fordham over the weekend, dropping two of three games to the Rams. After falling 8-4 last Friday, Richmond evened the series with a 4-3 final on Saturday. However, the rubber match went to Fordham, 4-3.
Evan Wilson paces the offense with a .385 batting average. Following him are Dylan Winebrenner (.344), Grant Kennedy (.340), Michael Elko (.313), and Noah Harvey (.300). Wilson ranks 15th nationally with a .556 on-base percentage, and Winebrenner is the A10 leader in home runs with eight. Winebrenner is also tops in the league with 62 total bases and is second with a .646 slugging percentage and 0.33 home runs per game. A graduate student from Frederick, Maryland, he has driven in 20 runs and scored 21 times. On the basepaths, Elko is 12-for-14 on stolen base attempts and Chris Schaller (.273) is 11-for-13.
U of R ranks 27th in DI with 57 swiped bags and is 29th with 2.38 steals per game. The team is also second in the A10 with 15 sac bunts and is third with 27 homers and 106 walks.
As a team, the Spiders rank second in their conference with a 5.41 ERA and opponents are hitting .263 against them. Richmond pitching also ranks first in the A10 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.13), WHIP (1.41), and walks allowed per nine innings (3.81).
Richmond is led by third-year head coach Mike Aoki. The Spiders were picked to finish tied for fifth in the A10 Preseason Coaches’ Poll and are 252nd in the RPI rankings.
Up Next
ODU will travel to Mobile, Alabama this weekend for a Sun Belt series at South Alabama.