NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion Baseball could not hold onto an early 3-0 lead as the Monarchs dropped their midweek meeting with William & Mary, 6-3 on Tuesday afternoon at the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex.
The Monarchs (11-12) applied pressure in the bottom of the first as TJ Aiken led off with a single to left and Efrain Morales followed with a base hit through the right side of the defense. Following a wild pitch that moved Morales up to second base, Zach Leite brought both runners home with a double down the right-field line.
ODU went up 3-0 with another run in the third inning. With two outs, Maverick Stallings worked a six-pitch walk and then advanced to third base on a failed pickoff attempt by William & Mary’s starting pitcher, Stephen Christopher. Scotty Young then drove Stallings in with a single down the right-field line.
The Tribe (11-12) pulled even with three runs on as many hits in the top of the fourth. With no outs and the bases loaded, Ben Tanton entered the game in relief and proceeded to strike out the first two batters he faced. However, he walked W&M’s Chase Ecker and then gave up a two-RBI single back up the middle to Jett Humphreys.
The Monarchs had an opportunity to retake the lead in the bottom of the fifth after Macaddin Dye drew a leadoff walk, Stallings singled to left, and Young dropped a sac bunt to move the pair into scoring position. Will Johnson was plunked to load the bases, but Cole McKenna popped up to short and Aiken flew out to center field.
W&M went up 4-3 in the sixth as Charlie Iriotakis scored from third on a Humphreys base hit to the gap in right. The visitors then tacked on two more runs in the eighth. With no outs and runners on first and second, Humphreys laid down a sac bunt that went back to ODU reliever Jayce Park. His throw to first was off the mark, and the error allowed Jackson Woolwine to score from second. Later in the inning, Ecker tagged up on a Kevin Francella sac fly to left.
Johnson finished 2-for-2 and Leite went 2-for-5 with the two-RBI double. It was the 10th multi-RBI game of the season for Leite, who entered the week ranked ninth in the country with 1.64 RBIs per game and 17th with 36 RBIs. Young (1-for-3) drove in ODU’s other run, Morales (1-for-3) scored once and walked twice, and Aiken (1-for-4) scored a run and was hit by a pitch.
Patrick Johnson (2-1) took the loss after allowing one run on two hits and a walk. Nick Sulpizio allowed three runs on as many hits and one walk in a three-inning start. He struck out two and retired the side in order in order in the first and third innings.
ODU and William & Mary will play again on Tuesday, April 7 in Williamsburg.
Up Next
The Monarchs have a 2 p.m. road game tomorrow as they travel to the state capital to take on the Richmond Spiders.