Old Dominion (7-4) vs. UConn (5-7)
Game Location – Ellmer Family Baseball Complex (Norfolk, Va.)
Game 1 – Friday, March 6 at 3 p.m.
Game 2 – Saturday, March 7 at 2 p.m.
Game 3 – Sunday, March 8 at 12 p.m.
Watch – ESPN+ (Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3)
Live Stats – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Social Media – Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion Baseball welcomes the UConn Huskies for three games at the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex this weekend. Friday’s series opener will start at 3 p.m., the two teams will return for a 2 p.m. start on Saturday, and Sunday’s series finale will begin at noon.
All three games in the series will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available.
The Series
ODU and UConn have only met once before when the Monarchs hosted the Huskies on March 16, 2002. That game went to the visitors, 13-5 as Connecticut scored 11 runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Brent Sollenberger accounted for three of ODU’s 12 hits and drove in three runs.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (7-4) scored four runs in the final two innings and Ben Tanton and Bailey Matela combined for four shutout innings as ODU rallied for a 12-10 road win over VCU on Wednesday afternoon in Richmond. Trailing by one heading into the top of the ninth, a VCU throwing error allowed Will Johnson and Zach Leite to score, and Scotty Young provided some insurance with a sacrifice fly to right field. The two teams will meet again in Norfolk on Tuesday, April 28.
Leite leads ODU with a .452 batting average and is currently second in the country with 2.18 RBIs per game and third with 24 RBIs. Other starters hitting over .300 include Tyler Zedalis (.438), TJ Aiken (.400), Maverick Stallings (.366), Macaddin Dye (.344), Johnson (.342), and Young (.318). Stallings, a senior infielder from Apopka, Florida, is second in the Sun Belt with 0.55 doubles per game and third in the league with six doubles. Aiken, a junior outfielder out of Greenwood, South Carolina, has scored 17 runs and ranks second in the conference with 1.55 runs per game. He’s also second with seven stolen bases and third in the Sun Belt with 0.64 swiped bags per game.
As a team, the Monarchs rank 22nd in Division I with a combined .324 batting average. They’re also 28th with eight sac flies and 29th with 2.36 doubles per game. ODU enters the weekend with a .472 slugging percentage and a .426 on-base percentage. The team averages 8.45 runs per game while holding opponents to 6.18 runs.
ODU will start Darin Kuskie (2-1, 6.43 ERA) on Friday and JJ Gatti (0-1, 3.97 ERA) on Saturday. The Monarchs have not named a starter yet for Sunday. Old Dominion owns a team ERA of 5.55 with opposing batters hitting .301. The team ranks third in the Sun Belt with 3.35 walks allowed per nine innings, averages 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings, and has a 2.57 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
With the win over the Rams, ODU moved up 24 spots to 244th in the RPI rankings.
Scouting UConn
After dropping two of three games at UNC Wilmington last weekend, the Huskies (5-7) got back in the win column with a 9-4 decision against New Haven on Wednesday. UConn built an early 3-0 lead, added a run in the seventh, and five more in the eighth. The visiting Chargers put up a fight with four runs in the ninth, but the late offense wasn’t enough. Evan Menzel hit for the cycle and finished 4-for-5 on the day, marking the first Huskie to accomplish the feat since Brian Esposito did it on April 15, 1999 against Holy Cross. Tristan Aasland earned the win after tossing five shutout innings with five strikeouts.
Tyler Minick is batting .429 through three starts, Chris Polemeni owns a .417 average in eight starts, and Jackson Marshall owns a .298 clip and has started all 11 games. Maddix Dalena has driven in a team-high nine runs while Marshall, Evan Menzel (.244), and Nater Wachter (.238) have seven RBIs each. Rob Rispoli (.214) and Polemeni have scored eight runs each, and Polemeni ranks second in the BIG EAST with 0.67 stolen bases per game and third in the league with six stolen bases.
UConn is scoring 5.0 runs per game and is hitting .227 as a team with a .323 slugging percentage and a .347 on-base percentage. The Huskies lead their conference with seven sac bunts and seven sac flies.
The Monarchs will face three left-handed starting pitchers this weekend: Charlie West (1-1, 4.30 ERA) on Friday, Cayden Suchy (0-0, 1.83 ERA) on Saturday, and Oliver Pudvar (1-1, 7.36 ERA) on Sunday. UConn owns a team ERA of 5.90 with opposing teams hitting .268 against them. Connecticut leads the BIG EAST with a 2.44 strikeout-to-walk ratio and is second in the conference in WHIP (1.52) and walks allowed per nine innings (4.05).
The Huskies were BIG EAST co-regular season champions last season, finishing 17-4 in conference play, and were picked to win the league in this year’s Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Sean Finn, Minick, and shortstop Rob Rispoli were named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. This year’s squad features 20 newcomers with 15 transfers and five freshmen. Jim Penders is in his 23rd season coaching at his alma mater and has amassed a career record of 778-503-5.
UConn is 227th in the latest RPI rankings.
Up Next
ODU has its first game in a home-and-home series versus East Carolina next Wednesday in Greenville, North Carolina. First pitch at Clark-LeClair Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. The Monarchs will host the Pirates on Tuesday, April 21.