NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion baseball faced a tough challenge on Saturday, falling to UConn by a final score of 14-3 in eight innings at the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex.
“It was a tough day for us,” said ODU head coach Chris Finwood. “They whipped us good. Pitching overall was about as non-competitive as I can remember. We will have to reevaluate what we did today because none of it worked. Too many walks and they had leadoff guys on almost every inning.”
Maverick Stallings stood out for the Monarchs (7-6), tallying three hits with a triple, a home run, and two RBIs. TJ Aiken (1-for-3) finished with a double and a run scored and also reached on a hit by a pitch. Zach Leite (1-for-4) drove in one run, while Tyler Zedalis (1-for-3) singled and walked once.
On the mound, JJ Gatti (0-2) took the loss after giving up five earned runs on three hits in a three-inning start. He struck out four and issued four free passes.
ODU started strong, taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Aiken's double to center was followed by a Stallings triple off the wall in center, bringing Aiken home. Stallings then came around on Leite's ground ball to first.
The Huskies (7-7) got a run back in the second as Jackson Marshall led off with a solo home run to left field. The visitors then jumped ahead 3-2 in the top of the third. Cam Righi drew a leadoff walk, then scored on a Chase Taylor double to the gap in right. Rob Rispoli then brought in Taylor with a base hit to center field.
ODU pulled even in the bottom of the inning when Stallings homered to left center, his first long ball of the season.
UConn then took over the game from there, scoring in each of the next five innings. In the fourth, Gabriel Tirado put the Huskies up 5-3 with a two-RBI single back up the middle. Rispoli then made it 6-3 with an RBI double to left field later in the inning.
The guests pulled away 9-3 on Nater Wachter’s three-run homer to straightaway center field in the top of the fifth. Evan Menzel drove in a run with a single through the right side in the sixth. In the seventh, a Tirado RBI single and a Righi sacrifice fly widened the gap, 12-3. Marshall homered again in the eighth, and Tirado collected another RBI later in the inning with a double to right center.
“I thought we were ready to play, but just got behind too quick,” continued Finwood. “We definitely need to be better on the mound on Saturdays to win in our league. It’s a big game tomorrow for us and a quick turnaround with a noon game. We need some guys to step up on the mound for sure.”
Down to their last three outs, the Monarchs got a baserunner as Macaddin Dye led off with a single to left field. However, Scotty Young hit into a 6-3 double play and Evan Holman flew out to left to end the game.
UConn outhit ODU, 13-9. The Monarchs committed the game’s lone error and left eight runners on base.
Up Next
The teams return tomorrow for the series finale, scheduled for a noon start.