HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Old Dominion baseball could not hold on to a 5-3 lead as the Monarchs dropped their Sun Belt series rubber match at Marshall, 7-5 on Sunday afternoon.
Marshall’s AJ Havrilla opened the scoring with a 2-RBI single in the bottom of the first inning. Jackson Halter then doubled down the left-field line, scoring Havrilla as the Monarchs (16-19, 5-10 Sun Belt) fell behind 3-0 early.
ODU cut the deficit to 3-2 in the top of the second inning. With one away, Scotty Young was hit by a pitch and advanced to third base on a Will Johnson single to left center. Nick Felton brought in Young with a sacrifice bunt, Efrain Morales reached on a fielding error, and TJ Aiken plated Johnson with a base hit back up the middle.
The Thundering Herd (16-18, 8-7) looked to answer right back in the bottom of the second as Evan Bottone hit a leadoff double, Tyler Kamerer walked, and both runners moved up on a Cooper Hinson sac bunt. Tyler Zedalis fielded a Havrilla ground ball towards third and fired home in time for Macaddin Dye to apply the tag on Bottone. Zedalis then caught a pop up for the third out.
After turning a 6-4-3 double play to end the third inning, ODU jumped ahead with three runs in the fourth. Johnson walked and Felton reached first when the Marshall pitcher misplayed a sac bunt attempt. Morales poked a ball through the right side of the defense, and Marshall right fielder Halter was too aggressive and overran the ball. Johnson and Felton both scored on the play as ODU took a 4-3 lead. Morales then made it 5-3 as he tagged up on an Aiken sac fly to right field.
Three straight singles by Marshall’s Jack Smith, Bottone, and Kamerer trimmed the Monarchs’ lead to 5-4. The hosts then regained control with two runs on three hits in the home half of the fifth inning. Oliver Service tied the game at 5-5 as he singled and then scored from first on a Jackson Golden double down the left-field line. Jack Smith singled to put runners on the corners and ODU decided to bring in senior left-hander Bailey Matela. The Monarchs weren’t quick enough to turn two on a Bottone ground ball to second, and Golden raced home and put the Herd back in front, 6-5.
Marshall plated its final run in the bottom of the sixth as Havrilla doubled and came around on a Cleary Simpson single to right field. ODU couldn’t come up with a response from there. Young drew a two-out walk in the seventh, but Johnson flew out to right to end the inning. Felton led off the eighth with a single to short, but the next three Monarchs were retired in order, and ODU also went down 1-2-3 in the ninth.
Felton went 2-for-2 with a run and an RBI, and Zach Leite finished 2-for-5 with a double. Aiken hit 1-for-3 with two RBIs, while Johnson also went 1-for-3 with two runs and a walk. Morales (1-for-4) scored once, drove in one run, and had one base on balls.
Jackson Okonkwo (0-2) took the loss after allowing three runs, two of them earned, on seven hits in 2.1 innings in relief. Starter Nick Sulpizio was responsible for three runs on as many hits and one walk. He faced five batters in 0.1 innings pitched.
Up Next
The Monarchs will be back at the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex this Wednesday as they host Richmond for a 6 p.m. game.