Old Dominion (16-19, 5-10 Sun Belt) vs. Richmond (19-16, 8-7 A10)
Game Location – Ellmer Family Baseball Complex (Norfolk, Va.)
When – Wednesday, April 15 at 6 p.m.
Watch – ESPN+
Live Stats – Click Here
Social Media – Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion Baseball will be back on its home field this week, beginning with a 6 p.m. game against Richmond this Tuesday night at the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex.
Andy Mashaw will call the game on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available.
Game Day Information
Fans planning to attend Wednesday’s 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
Wednesday’s game will mark the 101st meeting between the two programs. The Monarchs and Spiders first met during the 1977 season when they played four times. UofR grabbed the first two games, 7-0 and 7-4 in Richmond, but ODU won both games in Norfolk, 6-5 and 6-5.
This week’s game marks the second meeting in this year’s home-and-home series. The Monarchs made the trip to Richmond on Wednesday, March 25 and came away with a 7-2 victory. Tied at 2-2 through six innings, the Silver & Blue scored five runs in the final three innings to pull away. Maverick Stallings (1-for-4) provided a two-run home run, scored three times, and drew one walk while Chris Cavalcante picked up the win after holding the Spiders to one run on two hits and a walk. He recorded one strikeout in two innings in relief. ODU now leads the all-time series, 58-42.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (16-19, 5-10 Sun Belt) traveled to Huntington, West Virginia and dropped two of three games to Marshall. After the Thundering Herd took the series opener 8-1 last Friday, the Monarchs evened the series with a 4-1 final on Saturday. In Sunday’s rubber match, Old Dominion dug itself an early 3-0 deficit and later pulled ahead 5-3 in the fourth inning, but the hosts took back control with another four runs.
Coming into this week, Zach Leite leads the team with a .338 batting average and currently ranks 20th nationally with 46 RBIs, 32nd in Division I with 1.31 RBIs per game, and is also fourth in the Sun Belt with four sacrifice flies. Tyler Zedalis (.320) and Stallings (.295) have both hit six home runs and follow Leite with 27 RBIs each, and Leite is right on their tails with five homers. Will Johnson (.314) is third on the team with 28 runs scored and is 6-for-8 on stolen base attempts. TJ Aiken (.288) leads the Monarchs with 11 stolen bases on 13 attempts and has also drawn a team-best 25 walks.
Freshman Nick Felton had himself a productive series at Marshall, hitting .400 (2-for-5) with three RBIs, one run scored, and five sacrifice hits. An outfielder from Odenton, Maryland, he is currently batting .209 through 27 appearances and 12 starts. He also moved up to fifth in the country with 0.30 sac bunts per game as well as ninth with eight total sac bunts.
As a team, the Monarchs are hitting a combined .283 with a .407 slugging percentage and a .383 on-base percentage. ODU averages 6.4 runs per game, but has allowed opponents to score 7.3 runs. The team has recorded two shutouts, good for fourth in the Sun Belt, and ranks fifth in the league with 16 sac flies.
Junior right-hander Nick Sulpizio (1-1, 9.17 ERA) will get his sixth start of the season on Wednesday. Through 11 appearances, he has allowed 22 runs, 18 of them earned, on 26 hits and six walks. The Cherry Hill, New Jersey native has recorded 15 strikeouts over 17.2 innings pitched with opposing batters hitting .351. Monarch pitching has combined for a team ERA of 6.92 with a .314 batting average against them.
Through games played on April 13, the Monarchs are ranked 155th in RPI.
Scouting Richmond
The Spiders (19-16, 8-7 A10) played an A10 series at in-state rival George Mason this past weekend, winning two of three games against the Patriots. UofR defeated the hosts 4-2 on Friday and 11-3 on Saturday, but GMU avoided getting swept with a 7-5 final on Sunday. Richmond has two midweek games this week: before making the drive to Norfolk, the Spiders will play a 6 p.m. game at James Madison on Tuesday night.
Richmond is led at the plate by Dylan Winebrenner (.358), Michael Elko (.325), and Chris Schaller (.319). Winebrenner is currently second in the A10 in home runs (10), slugging percentage (.664), and total bases (89) and is also fourth in the conference in home runs per game (0.29) and hit by pitch (12). Elko has stolen a team-high 18 bags on 21 attempts, placing him fifth in the league. Schaller ranks fourth in the A10 with 12 doubles and 0.39 doubles per game and is fifth in the conference with four sac bunts. He follows Elko with 13 steals on 16 attempts.
UofR ranks third in the A10 with a .441 slugging percentage and is fourth in the league with a .271 batting average and a .391 on-base percentage. The Spiders lead their conference with 71 doubles, are 26th in Division I with 82 stolen bases, and 28th with 2.34 steals per game. They score 6.0 runs per contest while allowing 5.4 runs.
Mauricio Rodriguez (0-1, 8.10 ERA) will get the start in what will be a staff day for the Spiders. The graduate student from Revere, Massachusetts has given up three runs on two hits and six walks through one start and three appearances. He has also recorded three strikeouts in 3.1 innings of work while holding opposing batters to a .167 clip. Richmond pitching has a team ERA of 5.05 and opposing teams are hitting .256 against them. The Spiders lead the A10 with 4.01 walks allowed per nine innings and ranks second in ERA, hits allowed per nine innings (8.61), strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.88), and WHIP (1.40).
UofR is listed 169th in the RPI rankings.
Up Next
Old Dominion will host Georgia Southern in Sun Belt action this weekend. The series opener is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start this Friday. The Monarchs and Eagles will return for a 3 p.m. game on Saturday, then round out the series with a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday.