ATLANTA – Old Dominion baseball fell behind 6-0 early as Georgia evened the Sun Belt series with a 10-4 final on Saturday afternoon.
The Panthers (21-22, 9-11 Sun Belt) applied pressure in the bottom of the first as John Beverley hit a one-out single, stole second, and moved up to third on a Cole Griffith ground out to short. ODU starter JJ Gatti hit the next batter, Sam Silas to put runners on the corners, but Gatti struck out Brandon Davis to get out of the inning.
GSU got to Gatti in the second inning though, plating four runs on three hits. After Austin Killingsworth wore a pitch and stole second, Jae Williams walked and Adam Haber moved them into scoring position on a sac bunt. A wild pitch scored Killingsworth, Wills Maginnis doubled in Williams, and Maginnis advanced on a wild pitch and came around on a Beverley base hit to short. The hosts went up 4-0 when Beverley stole second and was waved home on a Griffith double down the left-field line.
ODU fell behind 6-0 in the third inning thanks to an RBI double by Haber and another wild pitch that allowed Killingsworth to cross the plate for a second time.
The Monarchs (21-21, 9-11) broke up the shutout bid in the top of the fifth inning. Maverick Stallings led off with a double to left center before Scotty Young was plunked. Jack Slater then reached on a fielder’s choice as GSU shortstop Carter Bailey looked to turn two, but bobbled the ball as Young slid into second safely. Nick Felton then skied a 2-1 pitch deep enough to left for Stallings to tag up on, cutting the Panthers’ lead to 6-1.
GSU quickly answered in the bottom of the fifth as Davis led off with a double and scored on a Killingsworth hit back up the middle. Killingsworth stole second, advanced to third on a Haber ground out, and scored on a Bailey single through the left side as ODU now trailed, 8-1.
The Panthers plated their final two runs in the bottom of the eighth. With no outs and the bases loaded, Silas brought in a run on a sac fly to right field. A wild pitch by ODU reliever Owen Yarussi allowed another runner to score as ODU fell behind, 10-1.
Down to its last three outs, ODU found some late offense as Zach Leite and Tyler Zedalis both walked and moved up on a wild pitch. Leite came around on a Stallings single to left field. Bennet Siegel went down swinging, but Cash Jay drew a four-pitch walk to put two on with one out. Brody Connors doubled in Zedalis and Stallings to make it a 10-4 deficit. Efrain Morales was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners, but the Monarchs couldn’t keep it going as Grayson Sparr hit into a 1-2-3 double play.
Leite doubled, scored a run, and drew one walk to finish 2-for-3 at the plate. Stallings had ODU’s other multi-hit effort as he went 2-for-4 with an RBI double and two runs. Connors (1-for-1) doubled in two runs in his lone plate appearance.
Gatti (0-4) received the loss after giving up six runs, four of them earned, on six hits and one walk. The junior right-hander struck out five in a three-inning start.
Up Next
Sunday’s rubber match is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start at the GSU Baseball Complex.