Old Dominion (22-22, 9-12 Sun Belt) vs. Arkansas State (26-17, 10-11 Sun Belt)
Game Location – Ellmer Family Baseball Complex (Norfolk, Va.)
Game 1 – Friday, May 1 at 2 p.m.
Game 2 – Friday, May 1 at 6 p.m.
Game 3 – Sunday, May 3 at 1 p.m.
Watch – ESPN+ (Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3)
Live Stats – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Tickets – Click Here
Social Media – Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion Baseball hosts Arkansas State for a Sun Belt series this weekend at the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex. With inclement weather expected in Saturday’s forecast, the two teams will play a Friday doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m., followed by a 1 p.m. start on Sunday.
All three games will be streamed on ESPN+, with Weston DeWitt calling Friday's doubleheader and Andy Mashaw providing play-by-play on Sunday. Live stats will also be available.
Game Day Information
Fans planning to attend this weekend’s games 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
ODU and A-State have played three games against each other. The Monarchs made the trip to Jonesboro, Arkansas on May 5-7, 2023 for a Sun Belt series versus the Red Wolves. The Silver and Blue won the first two games, 19-14 and 3-0, but the hosts avoided the sweep by taking the series finale, 12-4.
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (22-22, 9-12 Sun Belt) secured a home-and-home series sweep of VCU with a 7-6 walk-off win on Tuesday night in Norfolk. Down 6-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth, Jack Slater got ODU to within a run with an RBI double down the left-field line. Scotty Young then singled up the middle, plating two runs to seal the comeback. It marked the team’s third walk-off win in the past two weeks.
Efrain Morales is hitting .352 through 32 appearances and 26 starts, primarily as the team’s designated hitter. Other starters hitting over .300 include Zach Leite (.323), Will Johnson (.321), Maverick Stallings (.311), Tyler Zedalis (.308), and Young (.302). Leite is currently second in the Sun Belt and 21st in the country with 55 RBIs. The senior first baseman is also second in the league with 1.25 RBIs per game and five sacrifice flies. Stallings and Zedalis have both hit nine home runs each, and Stallings has doubled a team-high 13 times. TJ Aiken (.253) ranks third in the conference with 36 walks and 0.82 walks per game. He and Leite have both scored 37 times, while Johnson is right behind them with 36 runs. Aiken is 12-for-15 on stolen base attempts and Johnson is 8-for-11.
The Monarchs are hitting .283 as a team with a .420 slugging percentage and a .387 on-base percentage. ODU scores 6.6 runs per game, but allows 7.3 runs. The team is fourth in the Sun Belt with 22 sac flies and two shutouts and is fifth in batting average and on-base percentage.
The weekend rotation will see right-handers Darin Kuskie (2-6, 8.12 ERA) and JJ Gatti (0-4, 4.71 ERA), with Sunday’s starter not announced yet. The two lead the team with 44 and 37 strikeouts, respectively. Kuskie has allowed 40 earned runs on 66 hits and 15 walks through 10 starts and 11 appearances. He’s been better his last two outings, allowing three earned runs on six hits and five walks through 8.2 innings for a 3.11 ERA. Gatti has given up 23 earned runs on 38 hits and 24 walks in 10 starts and 12 appearances. The Monarchs have a team ERA of 6.75 and opponents are batting .309 against them.
Old Dominion is 133rd in the latest RPI rankings.
Scouting Arkansas State
The Red Wolves (26-17, 10-11) hosted Louisiana last weekend, losing two of three games to the Ragin’ Cajuns. UL won the first game, 3-2, and secured the series win with an 11-5 final to game two. A-State got back in the win column though with an 8-3 victory last Sunday.
Arkansas State is led at the plate by Ashton Quiller (.324), Derek Martinez (.316), and Cason Campbell (.309). Martinez ranks sixth in the Sun Belt with 12 home runs and is the conference leader with 0.33 homers per game. Lane Walton (.277) has tripled three times, good for third in the SBC, and is right behind Martinez with 11 big flies. Quiller has scored a team-high 38 runs and Walton is next with 35 runs and a team-high 43 RBIs. Quiller is the top threat to steal with 15 swiped bags on 17 attempts. Patrick Engskov (.263) is 9-for-12 on stolen base attempts and Walton is 7-for-11.
The Red Wolves come into the series hitting .268 as a team with a .472 slugging percentage and a .371 on-base percentage. A-State is second in the conference and 35th in Division I with 66 home runs and 1.53 home runs per game. The Red Wolves also have the third-best slugging percentage in the SBC. They plate 6.9 runs per game while holding opponents to 4.5 runs.
ODU batters will face right-handers Adrew Allen (1-3, 4.05 ERA) and Tyler Weimer (3-1, 2.91 ERA) on Friday and lefty Dylan Farley (7-1, 2.65 ERA) on Sunday. A-State owns the second-best ERA in the league and the 14th-best in the country at 3.90 while opponents are hitting .243 against them. The Red Wolves are sixth in Division I in walks allowed per nine innings (3.14) and 11th in WHIP (1.26). They’re also the conference leaders in hits allowed per nine innings (8.22), rank second in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.62), and are third in shutouts (3).
Arkansas State was picked to finish ninth in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches’ Poll with Engskov and Quiller representing the Red Wolves on the Preseason All-Sun Belt Team. Head coach Mike Silva is in his second season with the programs after a three-year stint at Nicholls State. A-State is 47th in the RPI rankings.
Up Next
ODU and Richmond will meet for third time this season, and the second time in Norfolk, when the Spiders return for a 6 p.m. midweek game at the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex next Tuesday, May 5.