NORFOLK, Va. – It was Scotty Young playing the hero for the second time this week as the Mission Viejo, California native came through with a walk-off single to lift Old Dominion baseball to a 5-4 win over Arkansas State in the Sunday rubber match.
“It was a good game. We hung in there and finally got a couple of big hits in the eighth and ninth innings. The bullpen did a really good job for us today, especially with Kellen Davis not able to go,” said ODU head coach Chris Finwood.
It was the second time Young has walked it off this week after the outfielder clinched a 7-6 midweek win over VCU last Tuesday. The Monarchs (24-23, 11-13 Sun Belt) now have four walk-off victories in the past three weeks after Jack Slater walked it off for a 10-9 win over Richmond on April 15 and a Nick Felton walk-off single lifted ODU past Georgia Southern, 7-6 on April 18.
In the top of the ninth, A-State’s Raul Torres started off the inning with a base knock to right field, took second on a Joey McLaughlin sac bunt, and advanced to third as Ashton Quiller grounded out to second base. ODU reliever Maddox Jack kept him from coming around though as Kaden Amunds grounded out to first.
In the bottom of the inning, Tyler Zedalis worked a one-out walk before Jack Slater pinch hit for Macaddin Dye and moved Zedalis up to second with a sac bunt. The Red Wolves (27-19, 11-13) brought in a new pitcher to face Young, but he drove a 1-2 pitch to shallow right field and Zedalis was waved home for the deciding run.
“Two walk-off hits in week for Scotty. Really happy for him. We needed that one and the guys found a way to get the win,” added Finwood.
Will Johnson and Brody Connors both turned in 2-for-4 outings at the plate, with Johnson driving in a run and Connors scoring once. Young and Felton both went 1-for-2 with a run and an RBI, TJ Aiken hit 1-for-4 with one RBI, and Zach Leite (0-for-4) also had one RBI.
Jack (2-1) received the win after retiring two in the top of the ninth. He faced three batters, didn’t allow a hit, and walked one. Starter Jackson Okonkwo allowed three runs, only one of them earned, on two hits and two walks. Bailey Matela was responsible for the other run in 2.1 innings out of the pen, and Nick Sulpizio struck out three in three shutout innings in relief.
The Red Wolves plated an early run in their first turn at the plate. Quiller led off with a single through the left side of the ODU defense and Cason Campbell walked to put two runners on. Campbell was then erased at second as Derek Martinez reached on a fielder’s choice towards short, and Quiller scored from third as Evan Griffis also reached on a fielder’s choice to short.
The Monarchs looked to respond in the bottom of the first. Johnson reached first on a fielding error by ASU second baseman Lane Walton and moved up to second on a wild pitch. After Aiken fouled out to the catcher, Johnson advanced to third on an Efrain Morales fly out to center field. He was left stranded though as Leite also flew out to center.
A-State added two more runs in the second inning to go up, 3-0. Walton led off the frame with a single up the middle and Cougar Cooke drew a six-pitch walk after falling behind in the count, 0-2. Okonkwo fielded a Torres sacrifice bunt and elected to get the force out at third base, but his throw hit Walton and went into foul territory, allowing Walton to score on the error. McLaughlin laid down another sac bunt to move runners into scoring position, and Cooke tagged up on a Quiller sac fly to center.
ODU cut into the Red Wolves’ lead, 3-1 in the home half of the third inning. A pair of base hits by Felton and Johnson and a sac bunt by Aiken put runners in scoring position. Morales wore a pitch to load the bases, and Johnson came around on a Leite sac fly to center field. The Monarchs couldn’t continue the damage though as Zedalis went down looking.
Both sides plated a run in the fourth inning. With one out and runners on the corners, Cooke broke for home as McLaughlin executed a squeeze bunt. For ODU, Connors hit a two-out single through the right side, Felton was hit by a pitch, and Connors scored from second on a Johnson base hit back up the middle. That trimmed the A-State lead to 4-2.
ODU had another opportunity with two on and one out in the bottom of the fifth. Morales walked and advanced to second on a passed ball before Zedalis also walked. They were left stranded however as Dye went down swinging and Young flew out to left.
A-State applied pressure in the top of the seventh when Quiller hit a leadoff double down the left-field line. Sulpizio got out of the inning unscathed though with a couple of ground outs and a strike out swinging.
The Monarchs then pulled even, 4-4 with a couple of runs in the eighth inning. Young drew a leadoff walk and moved up to third as Connors singled through the right side. He was pinch run for by Cole McKenna, and Young raced home on a Felton sacrifice drag bunt. McKenna reached third on a Johnson ground out and then tied the game on an Aiken single to center field.
Old Dominion outhit Arkansas State, 9-5. The Monarchs hit .281 (9-for-32) in the game, including .308 (4-for-13) with two outs. ODU also improves to 4-2 in the all-time series.
Up Next
ODU and Richmond will meet for a third time this season when the Monarchs host the Spiders for a 6 p.m. midweek game this Tuesday.