Match – Old Dominion (8-1) vs. Saint Joseph’s (1-3)
Venue – Bud Metheny Ballpark (Norfolk, Virginia)
Game 1 – Friday March 3rd at 3pm
Game 2 – Saturday March 4 at 2 p.m
Game 3 – Sunday March 5 at 1 p.m
Regard – ESPN+ (game 1 | game 2)
Live Stats – Game 1 | game 2 | game 3
NORFOLK, Va.— The Old Dominion baseball team will host Saint Joseph’s for three games at Bud Metheny Ballpark Friday through Sunday, March 3-5. The start of the series on Friday is scheduled for 3 p.m. The teams then play again on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. before finishing on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
The first two games will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available.
Around the horn
For the second time in as many weeks, ODU defeated William & Mary by one run, 6-5 on Wednesday at The Bud. The Monarchs (8-1) led 6-2 through five innings when the Trunk made a run with a sacrificial fly to midfield. Later in the eighth round, a solo home run and an RBI triple put the visitors on a 6-5 run. Input John Holobetzwho recorded five strikeouts to close the door on the tribe and earn his second save of the season.
Hunter Fitz Geraldthe reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week, was driving a homer and a sac fly in two runs as he finished 2-for-3 on the plate and hit once. Luke water had the other multi-hit outing for the Monarchs, hitting 2-on-4 with a double and a run. Camden Grimes went 1-for-3 with an RBI, Thomas Wheeler drove in a run and came around once in a 1-for-4 performance, and Robbie O’Neal turned a 1-for-4 outing with an RBI.
ODU’s offense clicked through the first nine games of the season. Alex Bouche leads the Monarchs with a .435 batting average. Jake Ticker is next with a .394 clip, O’Neal is close behind him at .391, Waters averages .387, Fitz-Gerald goes into the weekend at .386. Kenny Levari beats .343 and Tyler Wheeler is even 0.300. As a team, ODU owns a .327 combined average with 107 hits, 47 extra base hits, 88 carries and 84 RBIs.
On the Hill, ODU’s weekend rotation of Blake Morgan, Sam Armstrong And Dylan Brown helped secure a 2-1 series win over St John’s and a series win over Fordham. The Monarchs have a 3.36 ERA as a team and have 86 strikeouts against 81 hits and 31 walks. ODU’s arms hold opposing hitters to a .251 clip.
Scouting Saint Joseph’s
The Hawks (1-3) opened the season at Duke, losing the first two games 16-0 and 2-1 before eluding victory in the Finals with a 5-4 win in 10 innings. Right-hander David Owsik was named Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week on February 21 after unsuccessfully holding the Blue Devils in five innings of work. He didn’t allow a Duke baserunner until the fifth inning, and his last line included three strikeouts, a walk, and a hit batter.
SJU loses 6-3 at Rutgers on Wednesday. The Scarlet Knights took an early 2-0 lead at the end of the first set, but the Hawks responded with a two-RBI double in the next frame to equalize. However, the hosts scored another four runs on as many hits and one penalty in the bottom half of the second. Neither side scored until the ninth time, when SJU hit a solo shot down center right, but that was the last offense the Hawks could muster.
Conlan Wall’s .308 batting average is tops for the Hawks. Brett Callahan is the second best hitter at .294 and Max Hitman hits .250. SJU is batting just .165 in his four games and has produced nine runs with 21 hits and 17 walks. Domenic Picone (0-1, 9.00 ERA) started the season opener, Will McCausland (0-0, 2.25 ERA) started game two at Duke and Owsik (0-0, 0.00 ERA) started game three. SJU has a team ERA of 6.09 with a batting average of .254 against her.
The series
ODU is ahead in the all-time series with 14:2. The teams last faced each other in 2017 when SJU finished the ODU baseball tournament against the hosting Monarchs, trailing 6-4 and finishing in ninth place. Vinnie Pasquantino drew a leadoff walk and Shaun Wood followed with a pinch-hit single. A bar allowed Pasquantino to cross the plate, Turner Bishop tied the game for an RBI triple and he scored the deciding run with a walkoff sac fly from Nick Walker.
What’s next
The Monarchs will be home next Tuesday, March 7, when they welcome Norfolk State to a 3pm game at The Bud.
Coupon Books!
The 2022-23 Old Dominion Coupon Book is available at ynottix.com. For the price of $50, you’ll receive 25 tickets to present at the gate for entry to any regular season home game at Bud Metheny Ballpark. Single game tickets can also be purchased for $5.
Click here to buy the ODU Coupon Book 2022-23.