1 week Ago
Old Dominion held off Georgia Southern 7-6 Friday night in a bizarre baseball ending before 2,189 fans in Statesboro.TJ Aiken and Kyle Edwards scored twice apiece and had two hits and two RBIs for the Monarchs (11-20, 6-7 Sun Belt) in the opener of a three-game series. Kainen Jorge had two hits and two RBIs, and Efrain Morales added two hits and an RBI.
Old Dominion outfielder TJ Aiken connects on a pitch against Georgia Southern during a Sun Belt Tournament game last season in Montgomery, Alabama. The teams met again Friday, and Aiken had two hits, two runs and two RBIs in an ODU victory. AJ HENDERSON/SUN BELT CONFERENCEODU starter Ben Moore (2-4) pitched five innings for the victory, striking out five, walking two and yielding three hits.
A five-run fourth put ODU ahead 6-2, and the Monarchs made it 7-2 on an Aiken RBI single in the eighth. But Georgia Southern (20-14, 6-7) bounced back on Jonathan Jaime’s two-run single in the eighth to make it 7-4.Monarchs reliever Bailey Matela retired the first two batters in the bottom of the ninth, but he plunked Josh Tate before yielding a two-run homer down the left-field line by Nico Senese.
The Eagles were within 7-6.The next batter, Daniel Haab, hit what looked like a routine infield pop between the mound and first base, yet it dropped between the nearby fielders, resulting in an error charged to first baseman Zach Leite. Fortunately for ODU, Haab tried to advance to second and second baseman Tahraun Hammond threw to shortstopEdwards to nab him for the final out.
The teams will meet again at 2 p.m. Saturday in the second of the three-game series.
UNC Wilmington 9, William & Mary 1: The visiting Tribe (12-21, 6-4 Coastal Athletic Association) had as many errors (five) as hits during a series-opening loss to the Seahawks (17-17, 5-5).UNCW took early command by scoring five runs (four earned) off starter Chad Yates (0-6), who retired just one hitter. Christian Rush slugged a home run in the fourth to provide W&M’s only scoring, and Charlie Iriotakis was 2 for 4.
Ben Parker and Lucas Carmichael each extended their hitting streaks to 19 games.Trace Baker (2-1) pitched five shutout innings in relief of Zane Taylor for the victory. UNCW’s Trevor Lucas was 3 for 5, falling just a triple short of the cycle, and Brock Wills and Tanner Thach had three hits each.
The three-game series continues with a 4 p.m. game Saturday.
Postponements**Due to expected inclement weather in Charlottesville, Friday’s series opener between Virginia and Pittsburgh was postponed because of rain. The teams will now play a doubleheader Saturday, starting at noon.**No.
9 Florida State’s game at No. 25 Virginia Tech was postponed Friday and reset as part of a noon Saturday doubleheader..
