South Tidewater News

ODU and Fordham to Meet for Weekend Series

 The Old Dominion baseball team has a home series against Fordham this Friday through Sunday at Bud Metheny Ballpark. Friday's opener will start at 3 p.m., Saturday's Game Two is scheduled for 2 p.m. and Sunday's finale is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
 
Live stats will be available for all three games. In addition to streaming all Sun Belt Conference home games, the additional games below will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
Feb. 26 vs. Fordham
March 3 vs. St. Joseph's
March 4 vs. St. Joseph's
March 22 vs. Liberty
May 16 vs. VCU
 
Around the Horn
The Monarchs (4-1) have won four in a row and are coming off a pair of midweek wins over VMI and William & Mary. ODU was at home Tuesday and used five home runs to defeat the Keydets, 15-8. The team then went to Williamsburg, Virginia on Wednesday and rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3 in extra innings.
 
Camden Grimes got the rally started with an RBI ground out in the top of the sixth. The senior out of Mechanicsville, Virginia then tied the game at 3-3 with a two-run blast in the eighth, and Alex Bouche homered in the 10th for what would be the decisive run. The Tribe loaded the bases in both the ninth and 10th innings, but Robert Cook kept the hosts off the board in both frames to earn the win.

ODU's batters have gotten off to a quick start. Jake Ticer (.471) and Hunter Fitz-Gerald (.417) lead the way, though Kenny Levari, Robbie O'Neal and Luke Waters are all hitting .333. The Bud Bombers have combined for 12 home runs so far, good for fourth in the country. Ticer is tied for the national lead with five long balls, is tied for second with 1.00 home run per game, and is the outright leader in Division I with 24 total bases. The JUCO transfer also ranks fifth in hit by pitch (4), eighth in RBIs (11) and ninth in both runs scored (9) and slugging percentage (1.412). Fitz-Gerald's 10 hits place him seventh nationally in that category. The Monarchs head into the weekend batting .302 with a .555 slugging percentage and a .405 on-base percentage.
 
On the mound, ODU will go with the same starters as last week: Blake Morgan (0-0) on Friday, Sam Armstrong (0-0) on Saturday and Dylan Brown (0-0) on Sunday. The Monarchs have recorded 46 strikeouts against 45 hits and 25 walks through 47.0 innings. The team has a 3.83 ERA through its first five games and is holding opposing batters to a .246 average.
 
Scouting Fordham
The Rams (0-3) opened their season with three losses at Dallas Baptist last weekend. The Patriots shut out Fordham 8-0 in the series opener on Friday, claimed the series win with a 19-5 final on Saturday, and completed the sweep with a 13-1 victory in seven innings on Sunday.
 
Daniel Bucciero leads Fordham at the plate with a .600 (3-for-5) average, Sebastian Mexico enters the series with a .400 (2-for-5) clip and Peter DeMaria is batting .300 (3-for-10). Bucciero leads the team in extra-base hits with a pair of doubles, while DeMaria and Will Findlay (.200) have one double each. Ryan Thiesse (.111) has swiped one bag in as many attempts for the team's lone stolen base. As a group, the Rams are hitting .170 with a .216 slugging percentage and .245 on-base percentage.
 
Fordham's weekend rotation will see righthanders Gabe Karslo (0-1) and Ben Kovel (0-1) on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The Rams will go with lefthander Nolan Hughes (0-1) for the final game. Fordham's pitching staff owns a combined 15.14 ERA through 22 complete innings and opponents are batting .354 against them. The Rams used a total of 13 arms last week in Dallas, and they combined for 16 strikeouts while giving up 35 hits and 26 walks.
 
The Series
The all-time series is currently tied at three games apiece. The two programs first met in Norfolk during the 2005 season, with the Rams taking all three games. Fordham won the opener 12-8 on Saturday, March 12. The next day was a twin billing as ODU fell 14-8 and 4-3.
 
ODU and Fordham last met for three games at The Bud on Feb. 19-21, 2010. The Monarchs defeated the Rams 8-2 in the opener, 7-5 in Game Two and 11-5 in Game Three.
 
What's Next
ODU has its second meeting with William & Mary next Wednesday as the Monarchs host the Tribe for a 3 p.m. game in Norfolk.

Voucher Books!
The 2022-23 Old Dominion voucher book is available for sale on ynottix.com. For the cost of $50, you get 25 tickets that can be presented at the gate for admission to any regular season home game at Bud Metheny Ballpark. Single-game tickets can also be purchased for $5.
  

Original source can be found here