MONTGOMERY, AL (WTKR)- Many say the postseason is a new season of sorts. Old Dominion baseball made sure that new season would keep going Tuesday night.
The Monarchs got stellar pitching and Jake Ticer knocked in the go-ahead run in the sixth to give ODU a 3-2 victory over South Alabama in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament. It marked the program's first ever win in the league playoff since moving to the Sun Belt prior to last season.
The first round of the event is single elimination and Chris Finwood's club handled the pressure.
The Jaguars scored the first two runs of the game, but Maverick Stallings changed that with one swing of the bat in the fifth inning. Stallings crushed at two-run home run to left field, tying the contest at 2-2.
Ticer's sixth-inning RBI came on a single, beating a shift put on by South Alabama and sneaking through to the outfield grass to score Kenny Levari, pushing the Monarchs in front, 3-2.
Jacob Gomez was masterful on the mound in relief to slam the door, throwing the final 4.2 innings of shutout baseball. He'd scatter three hits, striking out six, while walking just one batter. He came on after a strong start from Vincent Bashara.
Old Dominion managed just four hits on the night, but they were timely and made an impact. Levari tallied two of the four knocks.
With the victory, ODU picks up win No. 30 of 2024 and advances into the main Sun Belt Tournament field. The Monarchs face top-seeded Louisiana Wednesday at 5:00 PM Eastern in the double-elimination tournament.
