NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Old Dominion had higher hopes for its first season in the Sun Belt in 2023. Year two in the league got off to a loud start for the Monarchs on Friday night.
The Monarchs (11-7, 1-0) scored six first inning runs and John Holobetz was lights out on the mound as ODU downed Georgia Southern, 11-1 in eight innings, to open up Sun Belt play at Bud Metheny Baseball Complex. The game was called in the eighth inning due to the NCAA's 10-run rule, which the Sun Belt opts to implement.
"We've played from behind a lot this year, so it was nice to play from in front," Old Dominion head coach Chris Finwood said after the win. "We made some fantastic defensive plays out there."
Luke Waters got the scoring going in the opening frame with an RBI single through the right side. Two batters later, Alex Bouche connected on a solid single to center field, scoring two more. The biggest hit of the frame came off the bat of Maverick Stallings, who capped off the inning's scoring with a three-run home run to center, giving the Monarchs a 6-0 lead.
Waters added an RBI single in the second inning and a two-run homer in the fourth to extend the advantage to 9-1. Bouche checked in with a round-tripper of his own in the seventh and Kyle Edwards ended the game with an RBI double in the eighth.
The pitching staff put together a strong afternoon as well. Jake Cassidy took opening duties, throwing 2.2 innings and giving up just one run. Holobetz tossed the next 4.1 frames and picked up his second win of the campaign, giving up just one hit and striking out five. He did not walk a batter.
It was an all-around good effort, one that Finwood said will give his team some confidence, but the head coach told his group that the work is just beginning.
"It's one game out of 30," the head coach noted. "It's baseball and [Georgia Southern] will be ready to play. That's a fantastic baseball program and they're well-coached and we'll have to come out and play well again to win."
Old Dominion and Georgia Southern continue their series Saturday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 3:00.
