No. 8 Virginia Falls in Midweek Tilt Against ODU

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Old Dominion (23-8) secured a 9-2 victory over No. 8 Virginia (26-7) on Tuesday (April 12) at Disharoon Park. The loss for Virginia snapped a six-game winning streak against the Monarchs and was only the second setback 21 home games this season.

The Monarchs never trailed in the contest and scored six of nine runs with two outs. Six Cavalier pitchers combined for eight walks and two hit by pitches in the contest.

Cavalier catcher Kyle Teel went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in the contest. Freshman Justin Rubin put together his second multi-hit effort in as many starts by going 2-for-3 with a runs scored.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• ODU opened the scoring with a two-out, two-run double by Matt Courtney in the top of the first inning. The Monarchs left the bases loaded thanks to an acrobatic catch by Rubin in shallow right center field. It marked the ninth time this season a Virginia opponent has scored in its first turn at the plate.

• The Cavaliers tied the game with one swing of the bat as Teel belted the first pitch he saw in the third inning over right field wall for his sixth homer of the season and first since March 19.

• The Monarchs sent 10 batters to the plate in the fourth and took advantage of a two-out Virginia error to plate four unearned runs in the frame.
• ODU tacked on three runs in the top of the ninth inning, that included a solo home run by Matt Courtney. The Monarch first baseman went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk and four RBI on the night.

FROM HEAD COACH BRIAN O’CONNOR

On what the post-game message was:
“That we got our absolute butts kicked by a good team. It was an incredibly soft approach. I’m very, very disappointed. I challenged the team on Sunday to come out and play the game with a lot of energy, a lot of toughness, and play the game the right way and we did not take care of the game of baseball. When you don’t do that, you get your butts kicked like we just did. When you have a combination of 12 walks and hit-by-pitches, you’re not going to beat anybody. We had 11 fly ball outs. I’m not talking line drive outs; I’m talking fly ball outs. We’re getting humbled. I knew this period of time was going to come, so we’ve got to go back to the drawing board and get back to earning everything we get.”

UP NEXT: Virginia will head back out on the road beginning with a three-game series at Pitt this weekend and a midweek contest at VCU next Tuesday (April 19). The ACC series against the Panthers is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start on Friday (April 15), a 3 p.m. first pitch on Saturday (April 16) and close with a 2 p.m. start on ACC Network on Sunday (April 17)

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Virginia escaped bases loaded jams in the first, fourth and fifth innings. The Monarchs left 11 runners on base and six in scoring position.
• Starting pitcher Will Geerdes pitched the first three innings and was charged with two runs. He retired the final seven batters he faced in his first start in a Cavalier uniform.
• The Cavaliers have now hit a home run in 17 of the 21 home games this season.