Scotty Young delivers walk-off as ODU takes series from Arkansas State
· Yahoo Sports
Scotty Young delivered once again, lifting Old Dominion Monarchs baseball to a 5–4 win over Arkansas State Red Wolves baseball with a walk-off single in Sunday’s rubber match.
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It marked Young’s second walk-off hit of the week after he previously secured a midweek victory over VCU Rams baseball. The Monarchs (24–23, 11–13 Sun Belt) have now recorded four walk-off wins in the past three weeks, including earlier victories against Richmond Spiders baseball and Georgia Southern Eagles baseball.
Arkansas State threatened in the top of the ninth, putting a runner on third with two outs, but ODU reliever Maddox Jack induced a groundout to keep the game tied.
In the bottom half, Tyler Zedalis drew a one-out walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jack Slater. With two outs, Young delivered a single to shallow right field, allowing Zedalis to score the winning run.
At the plate, Will Johnson and Brody Connors each went 2-for-4, with Johnson driving in a run and Connors scoring once. Young and Nick Felton both contributed a hit, a run, and an RBI, while TJ Aiken added an RBI.
Jack (2–1) earned the win after recording the final two outs in the ninth inning without allowing a hit. Starter Jackson Okonkwo surrendered three runs, only one earned, over his outing. Bailey Matela allowed one run in relief, while Nick Sulpizio struck out three across three scoreless innings.
Arkansas State opened the scoring in the first inning, taking advantage of a pair of baserunners and a fielder’s choice to grab a 1–0 lead. The Red Wolves added two more runs in the second inning, capitalizing on a defensive miscue and a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 3–0.
Old Dominion responded in the third inning. Consecutive hits by Felton and Johnson, followed by a sacrifice bunt from Aiken, set up a scoring chance. A hit-by-pitch loaded the bases, and a sacrifice fly from Zach Leite brought home a run to make it 3–1.
Both teams added a run in the fourth inning. Arkansas State executed a squeeze bunt to score, while ODU answered with a two-out rally, highlighted by an RBI single from Johnson that trimmed the deficit to 4–2.
The Monarchs threatened again in the fifth inning, putting two runners on base, but were unable to capitalize.
Arkansas State created another scoring opportunity in the seventh with a leadoff double, but Sulpizio worked out of the inning to keep the deficit at two runs.
ODU finally pulled even in the eighth inning. Young drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third on a single by Connors. A sacrifice bunt by Felton brought home one run, and Aiken followed with an RBI single to tie the game at 4–4.
The Monarchs finished with nine hits compared to five for Arkansas State and hit .281 as a team. The victory also improved ODU’s record in the all-time series to 4–2.