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ODU baseball hosts Rice to open Conference USA slate

Posted at 12:58 AM, Mar 17, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-17 00:59:50-04

ODU baseball practice

NORFOLK, Va. -- Old Dominion opens up Conference USA play with a three-game series against preseason conference favorite Rice this weekend at the Bud Metheny Complex.

Due to forecasted weather for this weekend, ODU and Rice will now play a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 2 p.m. The third game of the series is tentatively scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m.

ODU (12-4, 0-0 C-USA) is coming off of a 14-2 win over VMI on Tuesday, marking the fifth time this season that the Monarchs have scored 10 or more runs. Overall, Old Dominion averages 7.8 runs per game, which ranks fourth in C-USA and 28th nationally.

Five different Monarchs have 10 or more RBIs, including a team-high 15 from both Shaun Wood and Culver Lamb. Freshman first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino leads the team in average at .397 and is one of seven starters hitting .310 or better.

On the mound, Old Dominion has been led by the lefty duo of senior Adam Bainbridge and freshman John Wilson. The weekend starters both have three wins and sub-3.50 ERAs.

Rice (6-13, 0-0 C-USA), the conference favorite in the C-USA Preseason Poll, have lost three straight games, including back-to-back midweek losses to Sam Houston State and Texas State earlier this week. However, the Owls have played a brutal schedule with away series at Texas and Stanford and a midweek game at preseason No. 1 TCU. The Owls are led by preseason All-American pitchers Glenn Otto and Ricardo Salinas.

The Owls lead the all-time series, 6-2, after sweeping ODU in Houston last year. However, the last time the teams met in Norfolk in 2015, the Monarchs won 2-of-3.