Originally published June 17, 2021.

What an electrifying start to the 2021 season for the Old Dominion Monarch’s baseball team.

The team has been scoring runs at an unbelievable rate while getting some incredible pitching. Recently the team has cracked the top 25 with wins versus at the time #16 ranked East Carolina University and big wins versus conference for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The games against the 49ers have been highly competitive and exciting to watch.

The Monarchs are well balanced and getting contributions from a variety of areas. Freshman Carter Trice is tearing the leather off the ball and is currently second on the team in dingers while batting over .350. Left fielder Kyle Battle continues to bring his seasoned leadership and is displaying amazing power this season with 14 home runs already.

The lineup has no easy outs and on pace to accumulate some ridiculous offensive numbers. Andy Garriola’s 51 runs batted in and 55 hits are both leading the team and are flirting with a .350 batting average as well. This team is relentless and it’s no surprise that they are nearly 20 games above .500.

The offense isn’t the only reason for the team’s success. The pitching staff has been incredible and has a team-earned run average of 3.86. Starting pitcher Hunter Gregory is leading the team in wins (6), innings pitch, and strikeouts (69), which included his 11 strikeout performance against Rhode Island. Jason Hartline’s 1.24 e.r.a. is best among the pitching staff and has a 10/1 strikeout to walk ratio while serving up a very deep bullpen.

With less than a month left of baseball, Bud Metheny Baseball Complex has opened more seats for capacity and it’s important that we fill those allotted seats. The weather continues to get nicer and the Bud offers so much to fans and families. The concessions have your nachos to popcorn and don’t forget to visit Rally Alley, where you could grab an adult beverage with a grilled specialty item while viewing the game at field level.

Go Monarchs!