NORFOLK, Va. – Rutgers baseball built a 5-0 lead in the third inning before Old Dominion countered to win a 12-5 ballgame Saturday at the Bud Metheny Complex. It was the second game of a three-game series.
 
"We came out to play today," head coach Joe Litterio said. "It was the first time we came out hungry and scored five quick. Then you can't go out there and give it all back. We had the momentum on our side before the pitching and defense let us down. We didn't complete the entire game. It was good to see us swing the bats early, but we shut it down and didn't keep hitting. We have to put it all together."
 
Senior Tyler McNamara went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while redshirt junior Kevin Blum reached all three times on two singles and a walk. He joined sophomore Mike Nyisztor and junior Kevin Welsh with one run batted in.
 
On the mound, junior Tevin Murray retired the first six faced before the Monarchs (7-2) broke through in the third. Both junior Eric Reardon and redshirt junior Steven Acosta provided scoreless relief.
 
The Scarlet Knights (2-6) struck for three runs in the third to take the lead. Welsh started the rally with a walk and beat a throw to second on a grounder hit by senior Luke Bowerbank to put two aboard. Next up, McNamara drilled a two-run double to right-center for the first runs of the game. Blum followed two batters later with a two-out RBI single to make it 3-0.
 
Then in the third, both Nyisztor (double) and Welsh (single) connected for hits with two down to extend the lead to five.
 
However, Old Dominion used a three-run double with two outs in the bottom of the third to pull to 5-4 and added another to even the score. The home team went ahead with two in the fifth. Trey Fisher (1-0) earned the win, with Matt Busher taking the save in a six-inning shutout performance from the bullpen.
 
UP NEXT
The series finale is set for Sunday and has been moved up to an 11 a.m. start.
 
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