Hello, Monarch fans and welcome to the Hudson homers podcast. I am Gary joined as always by CB CB. We get two out of three this weekend. How are you feeling?
I'm good. I think, uh, you know, obviously you'd like to take all three. Uh, I think we could have, but you know, you got the wins you need to get to get in the tournament. Again, obviously you would have rather been in those top six and not have to play this single elimination, uh, Tuesday night. Uh, but that's how it goes and they can go in and just like all year, I fully believe that they can beat anybody you put in front of them. So we'll, we'll see how Tuesday night goes.
It seemed like we saved our best offense of the season for last, putting up 20 runs in that final game against Georgia State, hitting a lot of balls out of the ballpark. I want to get you all caught up to date here on Dollars for Dingers. We are now up to 56. Home runs on the season and we have 80 steals for bucks for bags.
So 136 bucks, you should be socking away here, uh, for the ODAF campaign for dollars for dingers coming up in a little bit, but CB 56 home runs kind of snuck up on us a little bit, but it's not as low of a number as we think, right.
Yeah, so what's funny is, last year in 2023 we had 100 2022 I think it was 128 in 2021 it was 105. So those are the three best home run seasons ODU has ever had. I mean, I think we set the record for the first team to hit over 103 years in a row with the new bats. Um, and so you come to the season, doesn't feel like we're hitting as many home runs. Obviously used to hitting, twice as many homers. Uh, but 56 home runs prior to 2021 was the school record.
So as we sit here with 56 home runs in 2024, this would have tied the school record. And I'm, I have to believe we're going to hit another one or two. It would have broken it. So this is. Weirdly to say, as, as, as few home runs that it feels like we've hit this season, the fourth most homers ever hit, uh, ODU baseball season.
That just blows my mind because I think we've just become so accustomed to the a hundred home run seasons that we're like, Oh, our power is down this year. But historically we're not. You also have to think too, we lost a game against William and Mary and we lost a midweek game against Richmond. I promise you, we hit one or two home runs at least in those games to, to knock that total up to probably closer to 60,
And, in addition to that 80 still on bases is as many as we've had. I think it's more than we've had in the last decade that I, I went back about 12 14 years and that's that's more stolen bases than we've had in a long time Uh, so you've got power and speed. It's not the same power you've been used to So even you know this lineup has struggled I don't think anybody's gonna look at this lineup and say it's been what we hoped it would be You know, we got a 251 batting average.
We've struggled to score in a lot of games I think there's a lot of games where if our pitching staff wasn't so good We wouldn't have won. There's a lot of games where we should have won because our pitching did such a good job You But at the end of the day, the numbers still kind of say like these guys have some stuff and they can do some things. I think, again, obviously if we hit a little bit better, we might have stolen more bases and we would have scored more runs.
Um, so it's, it's an odd year statistically, bro, to you.
it has been an odd year. They sometimes look like completely different teams from a game to game basis and certainly from series to series, but pushing all your chips in. Now, uh, you're the eighth seed in the tournament. You're playing nine seated South Alabama. And this is the single elimination portion of the tournament. It is win or go home time.
But before we dive too much into that game that we're going to see Tuesday evening, I want to talk about how we got there, because it was a wild and somewhat gut wrenching weekend for part of it, just to make sure that we got into the tournament. no weekday game this week with Richmond because of the weather that was going on up here. Uh, we go down to Atlanta a little bit later and we take on Georgia State in that first game on Thursday.
Scrap it together and come out with our first Friday road series victory of the season six to four.
Yeah, kind of crazy. You have to wait all the way until the very last weekend to say that, but. You know getting the wins better than not getting the win. Um had some big days, you know maverick stalling stayed hot We'll we'll talk about that. Uh a little bit later about how hot uh, the maverick hit a homer, uh, three run bomb Um, we got you know, tj. Aiken had a nice ground out scored some guys.
Really solid starting from Jacob Gomez, uh, Kellen Davis got the win, he actually came in, um, and shut down a little bit, Jay Cassidy gave okay relief work, and then Vincent Becerra was excellent at the end of the game, he set down all nine that he faced, and, um, struck out five of them. To pick up his first save of the year. So Vincent finished off, you know, after starting throwing five innings on Sunday, then doing that on Thursday, pretty excellent week for him.
Yeah. And this one started out, I mean, it was a good back and forth game throughout, but started off TJ Aiken hits a double to the left. Uh, and then we go strikeout, strikeout, and then Kenny LaVarie comes through with a clutch two out single to bring Aiken home. We're up one to nothing. So we get on the board early. That's a lot of times been our problems on Fridays is we can't get that first run in until it's. Too late in the game is kind of already decided.
Uh, but Georgia state, we knew going into that game that they could hit, that they could hit some home runs. They play in a pretty batter friendly park and, uh, you know, first about they had at the game, they, they had a solo shot and go out and tie it. Uh, and then it's just kind of back and forth from there and.
I think what really kind of ended up being the difference there was Maverick Stallings there in the sixth inning when we were down three to two, cranking a three run bomb over the wall and left, put us ahead five to three, we end up getting another run later on a double play that got a run in and went in six to four, but I know we want to talk about him later, but Maverick Stallings, in my opinion, kind of saved the day for us there on the offensive side of things.
He saved the day a lot this weekend. Uh, Maverick is, well, I'll tell you what, we'll talk about it right now. Maverick, he was just named the, Sunbelt Conference, Player of the Week, Hitter of the Week, however you say it. He, I don't even know his stats for this weekend, but I'll tell you right now, uh, I have right here his last 13 games. So basically the last three weekends. Um, he is 17 for 50, which is a 340 average. He's got two doubles, seven homers, and 20 RBIs in the last 13 games.
That's hot. That's really, really good. Yeah, he took his average. He's up to 270. I think he was down around 240 Maybe even two in the 230s So so maverick's been doing and been playing really good defense, too. That's the thing I know early in the year He was getting subbed out some at the end of games carter sun going to come in and play defense That hasn't happened maverick's been you know, he's really worked on that defense.
He was already solid He's really just gotten good now at this point of the year.
Yeah, and on the season, he is now the team leader in home runs with 11. He's one ahead of Luke Waters. He's driven in 32 runs. But you have to remember that Maverick has not been an everyday starter throughout this entire season. Like he started 40 games compared to say Luke or Kyle, who started in 53 games. He's got about 60 less at bats than those guys do. So for him to come on here late with those kind of power numbers has been just such a huge boost for us.
Like it seems like he comes up in those critical moments, too, of when we really need a home run like against App State last weekend This weekend, uh, against Georgia state that we just saw where he had a home run in every game of the series, uh, just coming through in the clutch and just hoping to keep on fueling those flames as we go into the conference tournament here, because that's a bat that we are, are desperately needing to add to the rest of this lineup
Streaks are one of those fascinating things because, you know, you can't expect them to last forever. But you really hope they continue right now. Anybody who's going hot right now, you're like, Okay, let's hopefully keep it going one more week. Just keep things going. Um, but yeah, Maverick has been a huge part of things going in the right direction here recently.
and you talked about them a little bit, Vincent Bishara, obviously electric on senior day on Sunday against app state, uh, comes into this game, gets a three inning save. No runs, no hits, no walks, nobody hit, five strikeouts, just an elite performance from Vincent Becerra. I could see both of his parents very clearly on the ESPN Plus broadcast all weekend sitting behind home plate. Just a great performance by him to lock that game down and make sure that we won that one.
And we had a little slight, tiny bit of cushion for the rest of the weekend. And it turns out that we needed it because, uh, Saturday did not really go our way, or I'm sorry, Friday
Yeah, right. Yeah, right. Everything kind of got shifted this weekend, a Friday, which, uh, got moved up, uh, from the 6 PM to noon. Um, and I, I keep seeing their, their attendance of 300. I don't know how they had 300 people. There must have been just people standing off in fields. You couldn't see anybody watch the games this weekend. Um, Georgia state, I guess they apparently are getting a new baseball complex. They desperately need it.
They look like they're playing at like a local YMCA park. Um, there was like one little, Oh, You Group of stands behind there and then just a lot of lawn seating around. Um, and it was a very small ballpark You see why they hit so many home runs and also the elevation and people kind of forget atlanta's got a thousand foot elevation So the ball flies a little bit higher there, too Uh, but yet could not could not make it happening.
We kind of saw the the lack of hitting Uh rear it's ugly head again on friday. We really only we got three runs eight hits Blake Morgan did, did pretty well. One run over three innings. John Halibutz, unfortunately, did not have a great appearance. He's been lights out for a while. But three, three innings, gave up four runs. So that was not his best. Uh, and then Bailey Mitella kind of showed again. He's, he's maybe still feeling the effects of his injury.
But Lincoln Ransom came and picked him up, did really good to finish out the game.
Not a great hitting day, for ODU. I mean, just going through the box score here is, you know, Jake Tyser did have a pair of hits. He went two for four, uh, but you know, he had two of our eight hits and the rest were kind of just scattered throughout. We left 10 guys on base, which is obviously been a theme this season too.
Uh, just not being able to cash in those opportunities when we had guys on the field and it wasn't the best outing from her pitching, but we were able to kind of close it down late and have a chance to be in that game, but you can't expect your pitching staff to be perfect all the time. I mean, John hollow bets pitched his ass off this weekend, had the best performance of any ODU pitcher this season.
You can't always expect those guys to come out and exactly replicate that, especially against a team that is. Pretty good at hitting they're playing in a small ballpark. And I think that's where a lot of his issues arose from is it's just balls being able to be elevated and out of the ballpark.
And you know, this is a team in Georgia State. They give up seven runs the game. Um, you only score three after only scoring, uh, I say only they won the game but only scoring five on the Thursday game. Or six, uh, so that's nine and two games You're four and a half a four and a half era for them would be a great time you got to put runs on teams that give up runs.
Their pitching is Not that good Um, you know, they may have thrown well for most part the separate the last game this weekend Uh, but you really you gotta beat people aren't as good as you and you gotta do better Um, and we, I feel like we've seen better at bats from things, uh, better at bats from, from ODU as the season has gone on.
Uh, they're, they're doing a lot more team batting, a lot more putting the ball in play, they kind of really made some adjustments, had to realize who they are as hitters, uh, but still, you know, it's, it's got to keep going. You're, you're, they're not going to have a chance of having any kind of deep run in the Sunbelt tournament here. If they don't keep doing that. I also forgot, uh, in this game, Alex Boucher, uh, took a ball off the face. Um, it had to come out. Um, I kind of missed it.
I think you had a better view of it
I mean, he just had a ball kind of right up in and got him in the face. And from what I could see, there was just blood pouring out of somewhere on his face, whether it was his nose, maybe a cut above the eyebrow, something like that. I don't know. Uh, but it was pretty clear he was going to be out of the game. And then we did not see him in the final game of the series either. Uh, Georgia state was getting pretty wild. They hit four batters.
Uh, in that game, they hit a couple more the next day. Uh, when we got a big, I was kind of thinking, all right, it may be time to return some favors, especially since you're knocking some guys out of the game for us. I hope Alex Boucher is, is doing all right. And hopefully he's able to play here in the conference tournament, but he can't, he's got no luck. I mean, he took one off the helmet against app state and then he takes it off the face the following weekend.
That's a rough go of it for a few days,
he's definitely good at getting on base He doesn't necessarily have to get hits to get on base, but that was that was not the best way to do it Um, but that's part of again, the georgia state is not a very good pitching staff I mean, you're not a very good pitching staff. You hit a lot of guys um, we've seen that, you know, we saw with app state too is it just you know, that's a that's a reality that When you're not very good at pitching is because you don't have very good control.
And so again, even more reason why they should have been able to score more than three runs, but they did score more than three rounds on Sunday
just a few more, just a few more. Uh, and I will tell you going into that, that second game on Friday. Uh, we actually, we had an opportunity.
It was a long shot to get the fifth or the sixth seed, uh, because of some things that happened above us in the standing, some games had not yet been played, there was actually a pathway that was achievable to get into that fifth or sixth seed, and then we dropped that game five to three and that, that is kind of gone and now you're going into the final game of the regular season. Needing to win, must win scenario if there ever was one. Cause if you lost that, you're probably going to be out.
Uh, but man exploded 20 runs on 14 hits, put pressure on them the whole game. And really just, just got it right from the jump with four runs in that first inning.
Yeah. I mean, Sunday was our Saturday. I keep saying so Saturday's game was everything you want to see out of a team. Um, I don't expect. I don't care how good your offense is. You shouldn't expect 20 runs at a game.
But the, the kind of stuff we saw on Saturday is what you, what you should expect out of this ODU team and these hitters, um, and again, what makes it kind of frustrating when they have days like Friday's game where they only score three runs and can't quite get that hit, um, again, you know, Maverick Stallings drove in five runs. He had, uh, have another home run. Um, I really, I hadn't even thought about it. So we're sitting here, but Evan Holman, he had three hits and three RBI as the game.
He was six for 10 with three walks and three RBI is over the weekend. So excellent weekend for our best defensive player who has been solid at the plate all year. Um, another four hit game for Luke waters. Uh, he's been on a strike. She looked his last seven games. The last couple of weeks, uh, 14 out of 32 for four 38 average double, triple Homer, seven RBI is in seven games. Um, so some really good number. And of course, uh, Nick Miller.
Uh, filling in for, um, Alex DH had two homers and six RBIs. So just, I mean, all around just excellent on the batting side. Stephen Meyer had a perfect day at the plate. Uh, he, he was one for one with three walks and a hit by a pitch. Uh, just a, just a odd day of the play. I'm sorry, he got hit by a pitch three times. That's, I said that incorrectly.
Steven got hit by pitch three times and he drew a walk and he was one for one. I think that was what was starting to, uh, I think fire some people up a little bit is they, they just kept throwing in on him and kept hitting and kept hitting them. And it's like, what'd the guy do to you? Like what did he do in Atlanta the night before that's got you all so mad that you're throwing at him.
Um, but you keep throwing in on a guy's elbow and a guy's arm and things like that, as we're getting ready to go into conference tournament, like just, Stuff you don't want to see from a control perspective,
i'm sure what it comes down to is that the book on mine is pitch him inside If you pitch him inside he doesn't do as well And so again, that's the book and i'm sure their guys just don't have any control Like I I really I really don't believe is anybody doing anything of them just like their guys suck a little bit of control
yeah, he is second now in the conference. He's been hit by pitch 23 times. I think there's a guy for coastal It's first with 26 Hit by pitches, uh, but he's, he's up there. For me, when I realized like, all right, I think ODU is going to win this ball game was right there in the first inning. And it was with Kenny LaVarie. He had a really rough day the day before. I think he struck out three times, just did not have very good looking at bats.
He stepped into the plate, got in a two strike count, and then just absolutely lined one over the wall and left for a two run home run. Luke Waters follows right after him and hits a, just a nuke to center. I mean, it cleared the centerfield wall by a good margin. And the wall out there is actually the old wall that used to be at Fulton County Stadium. So if it looked like it's from the 80s, it is. It literally is. That's why it was falling apart.
Uh, but I mean, it's 385 to dead center and he cleared it by 60, 70 feet easy, just crushed it. And at that point I was like, Okay, we're, we're going to be all right, like where we are going to win this game and they just kept piling and piling on runs and you have production from really everywhere within that lineup.
And the pitching did, did very well. Dylan Brown started, which continued a good week for him after closing out that game, uh, last Sunday at home. Uh, three and two thirds, only gave up one run, five strikeouts. Uh, Jay Cassidy, again, not the best, but, but pitched solidly out of the bullpen. Um, Bailey Metella, you know, again, had a, had a rough day.
He just, uh, could not, uh, Really control anything you have to imagine his I think I think they were bringing Bailey in to see If he's going to be healthy enough to be a contributor in the the tournament And I think right now unfortunately just based on results the answer might have to be no Uh, but then brandon pond came out and did a good job and relief and finished off the game Which is nice for him after having a couple of not great appearances.
Uh last weekend's app state so so again, It's great to score 20 runs, but you have to make sure to keep them off the board too And that's that's what the pitching staff is able to do You
And they did a good job, aside from that, that sixth inning when Georgia state got five runs on the board, uh, but that, that was really it. I mean, that was the only ending where, where Georgia state was any kind of a threat. And even at that point, like they basically did enough to not get run ruled in the six. That's really all they, they did. Uh, and then ODU tacked on four more in the top of the seventh to win at 20 to six and get out of there at seven innings.
Uh, is it interesting with our pitching strategy all weekend? We kind of buck the trend sort of out of necessity because we did use a lot of arms over the weekend. And then also now you're playing on Thursday instead of Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and you're also thinking of, okay, if I have to play Tuesday, I need to have some fresh arms.
I was really happy to see Brandon Pond come in and pitch really, really well to bounce back from, you know, what were two back to back pretty tough games for him against App State at home.
Yeah, and you know, I've been saying all year that he's a very good pitcher. He's a guy, I think, when you get to these big moments, you'll be able to rely on him. And so it was nice to see him bounce back. And yeah, it's going to be all hands on deck because the game, uh, Tuesday night, which is tomorrow as we record this, probably today as you're listening to it, uh, that's a win or go home. And you know, you're, I would, I would imagine you're going to see Jacob Gomez start.
Um, I'd imagine, you know, depending on how things go, you might see Halibut, but you might see Beshara. You're going to, you're going to see whoever you got to see to make sure you get that win. Um, but again, pitching hasn't always been the problems that are, you know, we need to score runs. Uh, so I guess, uh, I guess it's time to start talking about this, this game Tuesday against South Alabama.
Yeah, it's, it's going to be a tight one and it's going to look different than everything else we've seen this season as it should, where you have to throw all of your pitching strategy kind of out the window a little bit in terms of who you use when and for how long, because you get somebody like Jacob Gomez, if he starts and he's clean through five innings, you're going to see him come out there for the six and give up a hit and he might get pulled for somebody else, but there's going to be
zero concern about what arms are going to be available for the next game. Your only focus is make sure that there is a next game. Uh, but as you very accurately pointed out, a lot of times that is not on the pitching that is on the offensive side of the ball. And I think our series earlier this year against South Alabama is a really good example of that. We had them at home. We took two out of three, we put eight up on them on the Friday.
We put another eight up on them on the Saturday and won those games pretty easily. Uh, but then. We came out on Sunday with a chance to go sweep and we just couldn't get it done other than a couple of runs there in the first inning. These teams are so similar. It's, it's unbelievable on the offensive side. Like they're both low home run teams. They're not great with their, their batting average. It could be one of these, like, like last year where it was like two to one against JMU.
Like I can see this being a low scoring win or go home game where everyone is. Super tight coming into it.
Yeah, I mean, you hit the nail on the head. These teams are very similar. Um, again, as I've believed all season, I think ODU is better than this team. I think ODU has a very good shot to beat South Alabama. I, you know, South Alabama is a much better team than when we face them here in Norfolk.
Um, they they kind of turned their season around a little bit at that point the year was looking like they were going to be Easily one of the teams was out of the tournament and didn't really have a hope Um, and they ended up tying themselves with odu for the conference record and actually had more wins in the season than odu had Um, so they're not the same team that we saw But again, I just don't think they're as talented as odu but they're going to be doing the same thing They're going to be
throwing their best pitching They're gonna give it their best because they they're in the exact same scenario that if you do not win on Tuesday The season is done and for some guys their careers are done I hate single game elimination in baseball because that's not the way baseball is baseball is a game played over series over the long run Um, you know over over the course of time you see who's better But that's just how it has to be So, you know you you put yourself in a situation where you got
to be in this game So you got to go and win it
We definitely chose the more difficult path to try to get to a conference championship, try to get to an NCAA bid. Um, cause I mean, I think as we've talked about over the last couple of weeks. Our large chances are zero. I think even if we make it to the championship game, uh, we are not going to be in a position to get in at large, but we need to go go win this thing. As of today, we're 71st in RPI.
I've got three quad one wins, which is pretty good, but, you know, being down there at 71 South Alabama is at 66. So, you You know, that win is not really going to help you that much with your RPI. Uh, so it's, it's win or go home and it is a very tough and long road, uh, to get even to the championship game, nevermind actually go and win it. Um, but for South Alabama, kind of what they've been doing since we last saw them, they finished up their season at, in Lafayette against Louisiana.
They dropped two out of the three. It was an interesting series in Louisiana, kind of locked up the one seed, uh, but they lost the opener six to five. They won the second game, 10, nothing in run rule. And then they got run ruled in the final game, 13 to three. So a little Helter Skelter all over the place. Uh, they took two out of three from Louisiana Monroe. Uh, they took one out of three against Appalachian State down at Boone.
Uh, but you know, I imagine that they are probably kicking themselves because they started this season in conference play getting swept against Georgia State. And, you know, we can talk about one game here, one game there for them. You know, they, they go win that series and they're have a very different outlook on the conference tournament. Uh, but man they're a mirror image of us on the offensive side.
Yeah. It's it's going to be interesting to see, like, who blinks 1st from a pitching staff who floats the 1st hanging breaking ball and cracks this thing open. Uh, cause I could definitely see it, like I said earlier, like last year, a 2 1 kind of elimination style game that is, is really tight all throughout.
Yeah, and you know, when you, as you say that, OU's pitching has been better than South Alabama, or about a run in ERA better on the year. Even with the batting being similar, you, you, you want to believe that your best pitching is better than their best pitching.
Um, now I'd have to imagine, I would think, Looking at south alabama stats here cam hill who is uh, four and three with a four three nine era 69 innings Um, he's probably going to be the guy I would I would think I don't know what they got going on But I would think if i'm them i'm looking at the stat sheet He's the best guy and if that's how they feel they're going to throw him um, he also made a great point about picking the hardest route because even if Uh, ODU is able to be victorious on
Tuesday, um, they would then find themselves in this position where they're either going to be facing number one Louisiana or number two Southern Miss. Um, that all depends on, if Coastal Carolina wins the other game, then they'd be facing Louisiana as the lowest seed remaining. Uh, and then you'd find yourself in a bracket, uh, on that side still with, uh, what, Louisiana, JMU, and Georgia Southern, yeah.
So no matter how you, and then if you end up the other side, you're with Southern Miss, Troy, and App State, these are all, again, we've seen them. They're good teams. Uh, there is no easy path I still believe, you know, I, I still really believe ODU has a really, really talented team and there's absolutely no reason they can't get hot and go out and really upset some people this week.
If we hit, we have the pitching to survive a tournament like this. I don't know if other teams do, but we do have the pitching to survive it. But it all comes down to, can we string together these four or five, six games and hit enough to win? Cause that's what you have to do in the post season tournaments, whether it's. A conference championship regional, super regional. Definitely if you go to Omaha you gotta be able to hit and that's really been been the thing that's plugged us all year.
But we ended the season with 20 runs, which is our highest offensive output of the season. And we had guys step up recently that. We're maybe not contributing as much earlier in the year with Maverick Stallings and Nick Mueller and all of those that are coming through. So you just gotta, gotta time it up. So, I mean, there's, there's definitely a chance, but, uh, it is a long uphill battle and you just have to take it one game at a time and you've just got to go out and beat South Alabama.
I know there are guys on that team that were on the team last year, really don't want to be one and done in the conference tournament and have to come all the way back from Montgomery, Alabama after playing just one game.
Um, another thing that's going to be a big deal, uh, for the the Tuesday game against South Alabama, that will, unless something crazy happens, that will be Kenny LaVarie's 227th game played for the Old Dominion Monarchs, which will be the new school record, uh, for games played, uh, for baseball. Which is amazing on its own, but then we actually, I took a second and step back and thought about, well you think about it, baseball plays a much longer schedule than any sport.
Um, I feel free if somebody can correct me and somebody knows better, but I have to believe what that actually means is Kenny has played more games in an old man uniform than any athlete ever.
I think you'd be right like the only competition I think you would really have would be for basketball, but they definitely don't play this many games in a season. Um, yeah, you're, you're probably right. There's probably been no one that suited up more for ODU than Kenny LaVarie. Uh, that is, that is wild to think about it.
If you think of the, the long history of ODU athletics all types of different sports with some great teams that have made deep postseason runs, uh, for Kenny LaVarie to be on top of that list. I don't think there's anyone else that would come close to that.
And he'd be breaking, uh, Nick Walker's record and anybody who remembers Nick, he was an excellent ball player. Um, and Nick Walker broke, uh, that was Connor Meyer's record, uh, right before, about a year or two before Nick broke it. So, I mean, he's, he's definitely stepping into a long line of, of really outstanding, uh, players from Old Dominion. To break that record, what that really means is you have to show up day one and they put you in the lineup pretty much every day.
Uh, and that's, that's special. It's not easy to come in as a freshman and start playing immediately. I mean, we saw TJ Akins had a very, very good year. He did not play for a big chunk of the media. What he said right here, he's got 42 out of the 53 games played, only 25 starts. And TJ has had a very good season as a freshman.
To put it in perspective again, that meant Kenny had to show up day one in 2021, a year that was the best in Old Dominion baseball history and be playing every single day as a third baseman. That is not a small feat. And so we, we definitely need to appreciate, uh, and, and thank Kenny for everything he's done for ODU and, and really celebrate him.
Um, I, I'm going to wait till about the fifth inning of the game after it's, uh, official game, but then, you know, it's, it's time to really give Kenny his appreciation for what he's done.
absolutely. And we'll be rooting him on to continue racking up those numbers and keep playing some more games and keep it going for as long as you can. Uh, but want to take a quick look at the Sunbelt Annual awards that came out for baseball a little bit before we started recording. Congratulations to Luke waters. Uh, he's the lone Monarch on the all conference team. He made second team all conference as an outfielder. The league is just so loaded with talent.
I mean, Kyle, the bars is player of the year, shortstop for Louisiana, Louisiana. I also got the pitcher of the year with a LP Langevin. Uh, I mean, both of those guys, it's hard to argue against either one of them with the seasons they had. And then, uh, Banks, Tali, who is just an absolute monster. I think we, we kind of contained him a little bit when he came to Norfolk. Uh, but the other day he hit three home runs, including the walk off winner in a game that app state really need to win.
He's the newcomer of the year. And then chase Morgan for Louisiana is freshmen of the year. There's just so much talent. He'd go up and down these all conference lists. And it's ridiculous. Like there's, there are a lot of draft picks on these first and second teams.
Yeah. It's a great list. I mean, you look at like Caden Bodine with coastal Carolina, the catcher, who's such a, Phenomenal player and he's on the second team. I mean it just tells you how good guys are we've got um, Fenwick trimble, uh for james madison who's from right here in uh, virginia beach went to cox high school So great for fenwick.
He definitely deserved that in his senior year Um, and it's just a great louisiana deserved all the credit even had the the freshman of the year chase morgan also So they deserve all the credit they got for the season they had. Um, and so, you know, it's great. Uh, hopefully they all, uh, go home crying because they won the tournament. Uh, but, but congrats to them on their awards right now.
We talked about it all year. The standings are tight. The margins are razor thin. You can see that with Texas State who, you know, really beat the hell out of us when we went out to San Marcos a couple weeks ago. They did not make the tournament. They got knocked out by the tiebreaker, uh, with Georgia State.
But just looking at the, the betting odds that are out there right now for who's going to win the Sun Belt Tournament, uh, Louisiana is the favorite at plus 250 at Southern Miss at plus 350. You got a whole bunch jumbled in there between, plus 400 to plus 800, uh, ODU is, is plus 1200, so basically 12 to 1 odds to win it. App States, 10 to one, uh, South Alabama is type of Georgia state at 20 to one.
So kind of imply the odds there where the books at least think that we are a favorite, uh, in this elimination game. But it's pretty crazy to look at the 10 teams in the Sunbelt and you don't have anybody that's like a hundred to one to win it, or, you know, 200 to one to win it, like it's pretty tight in terms of the odds from top to bottom. Because the books can't tell you. And I don't think anyone can tell you because I think anyone.
One through 10 could potentially get hot and win this thing. And I think that's what makes it a lot of fun and hopefully a nightmare for the tournament committee when they're trying to figure out who to put where and who's hosting. I would assume two, at least two teams are going to host a regional, uh, out of the Sunbelt probably have four or five teams actually make it.
Yeah, I think it's very fair. I think it would not be shocking if any of these teams went through and won. Um, I think it it wouldn't be surprising at all to see like Louisiana or or Southern Miss or uh, Troy or Coastal even. I mean, well, yeah, right there. I, I, in my mind, I still think of Coastal as like one of the elites of the, of the Sunbelt even though they ended up falling all the way down to seven. That tells you right there how good everyone in the league is.
Um, so I, yeah, I agree with you. I, I, I'm, I don't know nothing about that betting and all that's, that's other people's thing. I lose enough money on my own without going out and giving it to other people intentionally. Um, but that's, that's all a very fair point, but it. Every one of these teams could go in and win. I mean, we saw, we've been saying all year, the Sunbelt's a meat grinder and we saw it, you know, ODU got churned up through it. ODU is a very good team.
They were 15 and 15, just dead 500. Uh, so it would not be a surprise to see any team come out of here. You're right. It's going to be fun. I always enjoy watching the tournament.
And if you want a couple of non ODU teams to keep your eye on their Southern Miss has been really hot lately. They're the two seed, uh, but they've been tearing it up and don't sleep on coastal Carolina. They're like the nightmare team. You know, if I'm, if they win their elimination game and they go play Southern Miss, that's going to be a hell of a ball game.
Uh, they went up and they took care of business against Marshall to close out their season, to make sure that they got into the tournament. They've started hitting the ball again. Their pitching has been terrible all year, but their hitting had been really good. They just went through a slump for, I guess, three or four weeks, but they just fell off a cliff. They're starting to get that back.
And man, them as like a seven seed in this tournament is just nightmare fuel for all the teams that have. You know, like Louisiana, that's 23 and seven. They're going to run into a coastal Carolina buzzsaw. Uh, but we also have the ability to be that buzzsaw. Uh, if, if our offense is picking up and our pitching is doing what it's done all year, we're going to be a tough out for anybody. So. It's going to be an exciting tournament.
It's going to be fun to watch even the games that ODU is not a part of just to get a feel, I did see, uh, somebody brought up a great point and I believe it was a Southern Miss fan of why in the world haven't they moved this tournament to Biloxi, Mississippi? So that all the degens can say across the street at the Boer Vage and then just walk to the games. I think it's a great idea. I don't know if anyone else out there agrees though.
Yeah, I know when they had the um, the cusa tournament was in biloxi a few times That was always a really nice venue. Uh, it was good for people. I don't know what montgomery's got going on I mean, I know it's they get to play in the double a park biloxi is also a double a park. Um, so They both have fine facilities. I don't I don't know about the surrounding enjoyment.
Um, but You're gonna see plenty of good baseball this week I know that like I said, uh, either either way whoever comes out of these elimination games You And plays the one and two seeds. The one and two seeds can't look at that as like pushovers. Uh, so it's, it's gonna be a fun tournament. Um, and hopefully ODU is playing real deep in the week. We shall see.
Get those bats hot, win a game, and then just start things rolling from there. Because that is kind of one advantage of getting to play a game before everyone else. And you see it a lot of times at the playing games in the NCAA basketball tournament. You get in, you play, you get hot and you get some momentum and you're really tough to stop.
Uh, so I'm, I'm hoping it's that path for ODU and we at least get a deep run here and take a big old swing at that conference championship and potentially go into a regional. Uh, but I, I can tell you there is not a team in this league that as a power five, I would want to see coming to my regional as like a two or a three seed. Um, I would just not, not want to deal with the Hornets nest. That is the Sunbelt right now. Uh, but it's going to be fun to watch.
The game is Tuesday at seven 30 Eastern reminder. If you're looking on the Sunbelt site, they post all their times in central time. Uh, but it will be on ESPN plus, uh, looks like for the first, at least day or two, the weather is really nice down there. Uh, we'll be watching, you may get a little bonus episode of Hudson homers later in the week to talk about what we've done, where we've gone, what's ahead of us. I hope CB you and I are debating what time we're going to be doing that here.
Yeah, I mean, that would be ideal as us trying to figure out, uh, what, when we can get that extra bonus episode. So hopefully we win the first couple and that becomes a thing. Um, and either way we will have an episode kind of wrapping up the season, uh, next week. Yeah. And, uh, well, I guess not either way because, you know, we win this whole tournament. We won't be wrapping up the season, will we?
No, we'll just be wrapping up the first part of it and getting really excited about how we're going to travel to a regional, but, uh, you'll, you'll definitely get a few more episodes out of us before this thing is said and done, no matter what happens. Uh, there's a couple of guys we still want to talk to. And then of course, We've got to start talking about recruiting and then it's fall ball.
And before you know it, we are figuring out this amazing non conference road schedule that we are going to have laid out for us to start 2025.
Never too early to start looking forward to next year. I actually got to see one of our, uh, 2025 recruits, uh, yesterday when the state championship for Greenbrier Christian, um, who was of course coached by, uh, a great OU alumni, Pat Nichols. Um, so I, it's cool. I've, Pat's one of my buddies. I've known him for almost 20 years. Um, got to see him when his second state championship as a head coach, he said it was, he won two, two as an assistant coach and one as a player.
So he's now got five. State championships, the Green River Christian throughout his time. So it's great. Um, OD alumni, former professional player for the nationals. Uh, so it's always good to see those guys
Just keep on winning and winning and winning well, we're excited for the game on Tuesday night. We will be dialed in, hanging on every single pitch. I'm Gary, beat South Alabama and go Monarchs.
I'm CB go Monarchs.