Photo Courtesy of Ken Inness

NORFOLK, VA -- After a postponement on Friday and two delays on Saturday, the University of Delaware baseball team finally played in its Colonial Athletic Association opener but could not take advantage of the extra rest as the Hens dropped their sixth straight game, 5-3, to the Old Dominion Monarchs at a soggy Bud Metheny Complex on Saturday night.

With the loss, the Hens fall to 3-7 on the season, including 0-1 in the CAA. The Monarchs improve to 6-4 with a 1-0 mark in conference play.

Josh Dean (at right) led Delaware, going 2-for-4 with a run scored. Adam Tsakonas also hit his team-leading sixth home run of the season to help pace the offensive attack.

Despite the postponement and rain delays, the Blue Hens shook off any rust they had in the second inning. With one out, Ryan Reed was hit by a pitch and Dean roped a double into the right field gap. Freshman third baseman Jon Duvall followed with a long sacrifice fly to right field that brought home Reed for the first run of the game.

Old Dominion also caught stride in the second, answering the Hens first run with three of their own. After Delaware ace Mike McGuire coaxed Chris Buss to ground into a 1-6-3 double play, he walked Jake McAloose, surrendered a single to Edgar Hernandez, and gave up a ringing RBI double to Chris Keenan.

Jimmy Miles capped off the inning with a two-run single to leftfield that brought in Keenan and Hernandez.

Delaware fired back in the third as Tsakonas clocked a home run to right center that pulled the Hens within one at 3-2. The homer marked his fourth in the past four games.

McGuire, who fired 8.1 innings of no-hit ball against Old Dominion in the CAA Tournament last season, cruised through the next two frames, working out of a jam in the third before putting the Monarchs down in order in the fourth. A lead-off walk came back to hurt him in the fifth, however, as he put Bryan Cipolla on first before surrendering a home run to designated hitter David Burns.

After a scoreless sixth, Delaware looked primed for a big inning in the top of the seventh when Reed, who hit his first career home run in his last time out, led off the inning with his first-ever triple. McAloose, the Monarch third baseman, erased Reed on the next play, though, as he cut down the Delaware catcher at the plate on a fielder's choice.

Despite the play, the Hens still scored a run in the inning. After Dean reached on the fielder's choice, Duvall worked a walk and Kyle Davis roped a run-scoring double down the right field line. With runners on second and third and only one out, Delaware hoped to get more out of the situation, but Tsakonas and Buchholz both struck out to end the rally.

That was as close as Delaware would get as the Hens went down in order during the last two innings of play.

Hudson (2-1) picked up the win for Old Dominion after firing seven strong innings, scattering four hits while striking out 12. Ryan Bergh notched his second save of the season after working the last two innings of the contest.

McGuire (1-1) suffered his first loss of the season.

The two teams will wrap up the series tomorrow with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

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