Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion clubbed five home runs on the way to a decisive 14-4 victory over the University of Delaware baseball team on Friday evening during a Colonial Athletic Association battle at the Bud Metheny Complex.

Delaware (23-23, 5-14 CAA) put on its own power display during the contest as Ryan Cuneo and Dave Anderson (at right) both left the yard. Cuneo eventually finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBI and a pair of runs scored. Hank Yates also chipped in with two hits for the Hens.

Old Dominion (20-29, 7-12) jumped on UD quickly with a pair of two-run rallies in the first two innings. Jake McAloose opened the scoring with an RBI double down the right field line before Chris Baker lined a sacrifice fly to center for an early 2-0 advantage.

One inning later, the Monarchs tossed a matching two-spot on the board aided by two Blue Hen miscues. Following a pair of throwing errors and two base hits, Nathan Hartman came home with ODU’s third run of the game before Edgar Hernandez knocked in another run with a single to right.

Although Old Dominion went down in order during the squad’s next trip to the plate, Delaware could not post an adequate response before the Monarchs went back to work in the fourth. Hartman opened the surge with a one-out solo home run before another error and passed ball brought in the host’s sixth run of the day.

Still with only one out in the fourth, Old Dominion tacked on another run with an RBI single by Hernandez before Baker put the exclamation mark on a five-run rally with a two-run homer to center that gave the Monarchs a 9-0 lead.

Facing a nearly insurmountable deficit, the Blue Hens refused to give up. In the fifth, Anderson put UD on the board with a lead-off shot to left that marked his third home run of the season. Four batters later, after Todd Menchaca drew a walk, Cuneo crushed a two-run blast to right that pulled Delaware within six at 9-3.

Unfortunately, Old Dominion fired right back. A solo shot by Hartman in the fifth and a two-run homer by Baker in the sixth allowed the squad to retake its nine-run advantage.

Although Delaware came back with one more run in the eighth after Cuneo legged out a triple before Pat Dameron poked an RBI groundout to second, the Hens could not pull any closer.

Eventually, McAloose closed out the game with a two-run home run to center in the bottom of the eighth to cap off the 10-run victory. Nick Young (1-7) took the loss for UD after surrendering five earned runs in 3.2 innings of work. Kyle Hald (8-4) picked up the win after striking out seven during 8.2 innings of work.

The two teams will return to action tomorrow at 4 p.m.