RICHMOND, Va. – The No. 2/2 Shenandoah University baseball team travels to the University of Richmond Thursday to open the second round of the 2023 ODAC Baseball Tournament.
The Hornets (36-5 and seeded second in the tournament), play their first game of the weekend at Pitt Field on the U or R campus against third-seeded Roanoke Maroons (27-15) at 2:30 p.m. on the first day.
Shenandoah advanced with a two-game sweep over Guilford as did Roanoke versus Washington & Lee this past weekend.
In Sunday's 7-6 win over Guilford, Haden Madagan hit his sixth home run of the season in the ninth inning to launch SU into the next round. Madagan is now tied for first on the team with Gavin Horning and Colby Martin in HRs.
Horning leads the team with a .427 batting average and 67 hits. His 15 doubles makes him one of seven players with double-digit doubles.
On the bases, Martin and Frankie Ritter lead the team in steals with 26 and 17, respectively. The duo combined for eight triples and 60 walks this year.
The middle of the Hornets lineup is powered by graduate student Pearce Bucher who currently hits .386 and has 39 RBI. The first baseman has nine games with at least two RBI.
Jacob Favire and Jacob Bell are the two aces on the mound heading into the weekend. The Jacobs are 13-0 and have struck out 137 opponents.
The top relievers backing up the aces are Brian Ferreira, Parker Farrington, Tristian Everett, and Matt House. The four of them have a total of nine wins for SU. Farrington and Ferreira picked up the two tournament wins this past weekend.
Conner Butler, Jonny Wall, and Jacob Bonzo are three of the top hitters for the Maroons. Butler leads the team with 47 RBI and 17 doubles.
Owen Lawn is the team leader in home runs as he has hit eight over the outfield fences.
The starting pitchers for RC are Will Turner, Jackson Murphy, and Caleb Lingenfelter. Turner leads the pack with six wins and 74 1/3 innings pitched.
Earlier in the season at Roanoke, the Hornets and Maroons split a doubleheader with the latter picking up the game-one victory with two runs in the eighth.
The Hornets defeated Roanoke 13-0 in last year's championship game to clinch their fourth ODAC Championship. SU is now 5-0 against RC in conference tournament games, which includes an 8-4 victory in 10 innings to clinch the 2018 championship.
The winner of the Shenandoah/Roanoke contest plays the Lynchburg/Randolph-Macon victor on Friday. The two non-advancing teams play each other on Friday at 9 a.m. in the first elimination game.
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