Good morning! We’ll forgive you if you heard that Old Dominion won 19-14 over Arkansas State and thought for a second that a football game broke out on the baseball diamond.

Keep scrolling for all the highlights from a series win for the Monarchs over the weekend…

What else is steeping in today’s Brew?

⚾ Taking two out of three against Arkansas State
🎾 End of the road for men’s and women’s squads
👑 And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP 

🔼 Keeping Up With The Jonesboro. King Charles wasn’t the only monarch feeling the love this past weekend—Old Dominion baseball won their first two games over the weekend against Arkansas State to notch another Sun Belt series victory into their belts. With the first win being a shutout and the second being a 19-run fireworks display disguised as a baseball game, we’ve got plenty of SportsCenter-worthy highlights from over the weekend.

🚀 Game 1 featured a less-than-ideal start for the Monarchs, as they gave up seven runs in the bottom of the first inning to the Red Wolves. Luckily, Old Dominion found their bats and scored 12 unanswered runs over the next five innings—highlighted by Alex Bouche’s two-run moon shot to give the Monarchs a lead and Hunter Fitz-Gerald’s solo home run that helped ODU to a lead they’d never relinquish.

🛡️ Game 2 was the polar opposite—a pitchers’ duel with the Monarchs coming out on top thanks to a two-hit shutout from Sam Armstrong and John Holobetz. The win clinched a much-needed conference series victory for ODU and gave skipper Chris Finwood his 600th career victory.

🎯 Game 3 saw Old Dominion up 2-1 midway through the fifth inning, but Arkansas State used a four-run bottom of the sixth and scored another six runs in the eighth to win 12-4 and take the series finale—but not the series victory.

🔼 Not For Nothing. For the third year in a row, Old Dominion women's tennis started NCAA Regional action with a big win on a Friday afternoon. Tatsiana Sasounskaya, ranked 33rd nationally, clinched the match with a win over 12th-ranked Ayana Akli (7-5, 6-4) as 34th-ranked Old Dominion defeated 31st-ranked South Carolina at the Chewning Tennis Center—setting up a showdown against No. 1 North Carolina.

And that’s where the story of this season comes to an end, as 33rd-ranked Old Dominion lost 4-0 at top-ranked North Carolina. Doubles saw North Carolina take the point winning line two and three by 6-2 counts. Tatsiana Sasnouskaya and Sofia Johnson were even 4-4 and up 15-0 in their match when the Tar Heels got the team point, who then won at lines two, five, and six to take the win and advance to the Super Regionals next weekend. In singles, Tatsiana Sasnouskaya took the first set from eighth-ranked Reese Brantmeier and was 3-3 when match ended.

🔼 Looking Forward. The 64th-ranked Old Dominion men's tennis team dropped its NCAA Tournament opener this weekend to 17th-ranked Utah by a score of 4-1 at the Chewning Tennis Center.

In doubles, ODU opened with a flurry taking wins at the one and two spots while leading at three when match completed. At two, Jakob Cadonau and Luca Maldoner recorded a 6-1 win over Geronimo Busleiman and Franco Capalbo. Line one gave ODU the team point as Brandon Perez and Younes Lalami knocked off the 49th-ranked duo of Berk Bugarikj and Patrik Trhac 6-3. Singles saw Utah (24-5) take wins at one, two, three and six to win the match.

The Monarchs finished the season with wins in seven of their last eight matches, including their first Sun Belt Tournament championship.

🤔 MONARCH TRIVIA

On the right side of 30. Aside from scoring 19 runs in a single game and head coach Chris Finwood earning his 600th career victory, the Monarchs won their 30th game of the season—something they’ve become accustomed to in recent years.

Our question today: How many years in a row (not including the COVID-shortened 2020 season) has Old Dominion baseball earned at least 30 victories on the diamond?

Think you got it? Scroll down to the bottom of this email for the answer!

👑 ONE BIG THING

New crown on the block. Millions of people who watched the NFL draft on ABC, ESPN and the NFL Network this past weekend found themselves marveling at the success Old Dominion has had in developing pro football prospects.

A school record three Monarchs were drafted—offensive lineman Nick Saldiveri in the fourth round by the New Orleans Saints, defensive back Tre Hawkins III in the sixth round by the New York Giants, and tight end Zack Kuntz in the seventh round by the New York Jets.

Graphics with the ODU logo kept popping up on the screen and analysts waxed poetically as to how a relative newcomer—the Monarchs began playing football in 2009—can produce so many future pros.

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📅 THE DAYS AHEAD

Monday 5/8

⛳ Women’s Golf @ NCAA Palm Beach Gardens Regional

Tuesday 5/9

⛳ Women’s Golf @ NCAA Palm Beach Gardens Regional

⚾ Baseball vs. East Carolina @ 7:00pm ET | Live Audio | Live Stats

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Four! 

In every season since 2019, Old Dominion baseball has won at least 30 games. (And they probably would have too in 2020 when they were 12-4 before the season was cancelled.)

Have a great Monday, y’all!