Good morning! We’ve never wished harder for the rain, rain to go away. Old Dominion baseball’s midweek game last night against VCU was cancelled due to inclement weather—but you can still take some time this morning to watch Kyle Edwards’ game-winning double-play throw from left field or Luke Waters’ home run thievery at the wall.

What else is steeping in today’s Brew?

⚾ Keys to the game vs. Georgia State
📚 Tennis tetrad triumphs
👑 And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP 

🔼 The Final Countdown. Thanks to some bad weather last night, Old Dominion baseball now has three games left—a home series against Georgia State at Bud Metheny Ballpark that includes an on-field graduation ceremony for seniors before the game, Senior Day, Alumni Day, and much more.

So, why is this weekend series so important? Apart from being the final three regular season games, it’s two teams with identical conference records. Plus, there are only three wins separating 3rd and 10th place in the Sun Belt, and sweeping up trio of victories would go a long way towards earning a higher seed in next week’s Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

How will the Monarchs do it? What players should you be watching for? We’re glad you asked! Our keys to the game against the Panthers…

💪 Statistically speaking, Old Dominion and Georgia State are fairly similar. Their team batting averages are just a fraction apart, their runs per game averages are nearly identical, and they’re both top-3 teams in the Sun Belt when it comes to… well… belting home runs.

But the Monarchs have them beat in one key area—base running. Old Dominion is averaging 2.4 extra base hits per game, and Georgia State’s average has a 1.7 average. Over the course of a three-game series, that’s two more hits with Monarch runners in scoring position, which could come in handy in tight contests.

Player To Watch: Kenny Levari leads the team with 16 doubles and he’s top-10 in the conference when it comes to extra base hits. Keep an eye on him when you hear his name called.

🤝 Old Dominion pitchers have combined for a 5.10 ERA, third-best in the Sun Belt. And their bullpen has been helping them out all season, amassing 12 saves on the season.

Georgia State, however, hasn’t been as fortunate—tied for a Sun Belt low of seven saves on the season. As we said above, these are two similar teams and each of this weekend’s three games could come down to the wire. That’s good news for the Monarchs who could find themselves trailing late in the game.

Player To Watch: John Holobetz is this clubhouse’s closer and it’s not even close. His six saves make up half of all the saves the Monarchs have gotten over the season.

🚀 Georgia State is averaging 1.9 home runs per game, best in the conference. That would be a serious worry, except for the fact that they haven’t faced Old Dominion yet this season.

Old Dominion is giving up the fewest home runs in the Sun Belt so far this season. With pitchers averaging just 0.8 home runs given up per game, what has been a strength all season for the Panthers could turn into a liability.

Player To Watch: Sam Armstrong leads the Monarchs with 70.1 innings pitched, but he’s given up just five long balls all season—the best per-inning average on the team of anyone with more than 25 innings pitched this year.

🤔 MONARCH TRIVIA

Back, back, back… gone! We mentioned above that Kenny Levari leads the team in doubles. But we’ve got the king of all extra base hits in mind for today’s trivia question…

Who currently leads the team in home runs?

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

👑 ONE BIG THING

Honor roll. The College Sports Communicators (CSC) Women's Tennis Academic All-District team was announced on Tuesday and four Monarchs were named to the team.

Alesya Yakubovich, Shahar Biran, Tatsiana Sasnouskaya, and Alexandra Viktorovitch were among 1,200 student-athletes recognized by the national association. The 2022 Academic All-District Women's Tennis Teams recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom.

The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes tennis honorees in four divisions—NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.

📬 STICK WITH US

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📅 THE DAYS AHEAD

Wednesday 5/17

No events scheduled

Tuesday 5/18

⚾ Baseball vs. Georgia State @ 6:00pm ET on ESPN+ | Live Video | Live Stats | Tickets

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Hunter Fitz-Gerald!

That’s right, the Sluggin’ Monarch has 21 home runs on the year.

Have a great Wednesday, y’all.