Box Score NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion jumped out to a quick lead over Norfolk State and held off the Spartans to claim a 5-3 win on Tuesday night at the Bud Metheny Baseball Complex.
 
Roger Hall was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI for NSU (0-4), and Syeed Mahdi went 2-for-5.
 
ODU (4-0) struck for two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Connor Myers led off the bottom of the first with a double and Nick Walker followed with an RBI triple. Then with two outs, Jason McMurray plated Walker with an RBI single.
 
ODU tacked on another in the second before NSU plated two runs in the top of the fourth. Kyle Vaas and Ismael Herrera hit two-out RBI singles to cut ODU's lead to 3-2.
 
But the Monarchs scored two more of their own in the bottom of the fourth. Kyle Beam plated a run with a groundout, then Kurt Sinnen hit a two-out RBI single to make it 5-2.
 
Hall's RBI single in the top of the seventh brought NSU within 5-3, but that was as close as the Spartans would get against the ODU bullpen. Nate Matheson (0.2 innings pitched) and Nick Hartman (1.1 innings, earned the save) combined to hold NSU at bay over the final two innings.
 
Joey Benitez (1-0) got the win for ODU, pitching four innings and allowing two runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Michael Parmentier (0-2) took the loss for the Spartans, surrendering five runs, four earned, in 3.1 innings of work. He struck out four and walked four.

Spartan relievers Cooper Jones (2.2 IP) and Chase Anderson (2.0 IP) combined to hold ODU to just two hits and no runs over the final 4.2 innings.
 
Walker, McMurray and Zach Rutherford had two hits apiece for ODU.
 
The Spartans are slated to host a four-game series with NJIT this Saturday and Sunday at Marty L. Miller Field.