Jake Moser and Zach Smith both tossed complete games, while Geno Escalante belted a pair of home runs in game one and hit safely in both games to extend his hitting streak to 25 as nationally 11th-ranked Mount Olive swept a doubleheader over Erskine in Conference Carolinas baseball Saturday at Scarborough Field. The Trojans won the opener 3-1 and took the nightcap 9-1 to sweep the three-game series and extend their winning streak to 16.
Mount Olive won the series opener Friday night as Matt Dillon also went the distance on the mound. This weekend's series is believed to be the first time in school history that Trojan pitchers have thrown three consecutive complete games in a conference series.
Mount Olive (27-6, 15-2 Conference Carolinas) used first-inning rbi-doubles by Jacob Rogers and Jermaine Berry to take a 2-1 lead and Smith (6-2) did the rest. After allowing three straight two-out singles in the first and a leadoff infield single in the top of the second, Smith went on to retire the next 17 batters and 22 of the final 24 batters he faced. He induced a 4-6-3 double play in the top of the ninth to end the game.
Smith threw only 83 pitches in the game, 40 pitches during his 5 2/3 innings of 17 consecutive batters retired. Smith finished with a six-hitter, allowing only a two-out single in the seventh and a leadoff single in the ninth after the second inning. He struck out four and walked none.
Smith's nine-inning pitch total is the lowest by a Trojan pitcher since Carter Capps threw 77 pitches in Mount Olive's 2-1 victory over Erskine in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional.
Rogers and Mike Mercurio both went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two rbi's in game two. Mount Olive scored four runs in the bottom of the second to break the game open. Escalante singled in the fifth inning to keep his hitting streak alive.
Erskine (20-15, 9-9) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first after Drew Willingham singled with two outs and scored two batters later on Will Huff's rbi-single.
The Flying Fleet also took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth in game one as Willingham drove a pitch over the centerfield fence for his ninth home run of the season. The two-out homer was the first hit allowed by Moser, who finished with a three-hitter.
Escalante matched Willingham's home run with a two-out solo home run in the bottom of the fourth. The home run was Escalante's fifth of the season.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the sixth when Berry singled with one out. After belting a home run in an 11-pitch at bat, Escalante drove the first pitch he saw over the left field fence to break the 1-1 tie.
Moser (6-1) also finished with 83 pitches in the seven-inning contest. He struck out two and walked two.
Erskine starter Heath Gray (4-1) tossed his third complete game in four starts. Gray struck out the side in the first and finished with four strikeouts for the game.
The start of the game was delayed by three hours due to heavy rain Friday night and Saturday morning. The two games were among the quickest for Mount Olive this season, as the seven-inning game went only 91 minutes and the nine-inning contest clocked in just shy of two hours.
Mount Olive plays host to Chowan in a two-game non-conference series this week at Scarborough Field. The two teams play Tuesday at 7 p.m. and Wednesday at 3 p.m.
