Mount Olive pitcher Zach Smith tossed a seven-hit shutout and the Trojans clinched the top seed for the Conference Carolinas Tournament with a 3-0 win over Pfeiffer Sunday afternoon in Misenheimer, N.C. Junior catcher Geno Escalante extended his hitting streak to 34 games with a two-out double in the ninth inning.

Mount Olive (34-7 overall, 20-3 Conference Carolinas) had only five hits in the game, but the Trojans took advantage of 11 walks and two hit batsmen to put together a pair of rallies. All nine Trojan batters drew at least one walk in the contest.

In the first, Mike Mercurio, Antonio Callaway and Jacob Rogers walked to load the bases for Escalante with no outs. Escalante's groundout to third was enough to put the Trojans ahead 1-0.

In the third, Pfeiffer (22-22, 13-11) pitcher Jeff Barkley (3-4) retired the first two batters in the inning. But a walk to Escalante opened the door for the Trojans. Braden Reitano singled and Jermaine Berry walked to load the bases. Nick Gaeta forced in a run when he drew a walk, then Cameron Sherrer singled to stretch the lead to 3-0.

That was more than enough support for Smith, who scattered seven hits. He did not walk a batter while striking out three. Behind Smith, the Trojans played errorless defense.

Smith twice allowed more than one baserunner in an inning. In the ninth, he coaxed a double play to end the game. Smith also picked off a runner to end a threat.

The Trojans return to play Tuesday night against Barton at Scarborough Field. The game will be dedicated to Jake May, a 17-year-old senior at Eastern Wayne High School and a member of the baseball team. Jake was diagnosed with leukemia in January and has been undergoing chemotherapy treatments. His leukemia is currently in remission.

Jake is the son of Roger May, who was a student at Mount Olive and a member of the baseball team in the early 80's. Roger May returned to MOC to serve as an assistant baseball coach under Carl Lancaster from 1987-95. He then went on to serve as Barton's head baseball coach from 1995-99.

Tickets for the game are $6 and all proceeds will be donated to Jake and his family. In addition, In addition, the newly renamed Highway 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries (formerly Andy's) will set up a stand to sell hamburgers, hot dogs and cheesesteaks at the game, and all of their proceeds will also be donated to Jake and his family.

The game will count towards both team's overall records, but will not be included in the teams' Conference Carolinas records.