MOUNT OLIVE (Feb. 24) – After scoring on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth, the University of Mount Olive baseball team edged rival Barton by a 5-4 margin on Friday evening at Scarborough Field in Conference Carolinas action.
With the win, the Trojans stretch their winning streak to four straight and improve to 7-2 overall behind a 3-1 mark in league play. All four games hosted at Scarborough this season have been decided by one run with UMO capturing three victories. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs drop to 2-8 this season with a 0-4 record in conference action.
After escaping a bases-loaded jam at the top of the first, Mount Olive brought three runs across the plate in the bottom of the frame. Senior
Jack Casbarro and junior
Vito Patierno each reached base on a single before advancing into scoring position on a wild pitch. The Trojans tallied the opening run on a throwing error to take a 1-0 advantage. The following at-bat, junior
Alden Cottle registered an RBI on a ground out before sophomore
Cooper George delivered an RBI single up the middle, 3-0.
The Bulldogs ended their scoreless drought in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly to center field to close the gap to 4-1. Barton cut the deficit to one run following a pair of sacrifice flies the next inning, 4-3. The Bulldogs tied the contest at 4-4 in the seventh frame on a two-out RBI single down the right-field line.
In the bottom of the eighth, Cottle led off the inning with an infield single before advancing into scoring position on two wild pitches. With runners on the corner, Cottle crossed the plate on another wild pitch to take a 5-4 lead.
Junior
Andrew Ledbetter earned the win (1-0) after not allowing a run with one hit and one strikeout over 2.0 inning of scoreless relief. Fellow junior
Hayden Myrick made his sixth appearance out of the bullpen and finished with one run surrendered on one hit in 2.0 innings pitched.
The Trojans return to action on Sunday, Feb. 26, when they play the final two games of their series with Barton, starting at 1 p.m.
