MOUNT OLIVE (Feb. 28) – The University of Mount Olive baseball team tallied a season-high 19 runs behind three homers in a 19-5 rout over Dominican University of New York in a non-conference game at Scarborough Field on Tuesday afternoon.

With the win, the Trojans improve 9-3 this season with a 5-1 mark against non-conference opponents. Mount Olive will now play its fifth game in as many days versus Dominican (N.Y.), tomorrow, March 1, at 4 p.m. Meanwhile, the Chargers drop to 1-4 overall after playing their previous four games in Cary, North Carolina.

UMO offensively scored multiple runs in six innings with five players recording multi-hit performances in the win. Junior Alden Cottle registered his first career multi-home run game and finished 4-for-5 at the plate with six RBI and two runs scored. Senior Vito Patierno went 3-for-5 with two RBI, three runs scored, and two stolen bases. Senior Joshua Jones finished 3-for-4 with a two-run homer, three RBI, three runs scored, and three stolen bases. Fellow senior Jack Casbarro recorded a multi-hit performance with three RBI, one run scored, and one stolen base, while senior Gordon Pihl delivered two hits (double, single) with one run scored.

In the top of the first, the Chargers produced the opening run on an RBI double to left-center field. The Trojans answered in the bottom half of the frame as Jones and Cottle each delivered RBI singles to give UMO a 2-1 edge. Mount Olive added to its lead in the bottom of the second with six runs on five hits following back-to-back singles from graduate student Landon Choboy and Pihl to start the inning. The next at-bat, junior Dylan Jeffries laced a two-run triple into the gap in left-center to extend the advantage to 4-1. Casbarro and senior JT Stone would record an RBI to stretch the lead to 6-1 before Cottle blasted a two-run homer to the left field, 8-1.

After a scoreless third inning, Jones and Cottle highlighted the fourth frame with a pair of two-run bombs to left field to take a comfortable 12-1 lead. Dominican cut into the deficit in the fifth with two runs to trail 12-3 before the Trojans answered with an RBI double from Patierno in the bottom half of the fifth, 13-3. With two outs, Cottle delivered another RBI single through the left side to extend the lead to 14-3. UMO ultimately scored five more runs over the final three innings, highlighted by a two-run double from Casbarro in the sixth and an RBI double from senior David Cucci in the seventh. The Trojans would go onto win the contest by a 19-5 margin.

Freshman William Pennington secured his first collegiate win (1-0) after yielding three runs on four hits with four strikeouts and two walks over 5.0 innings of work. Senior Jonathan Peacock tossed 2.0 innings of scoreless relief with only one hit allowed. Fellow senior Johnny Maynard pitched the final two innings with two runs surrendered on three hits.

The Trojans return to action tomorrow, Wednesday, March 1, when they face Dominican (N.Y.) in a nine-inning contest at Scarborough Field, starting at 4 p.m.