MURFREESBORO, N.C. (Mar. 11) – Following a 13-strikeout performance from starter Erik Johnson, the Trojans splits the doubleheader at Chowan in Conference Carolinas play on Saturday afternoon, falling late in a 12-9 loss in Game 1 before registering a 9-1 win in Game 2.

With the split, the Trojans sit at 14-5 overall with a 5-3 record in conference play. UMO currently sits in third place in the conference standings heading into a critical rubber match scheduled on Sunday, March 12. Meanwhile, the Hawks stand at 3-16 this season with a 2-9 mark in league action.

In Game 2, Johnson delivered a stellar performance on the mound after surrendering one run on three hits with a season-high 13 strikeouts to earn the complete-game win (2-1) in 7.0 innings pitched. He set down the side in order four times while forcing four flyouts and four groundouts on Saturday. Jonhson leads the team with 34 strikeouts and 30.0 innings pitched.

Chowan established an early 1-0 advantage in the bottom of the first with an RBI single up the middle. Following two scoreless innings, the Trojans brought across three runs on four hits to take the lead. After a fielder's choice, senior JT Stone stepped to the plate with one out and blasted a two-run homer to right field, his first of the season, to give UMO a 2-1 advantage. Sophomore Cooper George followed with a single to left field before advancing on a wild pitch. The next at-bat, graduate student Landon Choboy laced an RBI single to left field to extend the lead to 3-1.

In the top of the fifth, junior Dylan Jeffries belted his team-leading fourth home run of the year to left field to stretch the lead to 4-1 before scoring three more times in the sixth. Jeffries and junior Mike Kenney each registered an RBI in the frame, as the Trojans took a 7-1 lead. In the top of the seventh, Choboy added some insurance runs with a two-run homer to right-center, his first of the year, 9-1.

Choboy went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer, two runs scored, and a walk, while Kenney finished 2-for-4 with one RBI, one run scored, and a stole base. Jeffries also recorded a pair of hits, including a solo homer, two RBI, two runs scored, and two stolen bases.

In Game 1, the Hawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second with a three-run homer to right field. Mount Olive immediately responded with four runs in the top of the third after a walk and a single to right field placed runners on the corners. Junior Vito Patierno followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 3-1 before a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases. Stone produced a sacrifice fly to left field and Choboy recorded a two-run single to give UMO a 4-3 advantage. In the top of the fourth, the Trojans extended the lead to 6-3 on an RBI double from Jeffries and a groundout RBI by Patierno.

The Hawks rallied late scoring nine runs on four hits and three walks in the seventh and eighth innings combined to reclaim the lead 12-6. Mount Olive attempted to recover in the top of the ninth after totaling three runs on five hits with RBIs from Stone, Choboy, and senior Gordon Pihl, but Chowan escaped with the 12-9 win.

Junior Hayden Myrick was saddled with the loss (1-1) after yielding four runs (two earned) on two hits in 1.1 innings of relief. Senior Caleb Irwin earned the start and tossed 6.0 innings with three runs surrendered on eight hits with eight strikeouts.

The Trojans return to action tomorrow, March 12, at Chowan for the rubber match of the three-game series at 10 a.m.