MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. (March 31) – Senior starters Dawson Gause and Erik Johnson delivered effective performances on the mound, as the No. 14 University of Mount Olive baseball program split a doubleheader versus No. 1 North Greenville on Friday afternoon at Scarborough Field in Conference Carolinas action.

With the split, the Trojans stand at 23-8 overall with an 11-6 conference mark. Dating back to 2012, the series between the two sides are split at 21-21 over the previous 42 contests with the Trojans boasting a 16-6 record at home. Meanwhile, the Crusaders hold a 31-3 record behind an 18-2 mark in league play.

In Game 2, Johnson improved to 4-1 overall on the mound after yielding one run on one hit with five strikeouts and two walks in 5.0 innings pitched. He forced six groundouts and four flyouts while retiring the side in order twice. Senior Trey Deutsch secured the save after tossing 2.0 innings of scoreless relief with one strikeout and retired the side in both frames.

The Crusaders leaped ahead in the top of the first inning after scoring on an RBI infield groundout, 1-0. After consecutive scoreless frames, junior Dylan Jeffries led off the bottom of the fourth with a double to left field before advancing to third on a groundout. With two outs, senior JT Stone drew a walk before advancing into scoring position on a wild pitch. Fellow senior Joshua Jones followed with a two-run single to center field to give the Trojans a 2-1 advantage. In the bottom of the fifth, sophomore Cooper George laced a leadoff single to right field before advancing to second on a groundout. Jeffries hit a shallow RBI single to left field with two outs before moving to second on the throw. The next at-bat, junior Vito Patierno ripped an RBI single through the left side to stretch the lead to 4-1.

Jeffries finished 2-for-3 with one RBI and two runs scored, while George went 2-for-3 with one run scored.

In Game 1, North Greenville registered back-to-back singles with one out before scoring on an RBI groundout to take a 1-0 lead in the second inning. The Trojans answered in the bottom half with an RBI double down the left-field line by Jones to tie the contest at 1-1. Following three scoreless frames, the Crusaders broke the deadlock at the top of the sixth after scoring on a passed ball, 2-1. NGU added to the lead in the top of the eighth with an RBI double to right-center, 3-1.

Gause suffered the loss (3-1) after surrendering two runs (one earned) on four hits with five strikeouts and two walks in 6.2 innings pitched.

Mount Olive returns to the field on Saturday, April 1, when they play the series' rubber match versus No. 1 North Greenville at Scarborough Field, starting at 1 p.m.