ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (Mar. 5) – Junior Hayden Myrick and senior Blake Gipson combined for 5.2 innings of scoreless relief, as the Trojans cruised past Flagler by a 10-5 margin to clinch the rubber match and win the series on Sunday afternoon.

With the win, the University of Mount Olive baseball team improves to 12-4 and boasted a 4-1 record this week in non-conference play. The Trojans will close the six-game non-conference stretch with a ranked matchup versus No. 14 Wingate on Tuesday, March 7. Meanwhile, Flagler drops to 3-14 while playing four nationally-ranked opponents this season.

The Trojans totaled 10 runs on 15 hits in the win while featuring five players with multi-hit performances on Sunday. Junior Alden Cottle finished 2-for-4 with three runs scored and one walk, while teammate Vito Patierno also went 2-for-4 with one run scored at the plate. Sophomore Cooper George registered a pair of hits with one run scored and junior Mike Kenney finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Fellow junior Dylan Jeffries recorded two hits, one run scored, and two walks against the Saints.

In the top of the first, Mount Olive established a 2-0 advantage with a two-run homer by Jones, his team-leading third of the year. After an inning-ending double play in the bottom half, the Trojans tallied two runs on two hits to stretch the lead to 4-0. Cottle crossed the plate on a wild pitch before senior JT Stone posted an RBI on a bases-loaded walk. The Saints cut the deficit to 4-1 in the bottom of the second before UMO brought two more runs across in the top of the third off throwing errors, 6-1. Flagler closed the gap to 6-4 in the bottom of the frame with a two-run single through the left side and an RBI off a groundout. The Saints ultimately trimmed the deficit to 6-5 in the fourth on a sacrifice fly down the left-field line.

After three scoreless innings, the Trojans broke the contest open with four runs in the final two innings. Jeffries scored in the eighth on a wild pitch before Mount Olive scored three times in the ninth. Graduate student Landon Choboy laced an RBI single to center field to take an 8-5 advantage before senior Gordon Pihl belted a two-run homer down the left-field line to extend the lead, 10-5.

Myrick earned his first win (1-0) of the season after tossing 2.2 scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts and one walk on Sunday. B. Gipson registered his second save of the year after pitching the final 3.0 innings with zero runs surrendered off one hit.

Mount Olive returns home on Tuesday, March 7, when it faces No. 14 ranked Wingate for a single non-conference nine-inning contest, starting at 3 p.m.