FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga. (Feb. 24) – Behind a complete-game shutout from redshirt senior
Erik Johnson, the University of Mount Olive baseball team completed the series sweep at Emmanuel on Saturday with a 3-0 win in Game 1 before earning a 10-4 victory in Game 2.
With the sweep, the Trojans improve to 8-3 overall and open conference play with a perfect 3-0 record. Mount Olive has won nine-straight games on the road at Emmanuel and boasts a 25-3 record in the series dating back to 2015. Meanwhile, the Lions fall to 10-7 this season behind a 0-3 mark in league action.
In Game 1, Johnson (1-0) pitched an absolute gem after yielding just two hits over 7.0 innings with nine strikeouts and one walk while retiring the side in order five times. He tallied four flyouts and six groundouts while facing 22 batters on Saturday.
The Trojans built an early 2-0 advantage in the top of the third inning behind a two-run double from senior
Dylan Jeffries. In the following frame, sophomore
Davis Halstead produced a leadoff single before senior
Vito Patierno laced an RBI triple to right field with two outs to take a 3-0 lead.
Jeffries finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs while Patierno went 2-for-4 with one RBI.
In Game 2, Emmanuel leaped ahead with an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning, but UMO countered with four runs on three hits in the top of the third. With one out, the Trojans tallied back-to-back singles and a walk to load the bases. During the next at-bat, graduate student
Gordon Pihl registered an RBI single to left field before a passed ball scored another base runner, 2-1. After a walk reloaded the bases, redshirt freshman
Lane McLean collected an RBI on a walk before fellow redshirt freshman
Nick DiSanti delivered a sacrifice fly to left field, 4-1.
In the bottom of the third, the Lions cut the deficit to 4-2 before UMO recorded another run in the fourth off a wild pitch, 5-2. The Trojans stretched the lead to 9-2 in the fifth after senior
Alden Cottle laced a two-run single to left field before graduate student
Landon Choboy totaled two RBIs on a double to left field. In the sixth, McLean produced another RBI on a single to center field to build the lead to 10-2. Emmanuel scored one run in the sixth and seventh innings, but the Trojans would secure the win, 10-4.
Cottle finished 3-for-6 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Choboy went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. McLean tallied a trio of hits with two RBIs, one walk, and one run scored.
Sophomore
Carson Gipson earned the win (2-0) after surrendering two earned runs on four hits with one strikeout in 5.0 innings. The Trojans featured four pitchers out of the bullpen which limited the Lions to just two runs on two hits with five strikeouts.
Mount Olive returns to the field on Wednesday, Feb. 28, when it travels to Lexington, South Carolina, to take on Georgia College in non-conference play at 3 p.m.
