TIGERVILLE, S.C. (March 9) – The senior pitching duo of
Ethan Imbimbo and
Andrew Ledbetter tossed a combined two-hit shutout, as the No. 19 ranked University of Mount Olive baseball program posted a 1-0 victory over No. 2 North Greenville on Saturday night in Conference Carolinas action.
With the win, the Trojans improve to 13-5 this season behind a 6-1 record in conference play. Mount Olive hands NGU its first shutout loss since 2021 while both teams sit atop the Conference Carolinas standings following the first game of the series. Meanwhile, the Crusaders fall to 17-4 overall with a 6-1 mark in league play.
On the mound, Imbimbo improved to 3-0 this season and yielded zero runs on two hits with a season-high seven strikeouts over 6.1 innings pitched. Ledbetter earned the save and held NGU hitless over the final 2.2 innings while recording three strikeouts.
Following a scoreless first inning, senior
Dylan Jeffries drew a leadoff walk in the top of the second before advancing to third on a ground out and a wild pitch. With one out, North Greenville registered back-to-back strikeouts to escape the jam. In the bottom half, the Crusaders stranded a pair on base, including a runner in scoring position at second.
In the top of the third, fifth-year
David Cucci reached base on an infield single before producing consecutive steals to advance to third. With one out, senior
Vito Patierno delivered an RBI ground out to score Cucci and take a 1-0 lead.
North Greenville registered a leadoff double to left-center in the bottom of the fourth, but the Trojans set down three of the next four batters to maintain the advantage. Both teams would leave one runner on base over the remaining five innings, as the Trojans took Game 1 by a final score of 1-0.
The Trojans will play a doubleheader tomorrow, Sunday, March 10, against No. 2 North Greenville with first pitch scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
