MOUNT OLIVE (March 19) – In a Southeast Region matchup on Tuesday evening, the Trojans scored 11 straight runs in the opening four frames before securing a 15-11 victory over Catawba in non-conference play at Scarborough Field.
With the win, the University of Mount Olive baseball team improves to 17-8 overall while improving to 8-3 at home. The two sides split the series this year with UMO holding a 6-3 mark against the Indians dating back to 2021. Meanwhile, Catawba has its seven-game winning streak snapped and drops to 19-7 this season and 6-6 on the road.
At the plate, senior
Dylan Jeffries finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs, two runs scored, one walk, and one stolen base. Graduate student
Landon Choboy went 3-for-3 with a two-run homer, three RBIs, two runs scored, and one walk, while senior
Vito Patierno tallied two hits, three RBIs, two runs scored, and one walk.
In the bottom of the first, Jeffries delivered a leadoff single to third base before Patierno belted a two-run homer to left field, his team-leading third of the season, to take a 2-0 edge. Following a four-pitch walk, Choboy laced a two-run home run over the left-field wall to extend the lead to 4-0. The Trojans scored two more runs in the bottom of the second after senior
Alden Cottle produced an RBI single through the left side before fifth-year
David Cucci registered an RBI on a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded, 6-0.
Mount Olive stretched its advantage to 9-0 in the third inning, as Jeffries and Patierno each recorded an RBI before Choboy delivered a sacrifice fly to center. In the bottom of the fourth, senior
Joshua Kabayama brought across another run with a sacrifice fly in foul territory before Jeffries hit an RBI single through the left side during the next at-bat, 11-0.
Following a pitching change, Catawba cut into the deficit in the top of the fifth scoring four runs on four hits, but the Trojans countered with a two-run single to left center by junior
Case Kermode, 13-4. In the sixth inning, the Indians blasted a two-run homer to left-center to close the gap to 13-6 before both sides went scoreless in the seventh frame. In the eighth, Catawba trimmed the deficit to 13-10 with four runs on two hits before Jeffries posted a two-run single up the middle to hold a 15-10 edge. The Indians scored one more run in the top of the ninth, but UMO went on to seal the win, 15-11.
Senior
Justin Koehler improved to 2-0 after tossing 4.0 scoreless innings with three strikeouts in the start. He retired the side in order three times while forcing five flyouts and three groundouts. Senior
Andrew Ledbetter recorded his second save of the contest after working 1.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
Mount Olive returns to Conference Carolinas play on Thursday, March 21, when its begins a three-game series against UNC Pembroke with a doubleheader, starting at 2 p.m.
