MOUNT OLIVE (Mar. 2) – Senior outfielder
Vito Patierno delivered a walk-off RBI single, as the University of Mount Olive baseball team defeated No. 7 nationally-ranked Young Harris by a final score of 9-8 in extra innings at Scarborough Field on Saturday evening.
With the win, the Trojans improve to 9-4 overall with a 4-0 mark in conference play. The two sides met for the first time in league play, as Young Harris joined the Conference Carolinas this season. Meanwhile, the Mountain Lions fell to 13-3 this season behind a 3-1 record in league action.
Young Harris jumped ahead 1-0 in the top of the first inning with a bases-loaded RBI single to right field. The Trojans answered back in the bottom half of the frame as senior
Dylan Jeffries laced an RBI single to left field to tie the contest at 1-1. The Mountain Lions scored in the top of the second on a double steal to regain the lead before launching a solo homer in the top of the third, 3-1. In the top of the fourth, YHC registered another run after scoring on an error, but UMO countered in the bottom half with a solo homer by fifth-year
David Cucci, his first of the season, to trim the deficit to 4-2. Young Harris hit its second solo homer of the contest in the fifth to reclaim a three-run lead, 5-2.
Mount Olive rallied in the bottom of the fifth with four runs on three hits, highlighted by a solo homer by Patierno, his second of the season, 6-5. UMO tallied another run in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single to left field by Patierno, 7-5. The Mountain Lions closed the gap to 7-6 in the top of the seventh inning on a solo homer to left field before Mount Olive reclaimed a two-run advantage on a sacrifice fly to left by Patierno, 8-6. YHC rallied in the top of the ninth with two runs to tie the contest at 8-8 and send it to extra innings.
In the bottom of the 10th, the Trojans drew a pair of walks before Patierno delivered once again with the game-winning RBI single up the middle, 9-8.
Patierno finished 3-for-4 with four RBI, one walk, and one run scored, while Cucci registered a pair of hits, two RBI, and one run scored.
Senior
Andrew Ledbetter earned the win (2-1) after tossing 1.2 innings of scoreless relief with four strikeouts. Freshman
Carter Gipson entered from the bullpen and yielded one earned run on two hits with one strikeout.
Mount Olive returns to Scarborough Field tomorrow, Sunday, March 3, to face Young Harris in a doubleheader, starting at noon.
