MOUNT OLIVE (April 6) – The Trojans captured a fourth straight series sweep on Saturday afternoon following a doubleheader sweep over Southern Wesleyan at Scarborough Field in Conference Carolinas action, recording an 8-3 win in Game 1 before a 7-1 victory in Game 2.
With the sweep, the University of Mount Olive baseball team extends its winning streak to 14 straight to improve to 28-8 overall with a 17-3 mark in conference play. After the weekend, the Trojans remain atop the league standings and boast an 18-3 record at home. Meanwhile, Southern Wesleyan falls to 6-33 this season behind a 4-17 mark in league action.
In Game 1, senior
Erik Johnson improved to 5-1 on the mound after yielding three earned runs on four hits with eight strikeouts and one walk in 7.0 innings pitched (93 pitches). He retired the opening nine batters of the game while forcing seven flyouts and six groundouts.
The Trojans loaded the bases in the bottom of the first frame before redshirt junior
Mike Kenney laced a two-run single through the left side to take a 2-0 edge. Following a wild pitch that moved a pair of runners into scoring position, senior
Alden Cottle hit a sacrifice fly to right-center to extend the lead, 3-0. After a scoreless second inning, senior
Dylan Jeffries tallied an RBI on a sacrifice fly before Cottle belted a double to left-center to hold a 5-0 advantage.
Mount Olive brought in an additional run in the fourth on a fielder's choice while senior
Joshua Kabayama produced a sacrifice fly to take an 8-0 lead. The Warriors cut into the deficit in the top of the sixth with an RBI double and a two-run homer, 8-3.
Kenney finished 2-for-2 with two RBI, two runs scored, and one walk, while senior
David Cucci went 2-for-4 with one run scored.
In Game 2, the contest remained scoreless through the initial five innings before senior
Vito Patierno broke the deadlock with a solo homer to left field, his fourth of the season, 1-0. Mount Olive escaped runners on the corners in the sixth and seventh frames before scoring four runs on three hits in the bottom half of the seventh. Kabayama hit an infield RBI single while Cucci drew a bases-loaded walk, 3-0. The next at-bat, Patierno produced an RBI single through the left side before graduate student
Landon Choboy registered a sacrifice fly to right field, 5-0.
In the bottom of the eighth, Mount Olive scored two more runs with sophomore
Lane McLean hitting a sacrifice fly to left center. Southern Wesleyan recorded a solo homer to left field to trim the deficit to 7-1 in the ninth.
Patierno finished 2-for-4 with a homer, two RBI, and one run scored, while redshirt junior
Case Kermode and Kabayama each registered two hits.
Senior
Hayden Myrick took a no-decision after tossing three scoreless innings with one strikeout and two walks in the start. Junior
Aiken Minton delivered 2.1 innings of scoreless relief with four strikeouts while teammate
Witt Branham earned the win (1-0). Senior
Andrew Ledbetter secured his fourth save of the season after closing out the final 2.1 innings with two strikeouts.
Mount Olive returns to action on Wednesday, April 10, for a neutral site non-conference game against Newberry at 3 p.m.
