MOUNT OLIVE (March 19) – The No. 23 ranked University of Mount Olive baseball program earned a run-rule victory after totaling 10 runs in the final two frames to claim a 12-2 win over Virginia State in non-conference play at Scarborough Field on Wednesday afternoon.
With the win, the Trojans improve to 20-9 this season while boasting a 14-3 record at Scarborough Field. Mount Olive holds a 13-0 record in the series with Virginia State dating back to 2012. Meanwhile, VSU falls to 2-11 overall behind a 2-7 mark on the road.
Freshman
Pete Honse earned the win (3-0) after yielding zero runs on two hits with a career-high seven strikeouts and one walk in 5.0 innings of relief (76 pitches). Senior
Aiken Minton also delivered 1.0 inning of scoreless relief with one strikeout on Wednesday.
Virginia State established a 2-0 advantage in the top of the first after capitalizing on an error to bring across a pair of unearned runs. After three scoreless frames for UMO, redshirt junior
Garrett Moffett led off the fourth with a single to right field before junior
Tariq Talley labeled a double down the left-field line. Moffett later scored on a wild pitch and junior
Ryder Hancock hit an RBI single up the middle to tie the game at 2-2.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Trojans brought across seven runs on five hits to take a 9-2 lead, highlighted by a bases-clearing three-run triple to left-center by Moffett. Mount Olive captured the run-rule win in the seventh as junior
Lane McLean laced a two-run triple to left-center before later scoring on a passed ball, 12-2.
McLean finished 3-for-4 with three runs batted in, two runs scored, one walk, and one stolen base. Redshirt senior
Mike Kenney went 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored, while Moffett totaled two hits, three RBIs, and two runs scored. Junior
Dawson Ables finished 2-for-4 at the plate with one RBI, and two runs scored.
Mount Olive will be idle for a week before returning to Scarborough Field for a non-conference game against Wingate at 4 p.m.
