MOUNT OLIVE (March 25) – The No. 23 ranked Trojans were unable to overcome an early deficit on Tuesday afternoon and fell by a 6-5 margin against Wingate in non-conference action at Scarborough Field.
With the loss, the University of Mount Olive baseball program drops to 20-10 overall behind a 14-4 record at Scarborough Field. The two sides met for the first time since playing in an elimination game in the NCAA Tournament in 2024. Meanwhile, Wingate earns its fourth straight victory to improve to 15-15 this season while holding an 8-9 mark on the road.
Following a pair of scoreless innings to begin the contest, the Bulldogs climbed ahead by a 3-0 margin after capitalizing on three hit-by-pitches and producing a two-run single to left-center in the top of the third. In the bottom half of the frame, junior Lane McLean singled up the middle with one out before advancing to second on a wild pitch. With two outs, redshirt sophomore Jon Howard ripped an RBI double to center field to cut into the deficit, 3-1. Wingate took advantage of three walks in the top of the fourth and eventually added three more runs to extend its lead to 6-1.
In the bottom of the fifth, McLean belted a solo homer to left field, his third of the year, to close the gap to 6-2. The Trojans continued to chip away at the lead in the bottom of the sixth with junior Jakhari Howard lacing an RBI double down the left-field line before redshirt junior Anthony Mitta hit an RBI single through the right side, 6-4. In the seventh inning, Mount Olive cut the deficit to 6-5 following an RBI single to center field by Jon Howard to score junior Kayden Crawford.
The Trojans were ultimately retired in order in the final two frames to fall short by a 6-5 margin.
McLean finished 2-for-5 with a solo homer and two runs scored, while Howard went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in. Redshirt senior Mike Kenney also delivered two hits with one run scored on Tuesday.
Redshirt junior Lane Roberson (1-1) suffered the loss after surrendering two earned runs on three hits with three strikeouts and one walk in 2.0 innings pitched. The freshman duo of John Nelson McLamb and Kole Hopkins combined to toss 5.2 innings of scoreless relief before senior Gavin Wilson closed out the final inning with two strikeouts.
Mount Olive will begin a three-game series at Young Harris on Friday, March 28, with a single nine-inning game at 6 p.m.
