MOUNT OLIVE (March 8) – Junior
Jakhari Howard delivered a walk-off RBI single down the left-field line in the bottom of the ninth of Game 3, as the No. 16 ranked Trojans swept the Conference Carolinas series over Erskine at Scarborough Field on Saturday afternoon.
With the doubleheader sweep, the University of Mount Olive baseball program extends its winning streak to nine in a row and improves to 18-5 this season behind a 10-2 record in conference play. The Trojans claim sole possession of first place in the league standings following a fourth-straight league series win. Meanwhile, Erskine drops to 11-11 overall with a 3-6 mark in league action.
In Game 1, Mount Olive jumped all over the Flying Fleet in the bottom of the first inning, scoring seven runs on six hits. With one out, junior
Kayden Crawford laced a triple to right field before scoring during the following at-bat off an RBI single to right field by redshirt sophomore
Jon Howard, 1-0. The Trojans would load the bases with two outs, and
Jakhari Howard picked up an RBI after earning a walk, 2-0. Fellow junior
Ryder Hancock ripped a two-run single up the middle during the following at-bat before senior
Wade Kelly hit an RBI single through the right side, 5-0. Hancock scored later in the frame on a wild pitch and Crawford registered an RBI single to right field in his second plate appearance of the inning, 7-0.
Erskine cut into the deficit after bringing across one run in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to trail by a 7-3 margin. In the bottom half of the sixth, redshirt senior
Mike Kenney launched a solo homer to left field, his second of the season, to pull ahead by a score of 8-3. The Flying Fleet rallied in the top of the seventh, scoring three runs on three hits, but the Trojans ultimately claimed the 8-6 win.
Crawford went 2-for-3 with one RBI, one run scored, one walk, and one stolen base. Kenney recorded two hits, one homer, and two runs scored, while Hancock finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run scored.
Junior
Carson Gipson earned the win (3-2) after yielding two runs (one earned) on four hits with one strikeout in 5.0 innings pitched (65 pitches). Graduate student
Hayden Myrick secured the save (5) after closing out the final 1.1 innings with three strikeouts.
In Game 2, the Trojans led off the bottom of the first with back-to-back singles by junior
Lane McLean and Crawford before both runners advanced into scoring position. With one out, Kenney hit an infield RBI single to take a 1-0 advantage. The Flying Fleet countered with three runs over the next two frames, highlighted by a solo homer to right field, 3-1. UMO would tie the contest in the bottom of the third with a clutch two-run single by redshirt junior
Anthony Mitta with two outs, 3-3.
Erskine regained the lead in the top of the fourth by a 5-3 margin, but Mount Olive responded in the bottom half of the inning with four runs on four hits. McLean registered an RBI double to right field following a leadoff single by Hancock. With runners on the corners,
Jon Howard laced a two-run double down the left-field line before Kenney hit a sacrifice fly to center field, 7-5. The Flying Fleet rallied once again, scoring six unanswered to take an 11-7 advantage into the bottom of the eighth.
Mount Olive answered in the eighth with four runs on three hits, highlighted by a two-run triple from Crawford and a game-tying RBI single to left field by
Jon Howard, 11-11. In the bottom of the ninth, Mitta drew a leadoff walk before junior
Dawson Ables entered as a pinch runner. Ables moved the second on a wild pitch and
Jakhari Howard produced a walk-off single down the left-field line to capture the 12-11 win.
McLean finished 3-for-4 with one RBI, three runs scored, and one walk. Crawford tallied three hits, two RBI, two runs scored, and one stolen base.
Jon Howard went 2-for-4 with three RBI, two runs scored, and one walk, while Hancock recorded two hits and one run scored.
The Trojans featured seven pitchers in relief, as freshman
Kole Hopkins (1-0) earned the win after tossing the final inning of scoreless relief.
UMO returns to the diamond on Tuesday, March 11, to face Coker on the road in non-conference play, starting at 4 p.m.
