FLORENCE, S.C. – The University of Mount Olive baseball team used key hits and strong pitching to secure a 9-7 win over Francis Marion on Friday.  By combining clutch hitting with steady pitching late, Mount Olive claimed a hard-fought road win. The Trojans are now 15-15 overall and 9-10 in conference play.
Mount Olive fell behind early after a solo home run in the first inning gave Francis Marion a 1-0 lead. Nonetheless, the Trojans quickly answered in the second, as Garrett Moffett drove in Jakhari Howard with an RBI single to even the score at 1-1, setting the stage for a back-and-forth battle.
Building on that momentum in the third inning, the Trojans saw Rowan Watt and Howard deliver back-to-back RBI hits to give Mount Olive a 3-1 advantage. The lead, however, was short-lived, as Francis Marion immediately responded in the bottom half with a four-run inning, highlighted by a pair of home runs, to reclaim a 5-3 lead.
Mount Olive answered in the fourth as Ryder Hancock singled to cut the deficit to 5-4. The turning point came in the fifth: Mac James blasted a three-run homer to center, giving the Trojans a 7-5 lead.
With momentum now on their side, the Trojans built further on their lead in the sixth inning. After Rowan Watt reached base and Jakhari Howard drew a walk, Malachi Gales delivered a clutch two-run double to extend the advantage to 9-6.
Meanwhile, on the mound, Carson Gipson (4-3) earned the win with a solid outing, tossing 7.0 innings while allowing six runs (four earned) on nine hits and striking out seven. Though he faced trouble in the third, Gipson recovered and kept Francis Marion in check over his final frames.
Kole Hopkins then took over and earned his first save by pitching the last two innings, allowing just one unearned run and striking out two. He shut the door by stranding the tying run in the ninth to secure the win.
The Trojans return tomorrow as they face Francis Marion in a doubleheader for the last two games of the weekend series.  The games are slated for 12:00 and 3:00 PM.