Mount Olive, NC - Mount Olive used timely hitting and a dominant bullpen effort to turn a tight contest into a 12-3 victory over Virginia State on Tuesday afternoon.
Scoring first in the fourth inning, Virginia State used a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch and sacrifice fly to build a 2-0 lead. The advantage grew to 3-0 in the fifth on a wild pitch, briefly pressuring a Trojan pitching staff that has struggled with consistency.
Mount Olive quickly responded in the bottom of the fifth. Tanner Ferguson and Lane McLean reached base, and Ryder Hancock singled. Josh Mason broke through with a two-RBI double down the left field line. After a wild pitch and a Rowan Watt sacrifice fly, Mount Olive led 4-3. Mount Olive entered the day first in Conference Carolinas and top-10 nationally in doubles per game (2.56), a trend that continued with Mason and Watt delivering key extra-base hits.
Building on that momentum, Mount Olive broke the game open in the sixth.
With walks, hit batters, and defensive miscues, the Trojans took advantage in the sixth by plating five runs on just two hits. McLean—who ranks among the conference leaders in runs scored and hit-by-pitches—played a key role, forcing in a run and later scoring. Mason added a two-RBI single, Watt delivered an RBI double, and Gales capped the inning with a bases-loaded walk, extending the lead to 9-3.
The Trojans continued adding on late, scoring once in the seventh on a balk and twice in the eighth. The inning was highlighted by an RBI double from Gales and a sacrifice fly from Kayden Crawford.
Meanwhile, on the mound, John Nelson McLamb (W, 3-6) delivered a steady performance, tossing six innings with five strikeouts. The right-hander entered the game among the conference leaders in strikeouts per nine innings (9.59), and his ability to miss bats helped limit further damage after the middle innings. From that point, the bullpen took over as Kole Hopkins was dominant across two innings, striking out four and not allowing a hit.
Mount Olive looks to continue its momentum into the weekend, where they face off in more Conference Carolina matches.  They are scheduled to face Barton on Friday at 3:00 PM.