Mount Olive earns series win over Emmanuel

MOUNT OLIVE – The No. 12 University of Mount Olive baseball team rallied in the bottom of the ninth before securing a 2-1 walk-off victory over Emmanuel in extra innings to win the conference-opening series on Feb. 19 at Scarborough Field.

With the win, the Trojans improved to 5-2 this season with a 2-1 mark in conference action. All three games during the season-opening series were decided by one run with a pair of walk-off wins by UMO. Meanwhile, the Lions dropped to 6-6 overall with a 1-2 mark in league play.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Trojans were down to their last out when junior Jackson Taylor laced a single up the middle. Freshman Davis Halstead entered the game as a pinch-runner before senior pinch-hitter David Cucci delivered a clutch RBI double down the left-field line to tie the game 1-1. In the 11th frame, junior Alden Cottle reached base on a fielder’s choice before sophomore Cooper George produced a single through the right side to put runners on the corner. With two outs, redshirt sophomore Case Kermode registered a walk-off single up the middle as Mount Olive recorded the walk-off win.

Junior Justin Koehler improved to 2-0 on the year after tossing one scoreless inning of relief with one strikeout. Senior Dawson Gause posted a no-decision after yielding one earned run on two hits with six strikeouts and two walks over five innings pitched. Freshman William Pennington registered 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief while surrendering just one hit after facing 14 batters, while junior Hayden Myrick produced another scoreless appearance over 1 2/3 innings pitched.

— From University of Mount Olive Athletics