No. 12 Mount Olive splits doubleheader at Flagler
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – After a pair of high-scoring affairs on March 5, the University of Mount Olive baseball team split a doubleheader at Flagler, falling 11-10 in game one before posting a 15-4 victory in game two.
With the split, the Trojans moved to 11-4 overall while winning four of their last five games and boasting a 5-2 record on the road.
In game two, junior Vito Patierno finished 3 for 5 at the plate with a three-run homer, five RBI and two runs scored. Senior Jack Casbarro went 2 for 4 with two RBI, one run scored and one walk, while graduate student Landon Choboy also finished 2-for-4. Senior J.T. Stone recorded a multi-hit game with two runs scored, while junior Alden Cottle went 2 for 3 with two RBI and three runs scored.
The Trojans leaped out to a 4-0 advantage in the top of the second inning with Casbarro bringing across the initial run of the game on an RBI single up the middle. With runners on the corners, Patierno delivered a three-run home run to left field. In the top of third, Cottle stretched the lead to 5-0 on a sacrifice fly to center field before redshirt sophomore Case Kermode blasted a two-run homer to centerfield, 7-0. Flagler cut into the deficit in the bottom of the third with a sacrifice fly and allowed a runner to score on a wild pitch.
In the top of fifth, Mount Olive exploded for five runs on seven hits while capitalizing on a pair of errors. The inning was highlighted by a two-run single from junior Dylan Jeffries and a two-run double by Patierno, as the Trojans extended the advantage to 14-2. UMO scored one more insurance run in the bottom of the six off an RBI single from Casbarro.
Senior Jonathan Peacock earned the win (1-0) after tossing 2 scoreless innings with zero hits surrendered and two strikeouts. Fellow senior Erik Johnson started on the mound and yielded two runs on two hits with three strikeouts over 4 innings pitched.
In Game 1, the Trojans established a 4-0 lead in the first following a three-run double to left field by sophomore Cooper George before scoring later in the frame on a wild pitch. The Saints got on the board on the bottom half with an RBI single through the right side before UMO stretched the lead back to four runs after a sacrifice fly to left field by senior Joshua Jones in the top of the second. Flagler grabbed the lead in the bottom of the third with five runs on five hits, including a trio of RBI singles, 6-5. The Saints would extend the advantage in the fourth with a single to left field, but Jeffries answered in the top of sixth with a solo homer to left field, 7-6.
Mount Olive reclaimed the lead in the top of the seventh with a pair of runs, including an RBI single from George before the Saints responded with three runs in the bottom half to hold a 10-8 edge. The Trojans produced one more surge in the top of the eighth after a two-run single up the middle by George to tie the contest at 10-10. Flagler secured the win the bottom of the eighth after scoring on a wild pitch with the bases loaded, 11-10.
George finished the contest 3 for 4 with six RBI, one run scored and one walk.
Junior Andrew Ledbetter was saddled with the loss (1-1) after yielding one run on two hits with one strikeout and one walk in 1.0 inning of relief.
— From University of Mount Olive Athletics
