No. 11 UMO secures series sweep at SWU
CENTRAL, S.C. – After producing a season-high 23 hits with three homers, the Trojans completed a series sweep at Southern Wesleyan with a 19-7 victory on April 16 in Conference Carolinas action.
With the win, the University of Mount Olive baseball team improved to 28-10 this season with a 15-8 mark in conference play. After this weekend’s results, the Trojans sit third in the conference standings with two league series left in the regular season. Meanwhile, Southern Wesleyan fell to 13-29 overall with a 7-17 mark in league action.
The Trojans had eight players posting a multiple-hit performance, including four individuals that tallied at least three hits. Senior Jack Casbarro went four for six at the plate with one RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases. Sophomore Cooper George totaled three hits, one RBI and four runs scored, while senior Joshua Jones finished three for five with two RBI and one run scored. Junior Zach Zoltoski went three for six with three RBI, two runs scored and one stolen base.
Senior J.T. Stone delivered a two-homer performance with three RBI and two runs scored, while graduate student Landon Choboy also blasted a homer with two RBI and two runs scored.
The Warriors leaped ahead in the bottom of the first inning with three runs on three hits, including a two-run single through the left side, 3-0. Mount Olive answered in the top of the second with back-to-back singles by Jones and junior Mike Kenney with two outs before Zoltoski laced an RBI single to center field to cut the deficit to 3-1. During the next at-bat, Kenney scored during a rundown at second, as Zoltoski also managed to steal, 3-2. Junior Dylan Jeffries followed with an RBI double down the left-field line before teammate Vito Patierno laced an RBI single up the middle to put the Trojans ahead 4-3. Southern Wesleyan managed to reclaim the lead after scoring runs in the third and fourth frames to take a 5-4 edge.
In the top of the fifth, the Trojans scored four runs on three hits, highlighted by a two-run homer by Stone, his fourth of the season, to regain the lead at 8-5. After a scoreless sixth, UMO scored on a passed ball and a solo homer by Stone, his second of the game, in the seventh to hold a 10-5 advantage. In the top of the eighth, Jones registered a two-run single to left field, as Mount Olive took a commanding 12-5 lead. The Trojans blew the game open in the top of the ninth after registering seven runs on six hits. Casbarro delivered an RBI single in the infield before Choboy launched a two-run homer to left field, his third of the year, to take a 15-5 lead. Later in the frame, Zoltoski and Patierno each produced a two-run single to extend the advantage to 19-5. The Warriors managed to score a pair of runs in the bottom half, as UMO recorded a 19-7 win.
Senior Cole Newgaard earned the win (1-0) after yielding two earned runs on four hits with three strikeouts in three innings pitched in relief. Junior Andrew Ledbetter tossed three scoreless innings of relief with only one hit surrendered, while teammate Hayden Myrick tallied three strikeouts in one inning pitched.
— From University of Mount Olive Athletics
