No. 7 Trojans fall in series opener at UNC Pembroke
PEMBROKE – In one of the premier series in Division II baseball this week, the University of Mount Olive baseball team fell in the opening contest by a 7-4 margin at UNC Pembroke on April 28 in Conference Carolinas play.
With the loss, the Trojans drop their third straight contest to fall to 31-13 overall with a 17-10 mark in league action. Mount Olive has already clinched a top-four seed in the league tournament but still can finish as high as second in the conference standings. Meanwhile, the Braves improve to 35-12 this season with an 18-9 mark in conference play. Both teams were featured in the initial Southeast regional rankings released on Wednesday.
In the top of the first, juniors Dylan Jeffries and Vito Patierno delivered back-to-back singles to place runners on the corners before Patierno advanced to second on a stolen base. The next at-bat, senior J.T. Stone produced a sacrifice fly to left field, as the Trojans grabbed a 1-0 edge. Graduate student Landon Choboy followed with a single to center field and advanced to second on the throw, as Patierno held at third. Senior Jack Casbarro would record an RBI on a groundout to extend the lead to 2-0. Following a scoreless second inning, UNCP cut into the deficit with an RBI double to left-center to trail by a 2-1 margin. The Trojans answered back in the top of the fourth after Casbarro registered a double to center field before junior Alden Cottle drew a walk. After a double steal, senior Joshua Jones collected an RBI off a groundout before junior Mike Kenney laced an RBI single to center field, 4-1. The Braves responded in the bottom half with a sacrifice fly to left field to close the gap to 4-2.
Following a scoreless fifth, the Braves scored four runs on three hits to take a 6-4 advantage in the bottom of the sixth. UNCP capitalized on a fielding error with an RBI single to left-center, a sacrifice fly, and a two-run single to center field. The Braves scored an insurance run in the eighth before their bullpen shut down the Trojans in the final three frames, 7-4.
Senior Dawson Gause registered a no-decision after yielding two runs (one earned) on two hits with four strikeouts and three walks over five innings pitched. Fellow senior Cole Newgaard suffered the loss (1-1) after allowing four runs (one earned) on two hits with one strikeout in 1/3 inning.
— From University of Mount Olive Athletics
