Jermaine Berry scored three runs and led Mount Olive's 16-hit attack with three hits, while Zak Orrison drove in three runs as the nationally third-ranked Trojans completed a three-game series sweep with a 12-5 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne in non-conference baseball Sunday at Hickory, N.C. Orrison, Mike Mercurio and Daniel Oliver added two hits apiece as each Trojan starter collected a base hit.
Mount Olive (3-0) led 4-0 after five innings and broke the game open over the next two innings. Oliver's rbi-single triggered a three-run sixth inning and Orrison's two-run triple capped a four-run seventh inning as the Trojans extended their lead to 11-0.
Lenoir-Rhyne (0-3) got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh on Mike Gasque's three-run double and the Bears added two more runs in the eighth. Mount Olive scored its final run in the top of the eighth as Jermaine Berry doubled and came home on Luke Berry's pinch-hit rbi-single.
Trojan starter Derek Justice (1-0) pitched five scoreless innings for the win. Justice struck out five and allowed four hits. Along with Matt Dillon and Alex Regan in Saturday's doubleheader, Mount Olive's three starting pitchers combined to toss 14 shutout innings.
Mount Olive plays its 2013 home opener next weekend as the Trojans play host to Newberry for a three-game series at Scarborough Field. The two teams play a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. and a single game next Sunday at 1 p.m.