TIGERVILLE, S.C. --- The No. 4 seed University of Mount Olive Trojans couldn't complete the comeback and dropped to the No. 1 seed North Greenville University Crusaders 4-3 in the second game of the NCAA DII Baseball Southeast Regional Friday night in Tigerville, S.C. The loss puts an end to the Trojans season as they made their 17th appearance in the NCAA DII Baseball Championship.
GAME INFORMATION
Score:
North Greenville 4, Mount Olive 3
Records: Mount Olive (31-19) North Greenville (43-9)
Location: Ray & Bea Dillard Field, Tigerville, S.C.
How It Happened
Play-by-Play
GAME RUNDOWN
- Mount Olive had to wait to see the game's first run until the fourth inning despite having baserunners in each of the first two innings.
- Nate Estes got the Trojans' half of the fourth started with a lead-off single to the shortstop deep in the hole and the UMO bats were cooking.
- Aaron Hedgepeth followed Estes with a base knock up the middle and Mount Olive had two runners aboard.
- UMO played a little small ball as Jett Swetland dropped down a sacrifice bunt down the first base line and advanced Estes and Hedgepeth into scoring position.
- Coy Barnett pushed home the first run of the contest with an RBI-single through the left side gap and Estes scored to make it 1-0 Mount Olive.
- Unfortunately for the visiting nine, a double play ended what started off as a great inning and the Trojans went into the bottom of the fourth holding onto a slim one-run lead.
- North Greenville did not allow the lead to stand as three straight base hits scored the tying run and a fourth ball put in play gave the Crusaders the 2-1 lead with only one out.
- Another RBI-base hit for NGU gave them a two-run advantage and two batters later Mount Olive was finally able to get out of the inning only giving up three runs as they trail 3-1.
- Zack Smith helped lead the answer back in the top of the fifth as he was hit by a pitch to start the inning.
- A routine base hit for Mason into center turned into much more as the Crusader centerfielder tried to catch the ball on the hop and misplayed the ball as it squirted right past him allowing Smith to score and Mason to take second.
- Gunner Tolston continued the hits for Mount Olive with a single to first as no one covered the bag and Mason took third on the miscue.
- A sacrifice fly by Junior Snow allowed Mason to score and UMO to tie the game up at three-all, but that is all Mount Olive could get as NGU shut down the inning and went into the bottom half.
- The scoring went silent for the next three innings until the Crusaders starting cooking in the bottom of the eighth.
- A one-out double followed by a single to left put runners on the corners for North Greenville's Utah Jones. Jones dropped down a safety squeeze bunt and Mount Olive got an out in the wrong location as a run came home, what proved to be the winning run, and Jones was out at first. UMO recorded the final out of the inning but the damage was already done.
- Mount Olive had one final set of at-bats to try and mount a comeback and were able to get a base runner as Snow double with two-men down but a strikeout ended the game and the Trojans' season in one swing.
KEY STATS
- Trey Pate (1-2) got the loss in relief as he went two and a third allow just one run off two hits and struck out one.
- Coy Barnett and Joe Mason each led the team with three hits on the day but Barnett added a walk and an RBI to his tally in the battle.
Up Next
Mount Olive's season comes to a close with the loss in the NCAA DII Southeast Regional, their 17th appearance in program history.