MOC splits non-conference baseball doubleheader

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on March 31, 2005 1:56 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Anthony Williams drove in two runs and Bryan Corbett combined with two relievers on a two-hitter to lead Mount Olive to a 3-2 victory over Wingate in Game 2 of a non-conference baseball doubleheader Wednesday at Scarborough Field.

In the first game, Jon Svanda drove in both Wingate runs with a sacrifice fly and a home run and Chris Alfonso held Mount Olive to three hits in 52/3 innings to lead the Bulldogs to a 2-1 victory over the Trojans.

In Game 1, Wingate loaded the bases with nobody out and Svanda hit a sacrifice fly to right to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. Mount Olive (16-21) stayed within a run as Trojan starter Blake Montgomery (0-3) retired the next two batters to get out of the inning and held Wingate to one run on three hits in four innings pitched.

With one out in the top of the fifth, Svanda hit a line drive over the left field fence off reliever Jonathan McClellan to extend Wingate's lead to 2-0. Alphonso held Mount Olive hitless until Lance Martin singled with two outs in the bottom of the third.

The Trojans got on the scoreboard in the sixth when Anthony Williams drew a one-out walk and scored from first on Ricky Davis' opposite-field double to left-center. Davis went to third on Josh Carter's ground out, but reliever Matt Trent came in for Alfonso (2-2) and center fielder Bryan Baylis made a sliding catch on Stephen Nordan's sinking liner for the third out. Trent walked a batter in the bottom of the seventh, but got the save when Wingate turned a 5-4-3 double play to end the game.

In the second game, after Wingate (14-24) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, Mount Olive answered with two runs in the bottom of the second as Jonathan Skelley doubled and scored on a throwing error. Jordan Arnold scored the go-ahead run when Williams lined the first pitch to left field. Arnold and Williams combined on another run in the fourth inning as Arnold drew a leadoff walk, advanced to third on a passed ball and a balk, and scored on Williams' squeeze bunt to extend the Trojans' lead to 3-1.

Corbett (3-2) allowed only one hit and an unearned run through four innings and had retired nine consecutive batters until Josh Benton led off the fifth with a home run that hit the top of the right field fence and bounced over to pull Wingate within a run. But Corbett got out of the inning and Philip Pennington and Justin Staatz each pitched a scoreless inning to seal the win. Staatz retired the side in order in the seventh to pick up his first save of the season. Corbett finished with seven strikeouts.

Mount Olive returns to action this weekend as the Trojans travel to Anderson, S.C., for a three-game Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference series against Anderson. Wingate plays host to Lenoir-Rhyne this weekend for a three-game South Atlantic Conference series.