Mount Olive College baseball ranked No. 27

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on February 20, 2007 2:10 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Mount Olive remains at No. 27 for the second consecutive week in this week's Collegiate Baseball Division II Top 30 Poll, it was announced Monday. The Trojans were ranked No. 20 in the preseason poll and spent one week among "Others Receiving Votes" before returning to the top 30 last week.

Mount Olive (6-5 overall, 2-1 Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference) posted a 3-1 record last week and captured the rubber game in its conference-opening three-game series at Belmont Abbey in dramatic fashion, rallying for six runs in the top of the ninth to erase an 8-3 deficit and win 9-8. Patrick Ball, who recorded three strikeouts in the bottom of the ninth to earn his second save of the season, led off the top of the inning with a home run, and Josh Harrison and Graham Wooten capped the inning with their second back-to-back home runs of the game. Harrison's home run was a two-out game-tying three-run shot.

The Trojans opened the three-game series with a 6-0 victory at Belmont Abbey, which received votes in the poll for the third consecutive week.

Tom Layne went the distance for Mount Olive, striking out seven and pitching a four-hitter to bring his earned run average down to 0.86. Mount Olive opened the week with a rain-shortened six-inning non-conference 13-1 win at North Carolina Wesleyan.

MOC women

clinch No. 5 seed

Mount Olive was idle Monday, but by virtue of Limestone's loss to Lees-McRae, the Trojans have clinched the No. 5 seed and a first-round bye in the 2007 Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, which gets under way next week.

Mount Olive (14-11 overall, 10-8 CVAC) has a two-game lead over Limestone with two games remaining in the regular season.

The Trojans swept the regular season series against Limestone and hold the tie-breaker advantage if the two teams finish in a tie.