MOC weekend sports wrap

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on March 10, 2008 2:27 PM

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MISENHEIMER -- Senior first baseman Erik Lovett broke the school record for career homers and No. 1-ranked Mount Olive College swept a doubleheader in-state rival Pfeiffer University on Sunday afternoon.

Casey Hodges retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced as the Trojans claimed the opener 2-0. Lovett smashed the 28th homer of his career in a 7-3 victory in the nightcap.

Mount Olive (22-1 overall) improved to 8-0 against Conference Carolinas opposition this season. The Trojans assured themselves of winning their 12th straight league series heading into today's series finale. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Alex Vertcnik delivered a first-inning home run, his first of the season, in the opener. Lovett drilled a fifth-inning, RBI double to score David Cooper and give Hodges all the cushion he needed. It was Lovett's 15th double of the season.

Hodges (3-0), who threw a six-hitter, notched four of his six strikeouts in the final three innings.

Rich Racobaldo's one-out, RBI double and Jason Sherrer's two-RBI single highlighted a fourth-inning uprising for the Trojans in game two. Jesse Lancaster added a two-RBI single in the sixth inning and accounted for Mount Olive's final run on a wild pitch.

Pfeiffer (13-13) rallied in the seventh, but Ryan Schlecht (6-0) closed out the game with his sixth strikeout. Schlecht yielded four hits in a complete-game effort.

Track and field

PEMBROKE -- Sam Mitchell and Court McCombs recorded the highest individual finishes as Mount Olive College unveiled its first-ever men's and women's track teams at the Braves Track and Field Classic.

Mitchell, a senior, ended up second in the 400-meter run with a time of 1:01.56. McCombs claimed second in the 400 hurdles in 1:04.79.

Alex Jiminez recorded a pair of top-five efforts in the shot put (32 feet, 9 inches) and discus (93 feet, 4 inches). Teammate Henry Wright placed sixth in the discus (90-7) and ninth in the shot put (26-3).

Former SouthWest Edgecombe standout Tahara Epps placed sixth in the shot put (25-11 1/2) and ninth in the discus (76-1). Theresa Thompson emerged third in the 200-meter dash in 28.53 seconds.

The Trojans also got top-10 performances from Whitney Gough (100 dash), Krystal Kee (800 run), Joe Fearwell (800 run), Charlie Bell (1,500 run), Louis Paul (5,000 run), Justin Potter (shot put) and Justin Sherwood (discus).