Anderson takes league series from Mount Olive

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on February 23, 2009 1:48 PM

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MOC Sports Information

ANDERSON, S.C. -- The streak ends at 19.

For two-plus seasons, Mount Olive College had controlled every Conference Carolinas baseball series it played ... until Sunday afternoon.

Alex Vertcnik and Rich Racobaldo ripped back-to-back, ninth-inning home runs but Anderson held on for a 10-6 victory and handed Mount Olive its first conference-series loss since 2006. The Trojans, ranked No. 7 in the latest Division II Ping! Baseball poll, tumbled to 3-3 against league opposition this season.

Mount Olive committed a season-high five errors on Sunday and 12 total in the three-game series. A fourth-inning miscue and a failed pickoff attempt in the seventh inning helped Anderson take control.

Kevin Kearney homered for the Trojans in the second inning.

Racobaldo's ninth-inning blast gave him five home runs in a three-game stretch and six overall for the season.

Patrick Ball (1-2) took the mound loss for MOC.

The Trojans return to action Tuesday and Wednesday with single, nine-inning games at USC Aiken. First pitch is 6 p.m. on Tuesday and 4 p.m. on Wednesday.