MOC-Coker baseball

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 15, 2010 1:46 PM

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MOC Sports Information

MOUNT OLIVE -- Mike Knox just missed hitting for the cycle and collected five RBI in Mount Olive's 18-3 pasting of Coker (S.C.) College in the Conference Carolinas opener for both teams Sunday afternoon.

Carter Capps and two bullpen mates combined for a seven-inning, four-hitter as the Trojans claimed the nightcap 9-2 at Scarborough Field.

Mount Olive (4-0 overall, 2-0 CC) claimed its eighth consecutive victory over Coker and 17th overall in 27 meetings since 2002.

Knox homered in a 4-for-5 outing and needed a double to complete the cycle in the opener. Cobra defensive miscues allowed the Trojans to grab a 5-1 lead through four innings.

Ryan Faison's RBI single capped a four-run, fifth-inning outburst and padded Mount Olive's lead to 9-1.

Trojan starting pitcher Sean Lydon (2-0) limited Coker to a single run through five innings. He encountered trouble in the sixth and surrendered two runs, but ended the inning with his fifth strikeout of the game.

Charles B. Aycock graduate Jackson Massey tossed three innings of one-hit, four-strikeout relief.

Airlon Vinson's two-out, RBI single highlighted a two-run first inning. Knox followed with an RBI single in a two-run, third-inning outburst. Faison's double and Bobby Leeper's towering home run over the left center-field fence extended MOC's lead to 6-0.

Capps flirted with a shutout through four innings. Relievers David Combs, a Southern Wayne alum, and Jeremy Nowak kept Coker (5-3, 0-2) silent the rest of the way.

Mount Olive pounded out 34 hits in the doubleheader sweep and committed just two errors in 16 innings of defensive work. The Trojans used five pitchers compared to nine for the Cobras.

The teams conclude their three-game league series today. First pitch is 1 p.m. at Scarborough Field.