Trojan diamond nine sweep doubleheader from Alderson-Broaddus

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on February 20, 2011 1:51 AM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Alderson-Broaddus had a long day at Mount Olive College on Saturday afternoon.

The Battlers could not get out of their own way as the No. 14-ranked Trojans claimed a double-header, 18-0 and 15-5, at Scarborough Field.

The worst part of Alderson-Broaddus' day came when Mount Olive designated hitter Mike Knox hammered his second home run of the opening game on what was supposed to be the final pitch of an intentional walk.

After watching the first three pitches sail well wide of the plate, Knox focused on the final throw and stepped toward the plate. The ball was way too close to the strike zone and Knox belted the ball over the left-field fence to cap the bottom of the sixth inning.

"I think we were ready to today offensively," said Mount Olive head coach Carl Lancaster. "We hit a couple of balls out of the ballpark, some more surprising than others."

Knox finished the game with three hits, two home runs and five RBI. A preseason All-America candidate, Knox has hit seven HRs during the Trojans' first 10 games of the season.

As good as the Mount Olive offense was on the day, the Trojans' pitching was equally effective.

North Lenoir alum Carter Capps struck out 12 Battlers in the opener as he tossed a complete-game shutout and improved to 2-0 on the season. Capps was clocked in the low 90s with his fastball as he mowed through the Alderson-Broaddus order.

"I was pleased to see our pitchers come out focused and start strong," said Lancaster. "With the exception of one rough inning, I thought we did a very good job on the mound."

The Trojans struck early in the second game.

Braden Reitano opened the scoring with one out in the first inning with a solo home run. Dan Heyduk followed with a single, Daniel Coffey doubled and Tyler Smith plated two runs with a double of his own to make it 3-0.

Coffey belted a solo home run to open the third inning and the Trojans pulled away with five additional runs.

Pete Levitt earned the win on the pitcher's mound despite some mid-game struggles that allowed the Battlers to plate three runs in the top of the fifth inning. Mount Olive answered with five runs in its half of the inning to put the game away.

The Trojans (8-2 overall) entertain Wingate on Wednesday.