MOC makes regional final
By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on May 21, 2011 10:57 PM
MOUNT OLIVE -- One more to go.
Dan Hayduk delivered a pair of key hits and Pete Levitt pitched 7 2/3 strong innings in Mount Olive's 7-3 win over UNC Pembroke on day three of the Division II Southeast Regional on Saturday at Scarborough Field.
Mount Olive (44-7) faces Francis Marion at 1 p.m. in today's finals. The Trojans need to win once to advance to the Division II World Series in Cary. The Patriots need to defeat Mount Olive twice to win the regional.
"Other than the championship game, this game was the most important game of the series," said Trojans' head coach Carl Lancaster. "If you lose early, you are probably not going to win it. If you win this one, you put yourself in the driver's seat. Somebody has to play tonight and beat us twice tomorrow."
Alex Pearce drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the second inning to give Pembroke a 1-0 lead.
Tyler Smith's two-out, RBI single to right field in the top of the fourth inning scored Jason Simone to tie the game at 1-1.
Hayduk's two-run single in the top of the sixth inning gave Mount Olive a 3-1 advantage.
The Braves threatened with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Levitt got Josh Haley to fly out to right field to end the inning.
Antonio Callaway's RBI single to left field in the top of the seventh inning stretched the lead to 4-1.
Hayduk tacked on a two-run double and a Pembroke error on the play allowed Jacob Rogers to score as the lead swelled to 7-1 in the top of the sixth inning. Hayduk finished 2 for 4 at the plate with four RBI and has eight RBI in the regional. Joseph Westbrook and Simone both had two hits.
"I'm swinging the bat well right now," said Hayduk. "I feel comfortable at the plate and I'm trying not to do too much."
J.J. Williams' RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning pulled the Braves to within 7-2. E.T. Mauz's RBI double in the bottom of the ninth cut the margin to 7-3.
Levitt allowed two earned runs on seven hits with nine strikeouts and three walks on 119 pitches to earn the win on the mound. David Combs surrendered one run in 1 1/3 innings of relief.
"I knew how important this day was," Levitt. "It was told to me yesterday that this was the most important game of the year so far. Today, I felt like with the support of my team and with them hitting, I was comfortable. My secondary pitches were spot-on. After that second inning, I could locate my change-up and my splitter as on out pitch."