Jones swats homer in Trojans' season-opening win

By UMO Sports Information
Published in Sports on February 3, 2014 1:48 PM

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Sports Information

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Armstrong Atlantic State swatted three runs and handed the University of Mount Olive an 8-1 defeat during the AASU tournament on Sunday afternoon.

UMO defeated Tusculum, 5-4, in the opener.

Savannah Becker connected on a two-out, fourth-inning RBI double in the Trojans' loss to No. 5-ranked Armstrong. Lauren Smith endured the pitching loss in the mercy rule-shortened affair.

Jennifer Jones delivered the go-ahead, two-RBI single as the Trojans rallied past South Atlantic Conference member Tusculum earlier in the day. The Pioneers led 3-0 before Jones stroked a two-run, second-inning home run to center field.

Down 4-2, UMO loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the fifth inning. Kelsey Akers and Beth Overman connected on back-to-back singles, and Katie Moore reached safely on an error. Akers scored on Becker's sacrifice fly and Overman advanced to third base.

Moore stole second and Jones singled to give the Trojans a 5-4 lead.

Senior right-hander Carly White preserved the one-run advantage and claimed the win inside the pitcher's circle. The West Brunswick alum retired 11 of 14 batters during one stretch.

Madison Johnston earned the save.

Men's tennis

GREENVILLE -- Henric Falkenberg-Matt Finnerty triumphed at No. 2 doubles during the University of Mount Olive's season-opening, 7-0 loss at East Carolina on Sunday afternoon.

The Pirates claimed the doubles point with victories at Nos. 1 and 3 doubles. Division I rules award a single point to the team which wins the most doubles matches.

Top-seeded Edgar Bub extended ECU's Fredric Lehfeldt to three sets before falling 4-6, 7-6, 1-10. The Pirates (6-1 overall) won the remaining five matches in straight sets.

UMO (0-1 overall) is the guest of Lenoir-Rhyne on Friday, and opens the home portion of its schedule Sunday against Peach Belt power Francis Marion.

Indoor track

WINSTON-SALEM -- Dylan Lafond is headed back to the NCAA Division II national indoor track and field championship meet.

The University of Mount Olive sophomore punched his ticket in the mile run with a time of 4 minutes, 5.53 seconds -- well below the NCAA standard of 4:07.13. Lafond broke his school record by seven seconds during the two-day Hilton Garden Invitational hosted by Winston-Salem State.

Jacob Urys posted the fifth-fastest mile time in UMO's program history. Fredric Lang recorded the sixth-fast time in the mile and fifth-fastest time in the 800 meters.

Anthony Edwards cracked the Trojans' all-time top 10 in three events -- 60-meter hurdles, 200 meters and triple jump. Teammates Austin Steagall, Aki Kitagawa and Erasmo Ordonez each recorded a top-10 time in the 3,000 meters.

On the women's side, Aerostata Brown turned in another provisional qualifying mark in the long jump. She topped her own school record with a distance of 5.55 meters and set a program-best time of 7.96 seconds in the 60-meter dash.

Tunisia Prince posted the third-fastest time in school history in the 60 meters with a time of 8.06 seconds. Prince and Chelsea van Dijk both ran the 200 meters in a time of 26.69 seconds, tying for the second-fastest time in Trojan history.

Men's volleyball

LORETTO, Pa. -- The University of Mount Olive posted a .320 hitting percentage in the opening set, but St. Francis pulled away for a 25-19, 25-16, 25-16 non-conference win on Sunday afternoon.

Angel Dache and Garrett Dimm led the Trojans with nine kills apiece.

Quaid Marin dished out 25 assists.

Mount Olive (1-6 overall) plays host to Coker (S.C.) on Tuesday. First serve is 7 p.m. at Kornegay Arena.