Top-seeded UMO advances to tournament baseball championship

By Staff Reports
Published in Sports on April 26, 2014 11:17 PM

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BURLINGTON -- The University of Mount Olive is back where it belongs -- in the Conference Carolinas baseball tournament championship game.

Derek Justice threw a complete game and the top-seeded Trojans rallied from a three-run deficit to defeat King (Tenn.), 6-4, on the Burlington Athletic Park diamond Saturday evening.

One victory today, against an undetermined opponent, propels UMO into the NCAA Division II tournament for the fifth consecutive year and eighth time overall since 2006.

Justice permitted four runs (three earned) on seven hits and struck out six Tornado batters during his nine-inning performance.

Garrett Cook's two-out home run gave King a 3-0 lead in the top half of the second inning. The Trojans (39-11 overall) answered with Justin Manning's solo home run and Zak Orrison's RBI single in the bottom half of the frame.

In the fourth, UMO touched King starter Reiss Stanley for four runs.

DeAndre Allen walked and moved into scoring position on Orrison's single. After a fielder's choice led to the second out, Luke Barry knotted the game at 3-3 with a single through the right side that scored Allen.

Bradon Reitano, the Conference Carolinas player-of-the-year, advanced on an error which allowed two UMO runners -- Barry and Jay Gonzalez -- to touch home. Chase Edwards capped the rally with an RBI bases-loaded walk.

King pulled within 6-4 in the eighth, but never seriously threatened to hand UMO -- the regular-season champion -- its first loss in tournament play.

The Trojans opened the day with an 11-7 triumph over in-state foe Pfeiffer University. A trio of hurlers combined to give up 14 hits, but got some offensive support from Bradon Reitano, Luke Barry, Rob Shipman and DeAndre Allen. The quartet batted a collective 8-for-15 and drove in nine runs on the day.

Reitano's two-RBI bomb in the top of the fifth inning broke a 3-3 tie. Allen crushed a two-run homer in sixth and Shipman cleared the fence with a three-run shot in the seventh.

UMO has 43 homers this season.

Left-hander Gunnar Kines started and earned a no-decision during his three-plus innings on the mound. Brody McDonald (4-0) notched the win with 3 2/3 innings of four-hit, two-strikeout relief.

Hunter Barnett threw the final two innings.