UMO beats Lander in season opener

By Cam Ellis
Published in Sports on January 31, 2015 11:08 PM

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Cam Ellis

cellis@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE - With the calendar not yet turned to February and the temperature below 30 degrees, it'd be hard to blame people if they weren't ready to fill the seats at Scarborough Field.

Yet as a season filled with sky-high expectations began on Saturday afternoon, it's no surprise that they did.

The Mount Olive baseball team rewarded fans who braved the cold to come out and watch their first game of the season, defeating #2 ranked Lander University 15-8. The win marks the first time in program history that the Trojans had defeated Lander.

Sophomore Kodi Whitley got the start for UMO. Whitley performed to mix results, throwing four innings while allowing five runs on five hits and two walks. The cold weather clearly affected Whitley's ability to grip the ball, as his location was off all game.

Lander struck first, scoring two runs in the top of the 2nd thanks to RBI's from catcher John Mangum and short stop Will Jones.

It didn't take long for the Trojans to answer, however. UMO scored two of their own in the bottom of the inning on a 2-run single from center fielder Jason Morozowski.

Lander got three back in the top of the 3rd, and headed into the bottom of the 5th leading 5-3.

Seven hits and 10 runs later, the score line looked a bit different.

The Trojans offense came to life in the bottom of the 5th thanks to some power hitting from the heart of their order. With the bases loaded and no one out, junior right fielder Chris Leduc turned on a Lander fastball and sent it out over the left-centerfield fence.

"With a guy throwing 3-quarters and low, the ball's going to come in on you," Leduc said. "I was just looking for something in and something to drive. I squared it up pretty good and it felt good."

First baseman Rob Shipman followed suit with a two-run home run of his own, and the route was on. The Trojans would score three more runs in the bottom of the 7th on the way to an opening day win.

Even with a long season ahead of them, UMO head coach Carl Lancaster acknowledged that beating a team like Lander feels especially sweet.

"We just beat a very good ball club," he said. "It's always going to be a good day when you beat the #2 team in the country."

With the game in-hand early on, the Trojans got to take a look at some of their new bullpen additions. It was a mixed bag of results: Carlos Rodriguez got the win, pitching two and two-thirds innings while allowing 2 runs on four hits. Jesse Schullstrom followed, throwing two and a third innings while allowing one run on two hits.

"We really didn't know [what to expect]," Lancaster added. "I was hoping our pitchers would do what they did. The last two guys we threw out there were new... They came in and did what they needed to do."

The Trojans wrap up their series with Lander this afternoon, when they take on the Bearcats at 1 p.m.