UMO dimaond 9 enter tournament in unusual fashion

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on April 28, 2016 1:49 PM

• Print
• Email

rcoggins@newsargus.com

BURLINGTON -- A No. 4 seed.

It's an unusual position for the University of Mount Olive, which opened play against Belmont Abbey in the 2016 Conference Carolinas baseball tournament this morning.

Each of the past six years and eight of the last 10 overall, the Trojans have been the No. 1 seed.

"It's a bit unusual for us," UMO head coach Carl Lancaster said. "Everybody's got a shot at it. Last year, a number six seed (North Greenville) won the dag-gone thing. It just depends on how the guys show up and how they respond to it. They can go in and say 'well, we're finally done,' or we go in and say 'let's give this thing a go.'

In other first-round games, North Greenville opposes fifth-seeded Barton and regular-season champ Erskine faces sixth-seeded Pfeiffer University. The six-team, double-elimination tournament concludes Sunday.

The winner emerges as the automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional. UMO has appeared in the last six regionals and made 14 trips overall since the school joined the D-2 ranks in 1996.

Two crucial pitching losses, lack of timely hitting and inconsistent production from the bullpen has been the Trojans' Achilles' heel this season. UMO lost sophomore left-hander Kody Whitley, who underwent Tommy John surgery and is expected to miss the 2017 season. A transfer committed to Lancaster, but didn't arrive on campus after entering as a free agent on the Major League Baseball scene.

A brutal non-conference scheduled, rated among top-five toughest in the nation, didn't help matters, either. UMO was 10-10 after splitting a mid-March twinbill with Franklin-Pierce.

"We're actually much better now than we were at the beginning of the season," Lancaster said.

The Trojans' three horses on the mound have been Bruce Zimmerman (7-2, 3.53 earned run average), Austin Hutchinson (5-3, 3.36 ERA) and Brighton Hudson (5-2, 2.39). The trio has combined to throw 218 innings and log 188 strikeouts compared to just 43 walks.

Lancaster has been pleased with all three and said each must have a quality start as UMO seeks its 13th Conference Carolinas tournament championship. Should the Trojans reach the final day, Lancaster may depend on a "patchwork" pitching lineup.

"I'm real pleased with our three starters," Lancaster said. "Coming in I didn't see them doing what they are doing, but they have stepped up and done very well. I've seen them all, and Zimmerman and Hutchison are the two best pitchers in the league...no question. Hutchison is not a power guy, but he has one of the top three lowest ERAs in the league."

Offensively, UMO hits .294 as a team and just one player, Zak Orrison, has started and played in all 43 contests. A preseason all-Southeast Region selection, Orrison ranks first in batting average (.376), at-bats (178), runs scored (49), hits (67), RBI (38) and stolen bases (31).

Orrison is the school's all-time career leader in stolen bases with 105.

Brett Lang and David Mayo have each started 42 games, while preseason all-Southeast Region pick Joe Koehler has started on 41 occasions. Lang is hitting a crisp .359, while Mayo is batting at a .311 clip.

Koehler and designated hitter Stephen Wallace have swatted 10 home runs apiece this spring.

"I've never been in this position for a long time," Lancaster said. "I hope they go out there and give it all they've got in the tournament and these seniors rise to the occasion. You just never know."