D2 SE REGIONAL: Trojans face Lander in opening round

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on May 18, 2016 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

COLUMBUS, Ga. -- Play your game.

Hit and pitch well.

Have fun.

Don't get caught up in the moment.

It's a recipe, if mixed and simmered to perfection, could possibly lead the University of Mount Olive baseball team to its third NCAA Division II College World Series appearance in program history -- and first since 2011.

The seventh-seeded Trojans (31-19 overall) open the Southeast Regional against second-seeded Lander (S.C.) University on Thursday at Columbus State University. First pitch is 3 p.m.

USC Aiken and Tusculum, the South Atlantic champion, square off at 11 a.m. Reigning regional champ Catawba, the 2015 national runner-up, opposes Belmont Abbey in the nightcap.

Peach Belt champion Columbus State earned an opening-round bye.

UMO and Lander split a two-game series in early February.

"I feel like we are playing very well," UMO senior Joe Koehler said. "We are pitching and hitting well, and running on all cylinders. We know their hitters and their pitchers, and what they are going to try and do to us. (We need to) make sure the moment never gets too big.

"If we can do that, I think we will have a very good chance at winning our regional."

That moment almost never arrived.

Barely two months ago, all of the ingredients were spread all over the kitchen.

One mess would get cleaned up.

Another would take its place.

Nothing in the cupboard appealed to anyone's taste.

A team that faced the nation's fifth-toughest schedule seemed out of sorts. There wasn't a single part of the game that satisfied either the coaching staff or the players. Internal issues reared their ugly head and nearly led to a "file 13" (trash can) scenario.

"The guys persevered through some stuff our program hasn't been through the last 10 years," Trojans assistant head coach Rob Watt said. "The road we had to hoe this year was not easy by any means."

At one point, the Trojans -- the preseason Conference Carolinas favorites -- appeared dangerously close to missing the league tournament. They steadily climbed back up the ladder and reeled off seven wins in their last nine conference outings, which resulted in a No. 4 seed.

Lancaster's team began to cook.

They feasted during conference tournament play and licked their fingers after defeating Belmont Abbey in the championship game. The coaching staff described the outcome as the most "satisfying" they had experienced as a program.

That was just an appetizer.

Now, the Trojans get to dine in unarguably one of the most highly-competitive regionals that surprisingly has produced just three CWS champions over the past two decades -- UMO (2008), Columbus State (2002) and Kennesaw State (1996).

Lander boasts the nation's 11th-best scoring offense (nine runs per game) and has mashed 81 home runs as a team. Zach Daly has knocked 21 balls out of the park, which is currently sixth-best in the country.

The Bearcats meet a Trojan pitching staff that possesses a 4.32 earned run average. Austin Hutchison, Brighton Hudson and Bruce Zimmerman have eaten a majority of the innings for Mount Olive, which has won 13 of its last 17 games.

"It's been awhile since we've really seen consistent action so I feel like our guys are going to come out with a lot of hunger and energy (in) game one," UMO senior Zak Orrison said. "Lander is a good team on both sides of the ball, but if we come to play like we did (in) game one against them earlier in the season, again, we are going to be a tough team to beat.

"Not just for Lander, but for every one we play."

And that would be a hearty meal to enjoy.

Indeed.