COLLEGE BASEBALL: Mozingo notches 3rd save, UMO tops USC Aiken 1-0

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on February 18, 2017 11:06 PM

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jhayes@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- Senior right-hander Austin Hutchison scattered three hits over eight innings, catcher Jose Lopez scored on a wild pitch and the University of Mount Olive felled traditional Division II pillar USC-Aiken, 1-0, under perfect skies on Saturday at Scarborough Field.

The triumph was UMO's second victory over the Pacers -- ranked No. 5 in this week's DII Baseball News poll -- in less than 24 hours, and should serve due notice on the national landscape that these Trojans are good -- very good.

Hutchison was dominant from the outset, throwing by and around a potent Aiken lineup that entered the series batting .330 as a team. Over the first five frames, the Dandridge, Tenn. native seated seven Pacers and commanded all portions of the zone -- even after spraining his ankle fielding a ground ball in the fourth inning.

"You can't pitch better than we did today," UMO head coach Carl Lancaster said, "(just) went out there and battled with no breathing room."

Ditto Aiken lefty Joey Benitez, who kept UMO off-balance with heat inside and a registry of command low and away -- until the sixth inning.

Lopez roped a double to the left-field wall, then took third on a Ricky Surum ground ball to third base. Two batters later, Benitez threw wildly out of the reach of catcher Connor Durden, allowing Lopez to score from third.

Ultimately, it would be all the margin needed by Hutchison, who worked through the eighth inning with nary a bit of stress. In total, the senior struck out 10 and walked three -- good enough for his third victory of the season against no setbacks.

"Hutch was way over where we want him (regarding pitch-count) this time of year," Lancaster noted. "But we've got Aiken here, and if we have a chance to sweep, we're going to take it."

Goldsboro native Zach Mozingo entered for Hutchison in the ninth, making quick work of Aiken's middle lineup to collect his third save of this spring's campaign.

UMO, now 6-2 on the season, will look to win the third installment of the weekend series today at 1 p.m.