COLLEGE BASEBALL: UMO wins 14th Conference Carolinas regular-season title

By Staff Reports
Published in Sports on April 16, 2017 12:03 AM

• Print
• Email

DUE WEST, S.C. -- One year ago, the Conference Carolinas regular-season baseball title was shipped off to Erskine College.

It's returning to where it belongs -- the University of Mount Olive.

And oh, the irony.

The No. 2-ranked Trojans secured the championship with a three-game sweep of Erskine 7-4, 9-6 and 7-4. They clinched the top seed for the season-ending conference tournament that will determine the automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional.

UMO clinched a share of the crown Friday.

Bruce Zimmerman (8-1) yielded nine hits and washed ashore seven Flying Fleet batters on strikeouts in the opener. All four runs were earned. Zach Mozingo posted three ninth-inning strikeouts and earned his conference-leading 11th save of the season.

The Trojans trailed 2-1 before plating five runs during a three-inning stretch. Jason Smith started the offensive surge with a two-run homer in the the fourth. Mozingo added a two-run smash of his own in the fifth and Tony Salvaggio continued the "long-ball" onslaught with a solo shot in the sixth.

Mozingo swatted his second home run in the top of the ninth. The Eastern Wayne alum collected two hits and three RBI. Ellis, Salvaggio and Grant Tyndall also produced two hits apiece.

*

Game 2

The Flying Fleet drew even at 6-6 with a three-run, sixth-inning outburst.

David Mayo drew a lead-off walk to start the UMO seventh. Salvaggio bunted him into scoring position, but Mayo was held up at third on Jack Sherrill's double to center field.

Pinch-hitter Justin Lee was hit by a pitch. Trae Sweeting entered the game to run for Lee and Mozingo drew a bases-loaded walk -- the eventual game-winning RBI. Ricky Surum provided insurance with a two-RBI double down the right-field line.

Trey Pate (5-0) emerged as the winning pitcher in relief of starter Austin Hutchison. The North Duplin grad tossed 1 1/3 innings of one-hit, one-strikeout scoreless relief.

Surum, Sherrill and Jason Smith each turned in a multiple-hit performance as the Trojans clinched the outright regular-season championship -- its 14th in program history.

Mozingo finished with four RBI.

*

Game 3

German Reyes collected his first save of the season -- a 1 1/3-inning of scoreless relief behind bullpen mate Ethan Horne. Brighton Hudson (7-1) started and overcame an uncharacteristic six-walk outing on the cliff.

UMO seized a 3-0 lead in the top half of the first inning and scratched out single runs in the third, fourth, sixth and eighth innings.

Erskine trailed 5-0 until it pushed across a run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Flying Fleet managed eight hits, but left 10 men on base -- and a total of 24 overall for the three-game set.

Sweeting cranked out three hits for the Trojans. Mayo batted 2-for-4 with a walk. Mozingo, Surum (two RBI) and Jose Lopez (RBI) supplied one hit apiece.

Salvaggio plated two runs.

The Trojans (37-7 overall, 21-2 CC) return home Tuesday to face in-state foe Chowan University. The teams will also play Wednesday at Scarborough Field. UMO concludes regular-season play with a three-game conference weekend series against Limestone, which starts Friday.