GREENWOOD, S.C. — The University of Mount Olive baseball team opened its weekend series in strong fashion Friday afternoon, defeating Lander 9–3 at Dolny Stadium.
The Trojans scored in four different innings and relied on a dominant pitching performance to keep the Bearcats off the scoreboard over the final five frames.
Mount Olive struck first in the top of the second inning as Mike Gales led off with a double and later scored on an RBI single by Chris Tepatti, giving the Trojans an early 1–0 lead. Lander responded in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single to tie the game at 1–1.
The Trojans regained momentum in the fourth inning after loading the bases. Ryder Hancock brought home Jakhari Howard with a sacrifice fly, and Kayden Crawford followed with a two-run single to extend Mount Olive’s lead to 4–1.
Lander narrowed the gap in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run triple, cutting the deficit to 4–3, but Mount Olive answered immediately. In the fifth inning, Howard delivered a clutch two-run triple to center field, pushing the lead to 6–3.
Mount Olive added insurance in the seventh inning when Tepatti recorded his third hit of the game, an RBI single that scored Josh Mason. The Trojans put the game away in the eighth as Howard drove in two more runs with a single, extending the advantage to 9–3.
Carson Gipson earned the win on the mound, allowing three runs on five hits over five innings while striking out three. Aiden Newton closed the door with a save, throwing four hitless innings and striking out four. Together, the duo limited Lander to just five total hits.
Mount Olive continues the three-game series against Lander on Saturday, with a doubleheader scheduled to begin at noon.
