Mount Olive, NC – Southern Wesleyan dropped the final two games of the series against the University of Mount Olive on Saturday. Mount Olive kept the Warriors off the board in game one as they won in an 11-0 final score. The Warriors challenged in game two, but once again Mount Olive ended up on top with a 7-5 final.
The Warriors picked up three hits in the first game of the day. Perry Dyer had the lone extra base hit of the game as he doubled. Both Kade Bowling and Samuel Simonds had singles. Southern Wesleyan walked twice during the game. Nick Gonsalves started game one on the mound and pitched an inning while striking out one batter. Five Warriors came in to pitch in relief. Tanner Lewis, Gabe Connelly, Kamden Mongan and Caleb Gregory each had strikeouts to their names.
Southern Wesleyan had eight hits in the second game of the afternoon. Both Nolan Evatt and Ethan Shimmel had two hits. Tristan Tillman had the lone multi-base hit of the game in the form of a double. The Warriors walked four times and Tillman, Evatt and Matthew McCaffrey each stole bases. Gavin Chandler started the final game of the series on the mound and pitched seven innings while striking out three batters. Gavin Kent and Coleman Wylie came in to pitch in relief.
Game Vitals
Game One Final: Mount Olive 11, Southern Wesleyan 0
Game Two Final: Mount Olive 7, Southern Wesleyan 5
Records: Southern Wesleyan (9-18 / 4-11 CC) Mount Olive (11-13 / 6-9 CC)
How It Happened
Game One
Mount Olive shut the Warriors out in game one as they brought runs in to score in the first, third and fifth innings to win the game in an 11-0 final.
Game Two
The Warriors were first on the board in game two of the day as they brought their first run in to score in the top of the second inning. With one out, Cole Kirschner walked. However, Matthew McCaffrey hit into a fielder's choice to take Kirschner off the bases. McCaffrey stole second and then came in to score as Harrison Garrett hit a single into left field.
Mount Olive answered in the bottom of the second inning as singles by Tanner Ferguson and Dillon Bullard allowed several runs to come in to score.
Southern Wesleyan fought back to tie the game up at three in the top of the third inning. Tristan Tillman was hit by a pitch and then stole second base. With Tillman in scoring position, Ethan Shimmel hit a single into right field to allow Tillman to come in to score. Perry Dyer walked to bring Kade Bowling up to the plate. Bowling hit a single through the right side of the field to load up the bases for Cole Kirschner. Kirschner hit a sacrifice fly to right field to allow Shimmel to come in to score to tie the game up.
However, back-to-back doubles off the bats of Jakhari Howard and Ryder Hancock in the bottom of the third inning allowed the Trojans to regain a two run lead over the Warriors.
The Warriors fought back in the top of the seventh inning. Tristan Tillman was hit by yet another pitch to lead off the inning. Nolan Evatt hit a single into center field to allow Tillman to advance to third base. With Ethan Shimmel up to bat, a balk was called on the Trojans' pitcher to allow Tillman to come in to score and advanced Evatt to second. Shimmel then sent the ball through the right side for a single to allow Evatt to come in to score to tie the game up at five.
Mount Olive took the lead and the victory in the bottom of the eighth inning as doubles by Ryder Hancock and Tanner Ferguson brought two more runs in to score to give the Trojans a 7-5 run victory over Southern Wesleyan.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will host the Anderson Trojans on March 17 at 4pm. The Warriors will then welcome the North Greenville Trailblazers to Dr. C Keith Connor Field on March 20-21. They will then travel down the road to Anderson, SC to take on the Anderson Trojans on March 24 before traveling on to Franklin Springs, GA on March 27-28 to take on the Emmanuel Lions.
