Wesleyan falls to 3rd-ranked Trojans
in season opener, 10-2
Mount Olive, NC - Starting
pitcher Jesse Lancaster escaped a first-inning jam
and went on to retire 13 consecutive batters,
leading his 3rd-ranked Mount Olive Trojans to a 10-2
win over North Carolina Wesleyan on Tuesday
afternoon at Scarborough Field. Jason Sherrer got
the offense started with a three-run homer in the
bottom of the first for the Trojans, who are ranked
No. 3 in the Ping Baseball Division II Top 30 and
No. 4 in the Collegiate Baseball Division II Top 30.
The contest was originally
scheduled for Wednesday, but was moved up a day in
anticipation of severe weather forecast for the area.
The game was the season opener for North Carolina
Wesleyan.
Mount Olive (3-1) escaped
trouble in the top of the first after Travis Beausoleil
and Matt Smith led off with consecutive singles and
Chris Pecora reached on a bunt single to load the bases.
Lancaster responded by striking out the next batter and
forcing a fly out to shallow center and a force out to
get out of the inning.
Lancaster (1-0) retired the
side in order in each of the next three innings and
allowed only one more baserunner, a single with one out
in the fifth. Lancaster allowed four hits with no walks
and four strikeouts in six scoreless innings.
After the first two Trojans
were retired in the bottom of the first, Rich Racobaldo
singled through the right side and Erik Lovett walked to
put runners on first and second. Sherrer followed by
blasting a pitch high over the left field fence for his
second home run of the season to give Mount Olive a 3-0
lead.
David Cooper’s RBI-single
brought home a run in the second and a pair of errors
led to two unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth as
Mount Olive went up 6-0. The Trojans then broke the game
open with four runs in the bottom of the sixth for a
10-0 MOC lead.
Wesleyan (0-1) got on the
scoreboard in top of the ninth when freshmen Andrew Webb
and Jason Gay ripped two-out RBI-singles. Trojan pitcher
Kyle Jones then got a strikeout to end the game.
Bishop starter Ben Moore
(0-1) took the loss. Moore struck out one and walked one
in four innings pitched.
The Bishops return to action this
weekend when they play host to Eastern Mennonite for a
three-game non-conference series. The two teams play a
doubleheader Saturday beginning at 11:00 a.m., followed
by a single game on Sunday slated for 2:00 p.m.
