MOUNT OLIVE – In the home opener at Scarborough Field, the University of Mount Olive baseball team split a non-conference doubleheader versus Kutztown on Saturday afternoon, posting a 12-6 victory in Game 1 before falling short in a 9-7 loss in Game 2.

With the split, the Trojans hold a 4-2 overall record after opening the season with four straight road games last week. Meanwhile, the Golden Bears open the 2024 campaign with a 1-1 mark after being picked fifth in the preseason Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East poll.

In Game 1, Mount Olive rallied from a 6-1 deficit after the fourth innings and scored 11 unanswered runs to secure the opening game of the series. The Trojans totaled a season-high 16 hits with six players recording multiple-hit performances. Senior Vito Patierno finished 3-for-4 with one RBI, one walk, and three runs scored, while graduate student Landon Choboy went 3-for-5 with an RBI.

Kutztown quickly established a 1-0 lead in the top of the first with an RBI single to center field with two outs. UMO responded in the bottom half of the inning after Patierno scored on a passed ball to tie the game at 1-1. Following a pair of scoreless innings, the Golden Bears scored five runs in the top of the fourth after four straight batters were hit by a pitch and the inning continued on an error in the infield, 6-1.

The Trojans began their rally in the bottom of the fifth, as redshirt sophomore Anthony Mitta delivered a two-run single up the middle with two outs before Choboy laced an RBI single up the middle to cut the deficit to 6-4. In the bottom half of the sixth, Patierno produced an RBI single to right field with a pair of runners on base before a throwing error by the right fielder allowed the game-tying run to score, 6-6. In the next at-bat, senior Alden Cottle ripped a double to left field to give UMO its first lead of the game, 7-6.

In the bottom of the seventh, senior Dylan Jeffries blasted a two-run homer to right field, his first of the season, to extend the lead to 9-7. In the next inning, junior Cooper George, redshirt junior Case Kermode, and Jeffries all registered an RBI to stretch the advantage to 12-6.

Redshirt senior Greyson Linderman earned the win (1-1) after tossing 4.2 innings of scoreless relief with seven strikeouts and a pair of walks. Redshirt freshman Carter Gipson closed the game with 1.0 inning of relief and two strikeouts in his two appearances of the season.

In Game 2, the Golden Bears climbed ahead in the top of the third with five unearned runs, 5-0. The Trojans trimmed the deficit in the bottom of the third with an RBI single from senior Joshua Kabayama. 5-1. In the bottom of the fourth, Mount Olive tallied four runs on three hits with Patierno and graduate student Gordon Pihl recording RBI singles, while Kabayama laced a two-run single to center field, 5-5.

Kutztown regained the lead in the top of the fifth on a solo homer to right field, but the Trojans quickly countered with a two-run single through the right side from sophomore Lane McLean, 7-6. The Golden Bears answered back with an RBI single in the sixth before scoring twice in the seventh to take a 9-7 edge. The comeback fell short in the ninth, as the Trojans stranded a base runner on third.

Senior Andrew Ledbetter was saddled with the loss (0-1) after yielding three earned runs on five hits in 2.0 innings of relief. Redshirt senior starter Erik Johnson took a no-decision after surrendering six runs (one earned) on four hits with seven strikeouts in 4.1 innings on the mound.