TIGERVILLE, S.C. – The University of Mount Olive baseball program had its season come to a close in the NCAA Southeast Regional after splitting a pair of elimination games on Saturday afternoon, posting a 3-2 win over Wingate before dropping a 4-3 decision against Georgia College at Ashemore Park.
With the split, the Trojans close the 2024 season with a 39-18 overall mark while posting a 2-2 record in the NCAA Regionals.
Mount Olive made its 20th appearance in the NCAA Tournament after earning the No. 3 seed and an at-large bid to the postseason.
Against Wingate, sophomore Carson Gipson delivered an outstanding performance on the mound after yielding one earned run on four hits with two strikeouts and one walk in 6 1/3 innings pitched. He faced 24 batters on Saturday while forcing 12 groundouts and five flyouts.
Redshirt senior Greyson Linderman earned the win (4-3) after surrendering one earned run on two hits in two innings of relief.
Senior Andrew Ledbetter secured the save after recording the final two outs of the game with one strikeout.
Following a scoreless first inning, the Bulldogs took a 1-0 advantage with an RBI single to right-center in the top of the second. Both offenses were kept in check over the next two frames before the Trojans tied the contest at 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth.
Redshirt junior Case Kermode produced a leadoff double to left field before advancing to third on a wild pitch. With one out, redshirt freshman Jon Howard hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Kermode.
Mount Olive stranded a pair of runners in the scoring position in the bottom of the sixth before Wingate also left runners on second and third in the top of the seventh.
In the bottom of the seventh, UMO drew back-to-back walks to begin the frame before a flyout down the right-field line put runners on the corners.
With one out, graduate student Dylan Jeffries drove in the run on a fielder’s choice to take a 2-1 lead. The next at-bat, graduate student Landon Choboy hit a single to center field before senior Alden Cottle laced an RBI single to right field, 3-1.
The Bulldogs closed the gap to 3-2 in the top of the ninth with a solo homer to left-center before placing runners on the corners with one out. Ledbetter entered the game and registered a strikeout and a pop-out to capture the 3-2 win.
Cottle finished 3-for-4 at the plate with one RBI and one stolen base against Wingate.
Against Georgia College, the Trojans established a 1-0 advantage in the top of the first inning. Senior Vito Patierno delivered a leadoff single up the middle before Choboy laced a double off the pitcher, which ended up in right field. With one out, Cottle delivered a sacrifice fly to center field.
In the bottom of the second, the Bobcats tied the contest at 1-1 following a sacrifice fly to left-center.
The Trojans responded with consecutive singles to begin the top of the third before Jeffries recorded an RBI on a fielder’s choice, 2-1.
In the bottom half of the frame, Georgia College once again knotted the game up with a solo homer to right field, 2-2. The Bobcats took their first lead in the bottom of the fourth after tallying two runs on three hits, 4-2.
Mount Olive left a runner on third in the top of the fifth and seventh innings before attempting a late rally in the ninth. Kermode belted a solo homer to right field, his team-leading ninth of the season, to cut the deficit to 4-3.
With two outs, senior Joshua Kabayama laced a single up the middle before Patierno followed with another single to place runners on the corners. A flyout to left-center close out the game and Georgia College advanced to the Super Regionals.
Kayabama finished 4-for-4 with one run scored and a stolen base. Patierno went 3-for-5 with one run scored.
