Box Score by Cory Guinn
MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. – For the first time in six years, the Barton College baseball team knocked off in-state rival University of Mount Olive 5-3 on Friday afternoon at Scarborough Field.
Nationally ranked No. 2 Mount Olive (17-5, 8-1) possesses one of the top offensive in Division II, however, the Trojan bats were shut down by senior right-hander Zach Breen all game long. Breen (3-1) earned his third win of the season with his second complete game performance, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits with seven strikeouts and a career-high 122 pitches in the game.
Barton (9-10, 4-5) used 11 hits, including two extra base hits and four walks, to hand Mount Olive starter Gunnar Kines (4-1) his first loss of the season and the Trojans their second loss in a row and first in Conference Carolinas play.
After a scoreless first inning for both sides, sophomore Andrew Webster hit a solo home run over the left field fence, his third long ball of the season, to give Barton an early 1-0 lead in the second inning.
The Trojans put runner on second and third in the bottom of the second but Breen got DeAndre Allen to swing and miss for his first strikeout of the game to get out of trouble.
Mount Olive and Barton were once again scoreless in the third inning of play as Webster led off the top of the fourth with a single up the middle on the first pitch of the at-bat. Webster would score in the next at-bat by Shawn Montren who reached on a throwing error by Allen, allowing the runner to score from first and give Barton a 2-0 lead.
The Trojan offense broke through in the bottom of the fourth with a sacrifice fly from catcher Brett Lang for the first run of the game before taking a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning on a two-run home run from Kilgore Gailmard to center field.
Barton would regain the lead with a two-run seventh, beginning with a walk to senior Mitchell Wheeler who advance to second on a sacrifice bunt from sophomore Calvin Hawke.
Wheeler moved over to third after a ground out before a double from fellow senior Spiers Miller down the left field line tied the game at 3-3. With two-out and a runner on second, senior Avery Harper singled through the left side to bring Miller across the plate and give the Bulldogs a 4-3 lead.
An RBI-single from sophomore Jacob Willis extended the Barton lead to a 5-3 advantage in the eighth inning, as Breen recorded three strikeouts in the final inning of play to secure the road victory for the Bulldogs.
Miller finished the game 2-for-3 with a double, a run scored, and RBI and a walk, while Harper was 3-for-5 with an RBI of his own. Webster went 2-for-4 in the game with a home run, a run scored and an RBI as Garrett was 2-for-5 from the lead-off spot.
Barton and Mount Olive will conclude the three-game series on Sunday, March 15 in Mount Olive, N.C. with a doubleheader scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
