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Mount Olive (22-1 overall, 11-1 Conference Carolinas) escaped a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first, then got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second. Kyle Hinrichs hit a leadoff triple and scored on a ground out. Hinrichs then belted a two-run homer in the third – his second home run in as many games – and Tyler Smith added an rbi-double to extend the Trojans’ lead to 4-0.

Barton (11-11, 4-8) had a chance to take an early lead as Ryan McCleney led off the game with a single, Aaron Watkins singled one out later and Braxton Lewis drew a two-out walk. But Trojan starter Curtis Hudson ended the threat on a fly out to center.

Hudson (4-0) went on to allow only five hits in six scoreless innings.

An outfield error in the bottom of the fifth, along with rbi-singles by Topher Ellis and Smith brought in the first three runs of the inning. Faison then hit a two-run homer, his first home run as a Trojan, to make the score 9-0. Leeper followed with his 10th home run of the season to give the Trojans back-to-back homers for the fourth time this season.

After a walk to Jesse Lancaster, Jeremy Nowak singled for his second hit of the game. Nowak’s first-inning single extended his season-opening hitting streak to 23 games. Mike Knox, who homered in both ends of Sunday’s doubleheader, doubled home both runners to cap the inning and give the Trojans a 12-0 lead.

Mount Olive added four runs in the sixth as Faison, Leeper and Lancaster connected on consecutive doubles and Dan Hayduk hit a solo home run, his second homer of the series and fifth of the season. Thomas McAlpine finished off the scoring with his first home run as a Trojan, a two-run shot in the seventh.

Chris Rawlings’ leadoff home run in the top of the ninth prevented Mount Olive’s second shutout of the series.

Mount Olive returns to action Wednesday as the Trojans play host to two West Virginia teams in a day-night doubleheader at Scarborough Field. Mount Olive takes on Shepherd at 1 p.m., then faces Fairmont State at 5 p.m. The Trojans also host Fairmont State Thursday at 2 p.m.

The Trojans fell 8-4 in the opener as a late rally came up short. Allie Marshall hit a two-run homer for Catawba.

Mount Olive (8-15) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first in the nightcap as Katie Devenuto drew a leadoff walk and eventually scored on Aubrey Reinhard’s two-out single up the middle. Robbin Kennedy nearly followed with an extra-base hit to the gap in left-center, but Catawba centerfielder Carly Sabat made a long running catch to end the inning.

The Trojans capitalized on a fielding miscue for two unearned runs in the third inning. Danielle Mitchell scored from first and Kelly Minshew advanced all the way to third on an errant throw to first on Minshew’s ground ball. Minshew came home on another rbi-single by Reinhard to extend Mount Olive’s lead to 3-0.

Catawba (19-10) chipped away at the lead as Tara Gibbs hit a one-out solo home run in the top of the fourth to put the Indians on the scoreboard. The home run was Gibbs’ 11th of the season. A pair of singles gave Catawba runners on first and second, but Trojan third baseman Allison Czerski fielded a grounder, stepped on the bag and threw to first for an inning-ending 5-3 double play.

Trojan starting pitcher Sasha Snyder (4-1) overcame singles in the first two innings and retired the side in order in the third. But Catawba pulled within 3-2 on Kathryn Geouge’s one-out rbi-double in the fifth and Saunders took over for Snyder. Saunders got out of the inning on a pair of fly outs to left as Devenuto caught Marshall’s ball just in front of the fence to end the inning.

Mitchell reached on an infield single to the pitcher with one out in the bottom of the fifth when nobody was able to cover first base. Minshew followed with an opposite-field double to right-center to bring home Mitchell. Walks to Reinhard and Kennedy loaded the bases and Taylor drove in two runs on a ball that landed just in front of the centerfield fence.

Catawba put runners on the corners in the sixth inning, but Saunders got out of the inning with an infield pop-out. Saunders caught a line drive for the first out of the seventh inning, but then ran into trouble as the top of the Indian lineup came up.

Geouge drew a walk, Sabat singled to center and a throwing error loaded the bases. But Saunders induced back-to-back infield pop-outs to seal the win.

Game one was a series of near misses for Mount Olive in the early innings. Taylor led off the bottom of the second with a line drive to the gap in right-center, but Sabat’s diving catch prevented an extra-base hit. With two outs in the third, Minshew came within inches of a two-run homer, but Indian left fielder Amanda Terry made the catch right at the fence.

Catawba broke a scoreless tie in the top of the third as Geouge singled in the first run and Marshall just cleared the centerfield fence to give the Indians a 3-0 lead. The home run was Marshall’s ninth of the season. Catawba added two runs in the fifth inning and extended the lead to 8-0 as Brittney Thornburg’s rbi-double highlighted a three-run sixth inning.

Mount Olive avoided a run-rule shutout loss as Minshew led off the bottom of the sixth with a single, stole second with one out and came home on Taylor’s single through the right side. Pinch-runner Mitchell advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches and scored on Mandy Hensley’s single. Hensley eventually scored on Czerski’s single to pull the Trojans within 8-3.

After Trojan relief pitcher Kristin Ware set Catawba down in order in the top of the seventh, Reinhard led off the bottom of the seventh with a pinch-hit double. Mount Olive pushed a run across the plate and had runners on the corners with two outs after a dropped infield pop fly kept the inning alive. But the rally ended on a foul out.

Catawba starting pitcher Brittany Murray (13-1) pitched five scoreless innings before coming out at the start of the sixth, then re-entered in the seventh to close out the win. Trojan starter Lauren Darden (2-10) retired the first five batters she faced and overcame a pair of two-out base runners in the second before running into trouble in the third.

Both teams reached double figures in hits, 10 for Mount Olive and 12 for Catawba.

Mount Olive returns to action Wednesday as the Trojans play host to St. Andrews in a Conference Carolinas doubleheader. The contests mark the conference openers for the Trojans after two conference dates were rained out last week. Game time is 5 p.m. at Nancy Chapman Cassell Field.

Maul bested the school record by more than six meters with a distance of 32.74 meters on her third and final attempt. Also a member of the Mount Olive women’s volleyball team, Maul is in her first season with the Trojan women’s track and field team.

Murphy eclipsed his own school record with a distance of 48.02 meters on his first of three attempts. A sophomore, Murphy set the previous record last year with a distance of 41.16 meters.

Maul and Murphy were among five Trojans to break existing school records for Mount Olive men’s and women’s track and field.

Kerry Maloney finished fourth out of 24 runners in the men’s 5,000 meters with a time of 15:28.76. He beat his personal best by 30 seconds and shattered the previous school mark by nearly three minutes.

Keonta Coleman placed 17th out of 50 runners in the men’s 400 meters with a time of 50.48 seconds. The previous school record was 52.05 seconds.

Denise Harrison broke school records in both the women’s discus and shot put. Harrison finished 19th out of 43 competitors in the discus with a distance of 34.67 meters, beating the previous record by more than four meters. She also tied for 26th out of 54 competitors in the shot put with 10.59 meters, edging the previous school record by 0.34 meters.

In addition, Paul Hoffman finished third out of 27 competitors in the men’s 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of 9:48.55. Hoffman became the first Mount Olive College student-athlete to compete in the steeplechase.

Mount Olive returns to action this weekend as the Trojans head to Winston-Salem, N.C., Friday and Saturday to compete in the Wake Forest University Invitational.

Maul bested the school record by more than six meters with a distance of 32.74 meters on her third and final attempt. Also a member of the Mount Olive women’s volleyball team, Maul is in her first season with the Trojan women’s track and field team.

Murphy eclipsed his own school record with a distance of 48.02 meters on his first of three attempts. A sophomore, Murphy set the previous record last year with a distance of 41.16 meters.

Maul and Murphy were among five Trojans to break existing school records for Mount Olive men’s and women’s track and field.

Kerry Maloney finished fourth out of 24 runners in the men’s 5,000 meters with a time of 15:28.76. He beat his personal best by 30 seconds and shattered the previous school mark by nearly three minutes.

Keonta Coleman placed 17th out of 50 runners in the men’s 400 meters with a time of 50.48 seconds. The previous school record was 52.05 seconds.

Denise Harrison broke school records in both the women’s discus and shot put. Harrison finished 19th out of 43 competitors in the discus with a distance of 34.67 meters, beating the previous record by more than four meters. She also tied for 26th out of 54 competitors in the shot put with 10.59 meters, edging the previous school record by 0.34 meters.

In addition, Paul Hoffman finished third out of 27 competitors in the men’s 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of 9:48.55. Hoffman became the first Mount Olive College student-athlete to compete in the steeplechase.

Mount Olive returns to action this weekend as the Trojans head to Winston-Salem, N.C., Friday and Saturday to compete in the Wake Forest University Invitational.

Dan Hayduk went 3-for-4 with a home run and four runs batted in, while Sean Lydon tossed a seven-inning complete game as nationally second-ranked Mount Olive 9-1 in game one of a Conference Carolinas baseball doubleheader Sunday at Scarborough Field. The Trojans took the nightcap 12-0 as Carter Capps recorded his second shutout of the season and Mike Knox’s two-run homer capped an eight-run third inning.

Knox, who leads the conference with 15 home runs, also homered in game one. Jeremy Nowak hit safe in both games to extend his season-opening hitting streak to 22 games.

Mount Olive (21-1 overall, 10-1 Conference Carolinas) broke a scoreless tie with three runs in the bottom of the second inning of the opener. Knox led off with a single and Hayduk followed with his fourth home run of the season. The Trojans added two more runs in the third on a two-run homer by Knox.

Daniel Coffey doubled home two runs in the fifth inning and Hayduk capped the scoring with a bases-loaded two-run single in the sixth.

Lydon (6-0) retired nine of the first 11 batters he faced and got a double play ball to end the fourth inning. Barton (11-10, 4-7) loaded the bases in the fifth, but Lydon ended the threat with a ground out. A throwing error led to an unearned run in the top of the seventh. Lydon struck out two and scattered seven hits.

Mount Olive defeated Barton 12-0 in the second game of the doubleheader. Mike Knox two run homer capped an eight run third inning and Carter Capps tossed his second shutout of the season. Capps scattered six hits, striking out five and walking none.

In the nightcap, Mount Olive led 2-0 after two innings when Knox and Hayduk led off the bottom of the third with back-to-back doubles. Coffey and Nowak added two-run singles to extend the lead to 8-0. Knox came up for the second time in the inning and blasted a two-run homer high over the left field fence to bring the Trojans to a 10-0 lead.

Kyle Hinrichs added a two-run homer in the fifth inning. The home run was Hinrichs' first of the season.

Barton threatened in the first inning when Aaron Watkins singled with two outs and Sam Pepper doubled, but Capps (5-0) got out of the inning with a ground out. After the first inning, Capps retired 19 of the final 23 batters he faced, retiring the side in order in the second and fifth innings.

Capps scattered six hits, striking out five and walking none.

The two teams conclude their three-game series with a single game Monday at Scarborough Field. Game time is 2 p.m.

Mount Olive (10-2) opened play Friday with a 30-24, 30-17, 30-26 win over Lancaster Bible College, then defeated SUNYIT 30-17, 30-27, 30-18. Saturday, the Trojans defeated New Paltz 27-30, 30-14, 30-22 and New Haven 30-16, 30-18, 30-19.

Against Lancaster Bible College, setter Alex Hoekstra matched a career high with 62 assists and broke his own school record for most assists in a three-set match. Mount Olive set a school record with a .632 team hitting percentage against SUNYIT.

Jose Lanier became the first player in school history to record a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage with at least 10 kills in a match, recording 12 kills with no errors in 12 attempts against New Paltz. The Trojans also set a school team record in the match with 18 blocks. Mount Olive, which had 15.5 blocks against SUNYIT, added 15 blocks against New Haven.

Mount Olive returns to action Thursday as the Trojans travel to Harrisonburg, Va., to compete in the Eastern Mennonite Tri-Match. Mount Olive takes on Washington Adventist at 5 p.m., then face Eastern Mennonite at 7 p.m.

Friday, the Trojans head to Banner Elk, N.C., for a Conference Carolinas match-up against Lees-McRae. Mount Olive (4-1 Conference Carolinas) trails Lees-McRae by a half-game in the conference standings. The match was originally scheduled for February, but was postponed due to snow.

In their final collegiate game, Mike Holloman recorded a double-double with game highs of 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Kendrick Easley added 15 points and five assists. Easley finishes his career with school records of 2,261 career points and 684 points for the season.

“I’m sitting between two guys I’ll miss dearly,” Trojan head coach Joey Higginbotham said of Easley and Holloman during the post-game press conference. “Kendrick is not only one of the best shooters in the nation, he’s a 3.0 student. Mike has been a great leader and has played every position since he’s been here.”

Mount Olive trailed by 15 at halftime and was down 46-30 with 18:50 left in the game. The score and the time brought a sense of déjà vu for Mount Olive: the Trojans trailed Shippensburg by the identical score with 18:51 remaining in the first round of the 2006 NCAA II East Regional. Mount Olive rallied for an 86-83 victory.

The Trojans appeared on their way to make lightning strike twice as Easley hit a pair of free throws and a three-pointer, and Craig Hayes added a short jumper to cut the margin to single digits. Easley’s three-pointer was Mount Olive’s first since Hayes connected from beyond the arc on the Trojans’ opening possession.

A steal by Lamonte’ Theus led to a pair of free throws by Holloman and Easley added two more free throws. Theus made another steal and finished with a fastbreak layup to cap a 13-0 run and pull Mount Olive within 46-43 with 16:09 remaining.

Hayes forced a Montevallo turnover to give Mount Olive a chance to tie the game. But the Trojans turned the ball back over and Montevallo (24-7) ended a four-minute scoring drought on Cecil Coleman’s putback with 14:56 left to play.

Holloman’s layup pulled Mount Olive back within three, but three-pointers by Tauras Dortch, Freddy Little and Demarcus Richard highlighted a 12-4 Montevallo run and pushed the margin back to double digits at 59-49 with 9:12 remaining.

Layups by Hayes and Theus helped bring the Trojans within 61-55 with 7:43 left, but that was as close as Mount Olive would get the rest of the way. The margin was in double figures for the final four minutes of the game.

“It wasn’t our day,” said Higginbotham. “Montevallo’s a very good team. They’re a heck of a seven seed.”

After Hayes hit a three-pointer 26 seconds into the contest, Mount Olive missed on its next 13 attempts from beyond the arc. The Trojans finished 3-for-26 from three-point range.

“We had good looks and those were shots we normally make,” said Higginbotham. “They just weren’t falling today.”

Montevallo used an 11-3 run to build an early five-point lead before Easley’s steal led to Brandon Allen’s fastbreak layup and the Trojans tied the game 13-13 with 12:07 left in the first half.

Montevallo broke a 15-15 tie on Gerald January’s slam dunk putback and Coleman’s three-point play gave the Falcons another five-point advantage at 22-17 with 9:04 left. Mount Olive pulled within three on Mahamed Ibrahim’s basket, but Little keyed a 14-4 run with a pair of three-pointers to extend Montevallo’s lead to 36-23 with 3:39 remaining.

Montevallo took its biggest lead of the half at 40-25 on Mark Plaza’s steal and uncontested layup with 1:34 left in the half. Hayes’ putback and Holloman’s layup off of Allen’s steal pulled Mount Olive within 40-29 at halftime.

January converted a three-point play on Montevallo’s opening possession of the second half and after a Trojan free throw, Dortch’s basket gave the Falcons a 16-point lead, their biggest of the contest. Mount Olive would score the next 13 points to get back in the game, but the comeback would fall short.

Hayes scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half for Mount Olive, while Allen finished with eight points. Allen and Hayes pulled down six rebounds apiece. Theus led all players with three steals.

Little led four Montevallo players in double figures with 20 points, including six three-pointers. Dortch finished with 18 points, January had 15 points and Coleman added 12 points and eight rebounds. Plaza dished out a game-high seven assists. Montevallo has never lost in the first or second round of an NCAA II Regional.

Both games in the first session ended in upsets. In the opener, No. 6 seed USC Aiken defeated third-seeded and nationally 17th-ranked Georgia College and State 50-46.

While disappointed in the outcome of Saturday’s game, both Easley and Holloman had positive reflections on their four years at Mount Olive.

“It’s been a great experience at Mount Olive,” said Easley, a two-time Conference Carolinas Men’s Basketball Player of the Year. “We’ve had a great coaching staff and a lot of great guys here on the team. There’s always been a great sense of unity. For me personally, Coach (Higginbotham) has made me a hundred times better. He’s always pushed me, never let me be satisfied.”

“It’s been a good ride,” said Holloman. “Coach gave me a scholarship on the spot when nobody else would give me a chance. I’ve learned a lot from the coaches and from all of the guys, and hopefully that’ll help get me to the next level. It’s hard to end it here, but we’ve got to move on.”

Jeremy Nowak hit a tie-breaking two-run single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and Jeremy Hall pitched four scoreless innings in relief as nationally second-ranked Mount Olive pulled out a 3-1 victory over Davis & Elkins in non-conference baseball Wednesday at Scarborough Field. The win gives the Trojans a two-game sweep in the series.

Davis & Elkins pitcher Jake Ross went the distance and allowed only six hits as the Senators became the first team this season to hold the Trojans under five runs. A close call in the top of the ninth helped Mount Olive hold on for the win.

The game was tied 1-1 when Ryan Faison drew a one-out walk, stole second and advanced to third on a ground out. Jesse Lancaster walked and stole second without a throw as Mount Olive (19-1) put two runners in scoring position. Nowak, who was in danger of going hitless for the first time this season, lined an opposite field single to left to bring in two runs and extend his hitting streak to 20. Nowak drove in all three Trojan runs.

After David Combs retired the Senators in order in the top of the eighth, Ryan Williams took over to start the ninth. Aaron Hallett drilled a pitch down the first base line past the bag, but the ball was ruled foul. Hallett continued to run all the bases and after a discussion by the two umpires, the call remained foul. Williams retired Hallett on a ground out.

The call loomed large as Eric Doyle singled to left and Nathan Smith looped an infield single in front of the second base bag. Trojan shortstop Faison slid in front of the bag to keep the ball in the infield. Williams struck out the next batter and earned his first save of the season on a line out to Nowak in right.

Mount Olive got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first as Bobby Leeper led off with a triple and came home on Nowak’s sacrifice fly. But that would be the Trojans’ only run until the seventh inning.

Trojan starting pitcher Jared Mortensen needed only four pitches in a three up-three down first inning and retired the first seven batters he faced before allowing a one-out single to Josh Lopez in the top of the third. Davis & Elkins (8-6) tied the game when Lopez scored from second on Nick Testa’s rbi-single.

Hall (1-0) took over for Mortensen with nobody out in the top of the fourth after Davis & Elkins put runners on first and second. Trojan first baseman Airlon Vinson prevented an eventual run, charging down the line and fielding a hard-hit bunt on one bounce to throw out the lead runner at third. Smith singled to load the bases, but Hall got out of the inning on a 6-3 double play as Vinson fielded a throw in the dirt to keep the game tied.

Hall retired nine of the next 11 batters, the only two baserunners reaching on an error and a single. Davis & Elkins collected seven hits against four Trojan pitchers.

Mount Olive resumes conference play this weekend as the Trojans play host to Barton in a three-game Conference Carolinas series at Scarborough Field. The two teams play a doubleheader Saturday beginning at noon, then conclude the series with a single game Sunday at 1 p.m.

Davis & Elkins continues its spring break swing through North Carolina as the Senators take on St. Augustine’s for a doubleheader Thursday beginning at 1 p.m. The games will be played at the USA Baseball National Training Center in Cary, site of the 2009, 2010 and 2011 NCAA Division II Baseball National Finals. Mount Olive and Town of Cary are co-hosts of the National Finals.