• Box Score

MT. OLIVE, N.C. (March 8) – Despite collecting 12 hits and trailing 4-2 after four innings, the California University of Pennsylvania baseball team suffered a 12-3 loss to No. 28 Mount Olive on Thursday afternoon at Scarborough Field.

With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 7-5 overall after opening the year with a 6-1 mark. The Trojans, who were ranked in the top 10 of the preseason polls, improve to 11-5 this season after being ranked No. 1 earlier this year.

Mount Olive took a 2-0 lead in the first while facing freshman left-hander Dave Kucenic (South Park, Pa./South Park), who made his first career start on Thursday. The Vulcans answered by scoring two runs in the top of the second to tie the game at 2-2. Senior second baseman Kyle Bowser (Stoystown, Pa./North Star) reached on a single and stole second before scoring on an RBI single by freshman shortstop Matt Peters (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby), who advanced to second on the throw to the plate. With runners on the corners, Peters was tagged out on a double-steal attempt before sophomore designated hitter Joey Borrelli (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) followed with an RBI single.

The Trojans reclaimed the lead in the fourth on a two-run homer by right fielder Will Bynum, 4-2, before breaking the game open in the bottom of the fifth. The first six batters for Mount Olive in the fifth reached base safely and eventually scored, as the inning featured five hits and three walks. Cal U had the bases loaded in the sixth on three-straight singles before Borrelli delivered a two-out RBI single to center field, 10-3.

In the sixth, Mount Olive added a pair of insurance runs to stretch the lead to 12-3 behind two hits and two walks.

Kucenic (0-1) was saddled with the loss after allowing eight runs (all earned) on eight hits and two walks in 4.0-plus innings (76 pitches). The Vulcans used five relievers in the loss with each facing six batters or fewer. Trojans starter Zach Smith (2-2) earned the win after yielding three runs (all earned) on nine hits in 5.2 innings (80 pitches) of work.

Borrelli set a career high with three hits in the loss, finishing 3-for-4 with two RBI. Bowser and Peters each collected a pair of hits on Thursday and sophomore left fielder Ben Carson (Coal Center, Pa./California) extended his hitting streak to eight games with a second-inning single.

The Vulcans return to action on Saturday, March, 10, when they open play in Georgia at the Savannah Invitational against Le Moyne (N.Y.), who played the last 20-plus years at the NCAA Division I level.