MOC sports digest

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on March 12, 2008 2:58 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Freshman Aubrey Reinhard ripped her first-ever collegiate home run as Mount Olive swept in-state foe Fayetteville State University on Tuesday afternoon.

Reinhard, who starred at Rosewood High, belted the round-tripper as the Trojans defeated the Bulldogs 8-0 in game two. In the opener, Anna Turvin tossed a one-hitter and Jenny Jackson plated four runs in a 10-1 victory.

Turvin (4-4) surrendered a first-inning home run and didn't allow a hit the final four innings against the Bulldogs. She posted back-to-back 1-2-3 innings in the fourth and fifth, and finished with four strikeouts.

Jackson homered and doubled, while catcher Bailey Harrell batted 2-for-3 and scored three runs. Freshman Kelly Minshew contributed two hits and two RBI. Former Southern Wayne standout Karen Thornton supplied two doubles and an RBI in three at-bats.

In game two, Jackson (7-4) threw a one-hitter and recorded eight strikeouts in a complete-game effort. The junior right-hander retired the final 12 batters she faced after yielding a second-inning single.

Thornton ended the contest 2-for-3.

Both games were shortened to five innings due to the mercy rule.

Mount Olive (11-8 overall) entertains Catawba at 4 p.m. Thursday. The Trojans continue defense of their Conference Carolinas regular-season title Saturday at Lees-McRae. They return home Sunday for a doubleheader against St. Andrews.

Tennis

MOUNT OLIVE -- Mount Olive prevailed in five of six singles matches and routed Division I George Mason University 8-1 on the Walker Tennis Center courts Tuesday afternoon.

Indradeep Mitra, Guilherme Serra, Alex Queiros, Fred Barros and Aldo Barba each collected a straight-set singles win. Serra, the No. 3 seed, outlasted the Patriots Dan Schneider 6-1, 7-6 (2).

Queiros-Daniel Mosteanu, Vitor Lage-Serra and Mitra-Barros each earned a doubles point.

The Trojans improved to 7-6 overall.

Carol Aro and Kristen Jones each posted a singles win as the Trojan women fell to George Mason 6-3. Aro-Jennifer Moats captured a point at No. 3 doubles.

Both Mount Olive teams return to action today at Campbell University.

Men's basketball

One week after tumbling out of the NABC Division II men's top 25 basketball poll, Mount Olive is back.

The Trojans, the 2008 Conference Carolinas regular-season and tournament champions, are No. 23 in the final regular-season poll. Mount Olive (24-6 overall) had been ranked for 11 of 14 weeks and has received votes in every poll this season.

Coach Bill Clingan's team earned its first-ever automatic bid and unprecedented fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II East Regional. The second-seeded Trojans oppose seventh-seeded Pittsburg-Johnstown (Pa.) on Saturday at California (Pa.) University. Tip-off is 2:30 p.m.

The regional winner advances to the Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass.

Streeter, Easley picked

Brandon Streeter, the 2007-08 Conference Carolinas player of the year, is a first-team selection on the Daktronics All-East Region squad.

Sophomore Kendrick Easley garnered second-team honors.

A 6-foot-6 senior from Jacksonville, Streeter ranks third nationally in field-goal percentage (.675) and finished the top scorer (18 points) and rebounder (9.1) in conference play this season. He has posted 13 double-doubles this season, including a career-best 21-rebound effort in the Conference Carolinas tournament semifinals against defending national champion Barton.

Easley, a 6-1 Virginia native, was tabbed the Division II Bulletin national player of the month in November. He averaged 17.4 points per outing and is nationally ranked in free-throw percentage (.820).

Baseball

For the second time this season, Mount Olive swept the Conference Carolinas player and pitcher of the week awards.

Alex Vertcnik copped the player honor, while Weston Curles received pitching accolades. Vertcnik's three-RBI double highlighted a game-breaking, seven-run outburst against then No. 10-ranked Francis Marion (S.C.) University. He hit .545 for the week with four extra-base hits, three doubles and a homer, in 11 official at-bats.

Vertcnik has hit safely in seven straight games.

Curles scattered four hits in the victory over FMU and retired 11 of the final 13 batters he faced. A double-play grounder helped Curles wiggle out of a first-inning jam, then he notched back-to-back strikeouts to escape fourth-inning trouble.

Mount Olive (23-1 overall) entertains Bryant (R.I.) for a doubleheader today and single game Thursday. The Trojans continue defense of their Conference Carolinas regular-season title at home Saturday against archrival Barton College. The doubleheader begins at noon on the Scarborough Field diamond.