Thomasville, N.C.----Conference Carolinas Pitcher of the Year
Gunnar Kines tossed a complete game four-hitter Thursday afternoon, leading the second-seeded Mount Olive Trojans to a 5-1 victory over fifth-seeded Wingate University on day one of the 2015 NCAA Southeast Regional Tournament at Finch Field. Mount Olive improves to 38-14 overall, while Wingate falls to 32-25 on the year.
The Bulldogs will play in an elimination game Friday morning at 11 a.m. Wingate will face the loser of Thursday night's Catawba vs. North Greenville contest. The Trojans will face North Georgia Friday at 7 p.m.
Justin Manning was one-for-two with a homer and two RBI to lead the Mount Olive attack.
Kilgore Gailmard added a double and two RBI, while Conference Carolinas Player of the Year
Jason Morozowski also had a hit and an RBI for the Trojans.
Senior infielder
Michael Godinez (Cutler Bay, Fla.) was one-for-three with an RBI to lead the Wingate offense. Junior outfielder
Bill Krebs (West Chester, Pa.) went one-for-two with a run scored, while sophomore
Shane Billings (Kernersville, N.C.) had a pair of hits for the Bulldogs.
Mount Olive jumped on the board in the second when Manning led off the frame with a solo homer to right.
Wingate answered with a run in the third. An error and Billings bunt single put runners on first and second for Godinez, who ripped an RBI single through the left side to tie it 1-1.
The Trojans responded with a four-run fifth inning. Two walks and a hit batsman loaded the bases, while a two-run double from Gailmard made it 3-1. Morozowski followed with an RBI single, while a Manning sacrifice fly put Mount Olive on top by four.
That would be enough for Kines. The All-Region left-hander allowed one unearned run on four hits in nine innings of work, striking out nine and walking two, throwing 122 pitches. Senior right-hander
Brett Morgan (Clemmons, N.C.) took the loss, falling to 7-4. He allowed five runs on just two hits in 4 1/3 innings, striking out three and walking four. Junior right-hander
Tyler Brown (Suffolk, Va.) allowed just one hit in 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.