Mount Olive, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs connected on three homers Tuesday afternoon, including a pair of huge eighth-inning bombs to pick up a 10-9 victory at fourth-ranked Mount Olive in NCAA Division II baseball action. Wingate wins its fourth straight and moves to 3-1 against top-five teams this season, improving to 15-8 overall. The Trojans fall to 14-5 on the season.

KEY STATS

- Mount Olive out-hit Wingate 16-14 on the day
- WU had five extra-base hits including three homers; UMO had three extra-base hits
- Wingate had four stolen bases; Mount Olive did not swipe a bag on the day
- Each team committed an error and turned a double play
- The Trojans left 11 on base while the Bulldogs stranded nine
- WU pitchers had four strikeouts and four walks; UMO had nine strikeouts and six walks

KEY BULLDOGS

- Jed Bryant was two-for-two with a homer, two RBI and three runs scored
- McCann Mellett added a double, homer, two RBI and two runs scored
- Logan McNeely also homered, driving in two runs and scoring twice
- Hunter Dula went two-for-four with a pair of RBI
- Zach Little piled up three hits and scored a pair of runs
- Tanner Forry was two-for-five with a double, RBI and run scored
- Lane Wildman got the win, working 2 1/3 without allowing an earned run
- Hunter Dula got the save, working a scoreless ninth
- Sawyer Lee added a scoreless inning in relief

FIRST INNING

- Joe Mason got UMO on the board with an RBI single in the bottom of the first
- He scored on Aaron Hedgepeth's RBI single to give the Trojans a 2-0 lead

SECOND INNING

- Bryant got Wingate on the board with his SAC-best eighth homer of the year to start the frame
- An RBI double from Nate Estes in the bottom of the inning put UMO back on to by two

THIRD INNING

- Gunner Tolston led off the bottom of the third with a solo shot to make it 4-1

FOURTH INNING

- Forry led off the inning with a double, then scored on an error to get WU within two
- Dula tied it with a two-run single, plating McNeely and Bryant to make it 4-4

FIFTH INNING

- Little led off the frame with a single, then moved to third on a Mellett double
- Forry's RBI single gave the Bulldogs a 5-4 lead
- Bryant followed with a sacrifice fly to put Wingate on top by two
- Blake McLean's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the frame got Mount Olive back within one
- Jon Cosme's RBI groundout tied it at six

EIGHTH INNING

- Little got things started with a one-out single
- Mellett put the Bulldogs on top with his third homer of the year, a two-run shot down the right field line
- Bryant followed with a single
- McNeely connected on his third homer in four games, a two-run shot to make it 10-6
- After the first two were retired in the bottom of the frame, Mount Olive scored three times
- A double and an error put two on for Tolston, who made it 10-7 with an RBI single
- Hedgepeth followed with an RBI single, while a Junior Snow RBI single made it 10-9

NINTH INNING

- The Trojans got a lead-off single in the bottom of the ninth
- Dula worked out of it by starting a double play on a popped-up bunt
- He struck out the final batter of the game to finish off the win

WRAPUP

- Wildman got the win in relief, moving to 3-1 on the season
- The senior went 2 1/3 innings, allowing three unearned runs on two hits while striking out two
- Dula notched his third save of the year with a scoreless ninth, adding a strikeout
- Kyle Davis took the loss, falling to 2-2
- He allowed four runs on five hits in 1 2/3 innings, giving up a pair of homers

UP NEXT

- The two teams meet against Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Mount Olive
- The Bulldogs open a three-game SAC series against Coker Friday at 6 p.m. at Ron Christopher Stadium