Conference Carolinas champion University of Mount Olive begins Southeast Regional play Thursday afternoon in South Carolina. The Trojans (36-15 overall) oppose Georgia Southwestern. (Alex King|UMO Media Relations)
Those sweet-hitting boys from Pickle Town launch their journey to college baseball’s mecca in the Palmetto State on Thursday afternoon.
The Conference Carolinas champion, University of Mount Olive, earned the No. 4 seed for the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional 2. The Trojans (36-15 overall) face Georgia Southwestern in opening-round play.
Game time is 3:30 p.m.
Defending national champ North Greenville (44-8) is the No. 1 seed and host site. The top-seeded Crusaders meet the loser of the UMO-GSW contest at 7:30 p.m.
The three-team, double-elimination tournament continues through Saturday. The survivor squares off against the Southeast Regional 2 winner in a best-of-three series with a trip to D2 World Series in Cary at stake.
“You’re going to have to beat all good from here on out,” Trojans head coach Rob Watt said. “You could say ‘hey, we got a good draw [or] we got a bad draw.’ I don’t think anyone is going to get a favorable draw going forward, especially with how strong our region is.
“It will be interesting, but I feel good about my guys.”
UMO is making its first regional appearance since 2021 and 19th overall, which is the most among any Conference Carolinas baseball program.
Watt’s club rebounded in dominating fashion after an opening-day, 10-inning loss to Southeast Regional 2 at-large qualifier UNC Pembroke. The Trojans outscored their next four opponents by an eye-popping 61-14, including mercy-rule decisions over Belmont Abbey and UNCP.
Graduate student Landon Choboy collected MVP honors with an incredible hitting display — .435 batting, 21 RBI, eight runs scored and five home runs.
JT Stone launched four home runs during that stretch.
The Trojan defense turned seven double plays and committed just three errors.
“I didn’t think we were done by any means,” Watt said. “I mean, look at our track record [this season]. We have a tendency to win each [conference] series in either the second or third game.
“We knew our back was against the wall.”
Peach Belt champion Georgia Southwestern (34-17) is making its first-ever NCAA regional appearance. The Hurricanes defeated future Conference Carolinas member Young Harris twice to clinch the regional bid.
Watt anticipates seeing either redshirt sophomore Nick McCollum or sophomore Rijanaldo Euson on the bump. McCollum (9-2) has notched 109 strikeouts in 106 innings. Euson (9-1) has 117 strikeouts in 90 innings of work.
The Hurricanes hit .365 as a team.
“Teams in this regional are just going to push us to see what we’re really made of, for sure,” Watt said. “We just have to stay consistent, which I know is kind of a boring statement. When you play against good teams, you have to limit the mistakes and free bases.
“At this point, a lot of times, the talent matches each other on both sides of the field. It’s a matter of who plays cleaner.”
The Trojans are 31-36 all-time in postseason play since 1996.
2023 NCAA Division II
Southeast Regional 1
(at North Greenville U)
Thursday’s games
Game 1 – Georgia Southwestern (34-17) vs. University of Mount Olive (36-15), 3:30 p.m.
Game 2 – Game 1 loser vs. North Greenville (44-8), 7:30 p.m.
Friday’s game
Game 3 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, TBD
Saturday’s games
Game 4 – Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 loser, TBD
Game 5 – Regional final*, TBD
* – if necessary
Southeast Regional 2
(at Newberry College)
Thursday’s games
Game 1 – UNC Pembroke (38-15) at Newberry (41-13), 3:30 p.m.
Game 2 – Columbus State (36-15) vs. Belmont Abbey (38-16), 7 p.m.
Friday’s games
Game 3 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, TBD
Game 4 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, TBD
Saturday’s games
Game 5 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, TBD
Game 6 – Game 5 winner vs. Game 4 winner, TBD
Sunday’s game
Game 7 – Regional final*, TBD
* – if necessary
