The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

IN his first year with a new programme, collegiate baseball standout Trae Sweeting has become an integral part of a national championship contender.

Sweeting and the University of Mount Olive Trojans are the top ranked team in NCAA Division II Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll and are ranked No.2 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association poll.

The Trojans, with a record of 29-5 and 15-0 in Conference Carolinas, jumped two spots from last week’s ranking with a total of 480 points. They are also the top-ranked team in the Southeast Region.

Sweeting, a junior catcher and outfielder, has appeared in 20 games this season and is hitting .260 with 18 runs scored, 12 stolen bases, one home run and five RBI. He has recorded a slugging percentage of .315, an OBP of .372 an OPS of .599 and 23 total bases.

The Trojans are currently in the midst of a 14-game win streak dating back to a 10-6 win over Wingate on March 8. In their latest outing, they defeated Francis Marion University 7-0 in non-conference play Tuesday afternoon.

Prior to that game, Sweeting closed out the latest three-game sweep over North Greenville where he went 3-5 at the plate with two runs scored and two stolen bases in the second game of a double header. Some of his other marquee games on the season included his offensive output in a three-game stretch against Pfeffier earlier this month where he went 5-15 at the plate.

In game one he went 1-4 and scored one, followed by a 2-5 outing with his lone home run of the season and two runs scored and capped by a 2-6 day with a season high three RBI.

It was his fourth game of the season with multiple stolen bases.

Mount Olive will hit the road for a three-game series with Belmont Abbey, ranked third in Conference Carolinas, starting Friday.

The Trojans this year are ranked inside the top-15 in 10 different team statistical categories and 12 different individual categories. UMO is the national leader in shutouts with seven.

Sweeting transferred to Mount Olive after spending his freshman and sophomore seasons with the Georgia State Panthers in NCAA Division I.

With the Panthers he had a career batting average of .315 with 38 runs scored in 162 at-bats and was 12-14 on stolen bases. 

In his freshman season as a key bench player, Sweeting eventually earned more playing time as the season progressed. He appeared in 32 games, including 12 starts, hit .333 with seven RBI  and was the team’s top pinch runner who scored 17 runs and added four stolen bases. He led the team with three triples, along with two doubles and one home run.

Sweeting, a catcher and outfielder, has been vital for the Panthers off the bench and has produced the best numbers of his young career thus far. He appeared in 39 games, including 25 starts.

As a sophomore he moved into the starting lineup in centre field in May and finished hitting .306 with 13 RBI and 21 runs scored. He also collected seven doubles, one triple and was 8-9 on stolen bases with two outfield assists.