MOC Trojans are 2008 NCAA Div II National Champions!

It's in the history books now: Mount Olive College's Trojans have won their first national championship in the NCAA Division II College World Series. In a great and poetic twist, the Trojans came full circle in their four-game series, playing the same team today -- Ouachita Baptist -- that they first defeated last Monday morning. How sweet it is.

Mount Olive Wins National Championship
SAUGET, ILL. - Top-ranked Mount Olive earned its first national championship with a 6-2 victory over No. 4 ranked Ouachita Baptist Saturday afternoon in the championship game of the NCAA Division II Championships at GCS Ballpark. Mount Olive went 3-0 in the tournament en route to the championship and finish the season at 58-6. Ouachita Baptist ends its season at 51-16.

"I've been coaching at the college level for 22 years and it's really hard to express what I feel right now," said Mount Olive head coach Carl Lancaster. "This is a dream come true. We are extremely excited to bring this to Mount Olive."

A two-out error by Tigers' third baseman Rudy Jovanovski in the top of the first inning helped Mount Olive to an early 5-0 lead and the Trojans never looked back.

"We just got off to a slow start today," said Ouachita Baptist head coach Scott Norwood. "They took advantage of our mistakes like we did all week against other teams."

Mount Olive then plated a single run in the fifth inning for a 6-0 lead before Ouachita Baptist got on the board with a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth. Casey Hodges (10-1) garnered the win for the Trojans, giving up just two runs on seven hits in eight innings of work. He struck out six. Trent Lingle (1-1) took the loss, scattering six hits on seven runs in four and one-third innings. He also walked four and struck out three. The Trojans recorded 12 hits in the win with Josh Harrison going 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored and two RBIs.

Beautiful.

The town of Mount Olive, the Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce and the college are poised to host a celebration of this historic event on Monday evening. I got an email from the MOC Alumni Association a little while ago inviting the public to a "welcome home rally" at 5:30 p.m. on Scarborough Field.

"The celebration will include a brief presentation by town and college officials along with a great deal of pomp and circumstance!" the email reads. "Bring the family; come out and support this special team and Trojan Athletics! There will be plenty of photo and autograph opportunities; shirts, balls, food, etc."

Wish I could be there too. This is a great day for the whole college family. Good work, Coach Lancaster.