TIGERVILLE, S.C. — You certainly can’t fault Zack Burke for the 10-7 loss by No. 3 seeded Mount Olive to top-seed North Greenville in the championship finals of the Conference Carolinas Tournament on Sunday down in Tigerville, S.C.
Burke came in with the Trojans staring at a 7-3 deficit in the fourth inning.
The former Chatham Central star and local product put Mount Olive on his back and hurled six strong innings to give the Trojans a chance at an upset of the regular season champion and the No. 2 ranked squad in the NCAA Division II ranks.
Burke went the six innings and allowed four hits, three runs, four walks and struck out three.
Unfortunately, the early lead built by North Greenville (40-9) was too much to over come as the Crusaders defended their conference tournament championship.
In 11 appearances this season, Burke has compiled a 2-0 record with three saves while working 22.2 innings and yielding 22 hits, 11 runs (seven earned) and 12 walks while striking out 17 and posting an ERA of 3.18.
Burke, a Mathematics major with a physics minor who also spent time at Wake Tech and UNC-Wilmington, will wait with his Mount Olive (31-15) squad to see if the Trojans qualify for the upcoming NCAA Division II playoffs.
In the meantime, Mount Olive will battle Francis Marion in a two-game series, the first of which will be played in Mount Olive on May 3rd, and the second down at Francis Marion on May 6th.