Tuesday, February 20
Macon, Ga.
6 p.m.
Mercer University
3-1
11
vs
10
Florida A&M
1-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
R
H
E
Florida A&M
0
0
1
3
0
2
0
0
2
2
10
15
4
Mercer
1
2
0
4
0
0
0
1
0
3
11
13
2
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Spear, Nick (1-0)
L: NICOLL,Thomas (0-1)
Batting:
2B: OLIVER,Dallas 1 ; DAVIS,Brian 1 ; WILKINSON,Garrett 1 ; CAPRA,John 1
HR: MILES,Jacky Jr. 1 ; MOYER,Octavien 1
RBI: CURTIS,Jordan 1 ; REESE,Kaycee 1 ; DAVIS,Brian 1 ; MILES,Jacky Jr. 2 ; WILKINSON,Garrett 1 ; MOYER,Octavien 2
Base Running:
RUNS: MITCHELL,Malachi 1 ; RUSS,Ty 1 ; OLIVER,Dallas 1 ; DAVIS,Brian 2 ; MILES,Jacky Jr. 1 ; WILKINSON,Garrett 1 ; CAPRA,John 2 ; MOYER,Octavien 1
CS: CURTIS,Jordan 1
HBP: JOHNSON,Cameron 1
Batting:
HR: Truitt, Trey 1 ; Hanson, Alex 1 ; Bassett, Le 2
RBI: Truitt, Trey 2 ; Hanson, Alex 2 ; Bassett, Le 4 ; Ware, Jackson 1
SH: Hanson, Alex 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Truitt, Trey 3 ; Hanson, Alex 2 ; Bassett, Le 2 ; Thomas, JT 1 ; Cornell, Conrad 1 ; Yeager, RJ 2
SB: Hanson, Alex 1 ; Ware, Jackson 1
HBP: Thomas, JT 1 ; Ware, Jackson 1 ; Yeager, RJ 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
6
R
3
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
4
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
Photo by: Davis Dunn
Bears Defeat Florida A&M in Wild Extra-Inning Finish
2/20/2018 11:01:00 PM | Baseball
Mercer wins, 11-10, in second walk-off win of the season
MACON, Ga. – Mercer capitalized on a Florida A&M throwing error to defeat the Rattlers, 11-10, in 10 innings Tuesday night at OrthoGeorgia Park, marking its second walk-off win of the early season.
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Conrad Cornell, who pinch-ran for JT Thomas (single), scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th after Florida A&M (1-3) shortstop John Capra threw the ball away while trying to get Brandon Michie on a force-out at second base. The Rattler miscue occurred when Jackson Ware hit an infield single to shortstop, advancing Cornell to third base before Capra's errant throw allowed Cornell to come home. The play came four at-bats after Alex Hanson tied the game, 10-10, with a pivotal two-run home run.
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Nick Spear (1-0) earned the win with 1.1 innings of relief despite surrendering a two-run home run that gave the Rattlers a 10-8 advantage in the top of the 10th inning. Sawyer Gipson-Long started on the mound for Mercer (3-1) and tossed five innings while striking out six batters and surrendering four runs.
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Early firepower from Le Bassett and Trey Truitt powered Mercer to an early 3-0 advantage. Bassett tagged a solo home run in the first and was followed by Truitt, who hit a two-run shot in the second. After Florida A&M claimed a 4-3 advantage through 3.5 frames, Bassett arrived in the clutch once again with a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth to take back the lead for Mercer.
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Although Hanson made it a two-run game in the bottom of the eighth by scoring on a wild pitch, Florida A&M would prove resilient with two runs in the ninth to force extra innings before the Bears sealed the victory.
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Coach Gibson's Take
Opening statement:
"I thought it was a great college baseball game between a pair of clubs that should have the chance to compete for the postseason later this spring," said head coach Craig Gibson. "Florida A&M is really good…we were expecting that."
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On Gipson-Long and the pitching staff:
"I thought Sawyer had one of our best starts of the year so far. Our bullpen was good; we gave up some hits but Florida A&M is a very good offensive team."
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On Mercer's bats:
"I'm really proud of those guys. [Alex] Hanson came through late with a huge hit and the freshman [Le] Bassett had a career night with four runs batted in…heck of a performance."
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Stat of the Day
Mercer's No. 1-3 batters – Truitt, Hanson and Bassett – went a combined 6-for-16 with four home runs, eight runs batted in and seven runs scored.
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Player of the Game
Le Bassett's two-home run effort was the highlight of a high-octane offensive effort by the Bears on Tuesday. Both of the freshman's hits were long balls as he opened the game with a solo shot before helping Mercer reclaim the lead in the fourth with a three-run blast.
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Pitchers of Record
» Win: Nick Spear (1-0)
» Loss: Thomas Nicoll (0-1)
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Record Update
» Mercer: 3-1
» Florida A&M: 1-3
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Up Next
» Mercer: Hosts Florida A&M (4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21 at OrthoGeorgia Park)
» Florida A&M: At Mercer (4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21 at OrthoGeorgia Park)
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Notables
» Mercer improved to 85-29-1 all-time against Florida A&M.
» Christian Vann logged 2.2 innings of relief and struck out five batters. He has eight strikeouts through four innings pitched this season.
» Truitt made his first start of the season after recovering from a preseason finger injury. He went 2-for-6 with three runs scored in the leadoff slot.
» Gipson-Long's six strikeouts are a career-best.
» Mercer's 13 hits are a season-high. Six Bears had two-hit performances.
» Mercer has eight home runs through four games played.
» David Posas earned his fourth start of the season and first at third base.
» JT Thomas went 2-for-5 to extend his hit streak to seven games, which dates back to last season.
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Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Baseball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerBaseball (Twitter), /MercerBaseball (Facebook) and @Mercer.Baseball (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
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Conrad Cornell, who pinch-ran for JT Thomas (single), scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th after Florida A&M (1-3) shortstop John Capra threw the ball away while trying to get Brandon Michie on a force-out at second base. The Rattler miscue occurred when Jackson Ware hit an infield single to shortstop, advancing Cornell to third base before Capra's errant throw allowed Cornell to come home. The play came four at-bats after Alex Hanson tied the game, 10-10, with a pivotal two-run home run.
Â
Nick Spear (1-0) earned the win with 1.1 innings of relief despite surrendering a two-run home run that gave the Rattlers a 10-8 advantage in the top of the 10th inning. Sawyer Gipson-Long started on the mound for Mercer (3-1) and tossed five innings while striking out six batters and surrendering four runs.
Â
Early firepower from Le Bassett and Trey Truitt powered Mercer to an early 3-0 advantage. Bassett tagged a solo home run in the first and was followed by Truitt, who hit a two-run shot in the second. After Florida A&M claimed a 4-3 advantage through 3.5 frames, Bassett arrived in the clutch once again with a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth to take back the lead for Mercer.
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Although Hanson made it a two-run game in the bottom of the eighth by scoring on a wild pitch, Florida A&M would prove resilient with two runs in the ninth to force extra innings before the Bears sealed the victory.
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Coach Gibson's Take
Opening statement:
"I thought it was a great college baseball game between a pair of clubs that should have the chance to compete for the postseason later this spring," said head coach Craig Gibson. "Florida A&M is really good…we were expecting that."
Â
On Gipson-Long and the pitching staff:
"I thought Sawyer had one of our best starts of the year so far. Our bullpen was good; we gave up some hits but Florida A&M is a very good offensive team."
Â
On Mercer's bats:
"I'm really proud of those guys. [Alex] Hanson came through late with a huge hit and the freshman [Le] Bassett had a career night with four runs batted in…heck of a performance."
Â
Stat of the Day
Mercer's No. 1-3 batters – Truitt, Hanson and Bassett – went a combined 6-for-16 with four home runs, eight runs batted in and seven runs scored.
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Player of the Game
Le Bassett's two-home run effort was the highlight of a high-octane offensive effort by the Bears on Tuesday. Both of the freshman's hits were long balls as he opened the game with a solo shot before helping Mercer reclaim the lead in the fourth with a three-run blast.
Â
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Nick Spear (1-0)
» Loss: Thomas Nicoll (0-1)
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Record Update
» Mercer: 3-1
» Florida A&M: 1-3
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Up Next
» Mercer: Hosts Florida A&M (4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21 at OrthoGeorgia Park)
» Florida A&M: At Mercer (4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21 at OrthoGeorgia Park)
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Notables
» Mercer improved to 85-29-1 all-time against Florida A&M.
» Christian Vann logged 2.2 innings of relief and struck out five batters. He has eight strikeouts through four innings pitched this season.
» Truitt made his first start of the season after recovering from a preseason finger injury. He went 2-for-6 with three runs scored in the leadoff slot.
» Gipson-Long's six strikeouts are a career-best.
» Mercer's 13 hits are a season-high. Six Bears had two-hit performances.
» Mercer has eight home runs through four games played.
» David Posas earned his fourth start of the season and first at third base.
» JT Thomas went 2-for-5 to extend his hit streak to seven games, which dates back to last season.
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Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Baseball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerBaseball (Twitter), /MercerBaseball (Facebook) and @Mercer.Baseball (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
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