Wednesday, March 7
Macon, Ga.
6 p.m.
Mercer University
11-3
10
vs
1
Savannah State
3-9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Savannah State
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
Mercer
0
1
0
1
0
3
3
2
X
10
13
1
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gipson-Long, Sawyer (2-0)
L: MCKENNA, Trevor (1-3)
Batting:
RBI: LANDERS, Freddie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: CALLOWAY,Mason 1
SB: CALLOWAY,Mason 1
HBP: HARPER, Daryl. 1
Batting:
2B: Michie, Brandon 1 ; Ware, Jackson 1
RBI: Hanson, Alex 2 ; Ware, Jackson 2 ; Wright, Cory 2 ; Yeager, RJ 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Michie, Brandon 3 ; Ware, Jackson 2 ; Bassett, Le 2 ; Posas, David 2 ; Yeager, RJ 1
SB: Ammons, Jordan 1
HBP: Bassett, Le 1 ; Posas, David 2 ; Wright, Cory 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
0
H
3
RBI
2
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
3
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
Photo by: Davis Dunn
Gipson-Long Tosses One-Hitter, Mercer Rolls Tigers
3/7/2018 9:54:00 PM | Baseball
Sophomore right-hander comes within two outs of no-hitter
MACON, Ga. – Sophomore right-hander Sawyer Gipson-Long came two outs away from tossing the first no-hitter in program history as he delivered a complete-game one-hitter to lead Mercer to a 10-1 win over Savannah State at OrthoGeorgia Park on Wednesday night.
With one out in the top of the ninth inning, Savannah State's Freddie Landers blooped a single just over shortstop RJ Yeager's outstretched glove, giving the Tigers (3-9) their first hit of the contest. Gipson-Long maintained his composure and finished out the game to finalize a career performance.
The Woodstock, Ga., native finished with a career-high 10 strikeouts while allowing one unearned run on one hit and three walks.
Gipson-Long had no shortage of run support from the Mercer offense; the Bears reached the 10-run mark for the sixth time this season. The Orange and Black took a 2-0 lead into the sixth inning before blowing it open with a pair of consecutive three-run frames. RJ Yeager came through with a pivotal two-run single in the sixth to make it a 4-0 game. Five Bears tallied multi-hit performances to provide Gipson-Long a quality cushion.
Coach Gibson's Take
On Gipson-Long's performance:
"It's just unbelievable; one of the best performances I've seen in the 25 years I've been a part of this program," said head coach Craig Gibson. "I've never seen a guy with such command and composure. It was his night…everything was working for him and we needed him."
Sawyer Gipson-Long on his individual effort:
"I'm proud of my performance…it felt like I had my "A-Game" out there, honestly," Gipson-Long said. "It was definitely the best stuff I've had all season. I was hitting all my spots and every pitch was working for me.
"I had been looking at the scoreboard all night…[the single] was tough luck; it's baseball, it happens. I pitched really well and I couldn't thank my defense enough for some of the great plays they made behind me tonight as well."
Player of the Game
Sawyer Gipson-Long earned the player of the game nod by unanimous decision Wednesday. His complete-game performance moved him to 2-0 on the season and dropped his earned run average to 3.74. The sophomore hurled the complete game on 119 pitches.
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Sawyer Gipson-Long (2-0)
» Loss: Trevor McKenna (1-3)
Record Update
» Mercer: 11-3
» Savannah State: 3-9
Up Next
» Mercer: At Kansas State (4 p.m. Friday, March 9 in Manhattan, Kan.)
» Savannah State: Hosts Fairfield (5 p.m. Tuesday, March 13 in Savannah, Ga.)
Notables
» Gipson-Long's complete game is the first by a Mercer pitcher since Ryan Askew went the distance in a 4-2 win over ETSU on April 7, 2017.
» Gipson-Long set career-highs in innings pitched (9.0) and strikeouts (10).
» Mercer has won 16 consecutive games against Savannah State dating back to 2010. The Bears are 29-11 overall vs. the Tigers.
» RJ Yeager continued to heat up, going 2-for-5 with three RBI. It was his second multi-hit and multi-RBI performance in the last three games.
» The Bears have struck out at least 10 batters in 13 of 14 games played.
» Gipson-Long's 10 strikeouts mark the third time this season a Mercer starting pitcher has reached double digits (Austin Cox, 13; Kevin Coulter, 11).
» After going hitless in his last two games, Alex Hanson notched a team-high three hits (3-for-5).
» JT Thomas saw his career-long hit streak of 16 games come to an end (0-for-4).
» Jordan Ammons recorded his first career steal.
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.
With one out in the top of the ninth inning, Savannah State's Freddie Landers blooped a single just over shortstop RJ Yeager's outstretched glove, giving the Tigers (3-9) their first hit of the contest. Gipson-Long maintained his composure and finished out the game to finalize a career performance.
The Woodstock, Ga., native finished with a career-high 10 strikeouts while allowing one unearned run on one hit and three walks.
Gipson-Long had no shortage of run support from the Mercer offense; the Bears reached the 10-run mark for the sixth time this season. The Orange and Black took a 2-0 lead into the sixth inning before blowing it open with a pair of consecutive three-run frames. RJ Yeager came through with a pivotal two-run single in the sixth to make it a 4-0 game. Five Bears tallied multi-hit performances to provide Gipson-Long a quality cushion.
Coach Gibson's Take
On Gipson-Long's performance:
"It's just unbelievable; one of the best performances I've seen in the 25 years I've been a part of this program," said head coach Craig Gibson. "I've never seen a guy with such command and composure. It was his night…everything was working for him and we needed him."
Sawyer Gipson-Long on his individual effort:
"I'm proud of my performance…it felt like I had my "A-Game" out there, honestly," Gipson-Long said. "It was definitely the best stuff I've had all season. I was hitting all my spots and every pitch was working for me.
"I had been looking at the scoreboard all night…[the single] was tough luck; it's baseball, it happens. I pitched really well and I couldn't thank my defense enough for some of the great plays they made behind me tonight as well."
Player of the Game
Sawyer Gipson-Long earned the player of the game nod by unanimous decision Wednesday. His complete-game performance moved him to 2-0 on the season and dropped his earned run average to 3.74. The sophomore hurled the complete game on 119 pitches.
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Sawyer Gipson-Long (2-0)
» Loss: Trevor McKenna (1-3)
Record Update
» Mercer: 11-3
» Savannah State: 3-9
Up Next
» Mercer: At Kansas State (4 p.m. Friday, March 9 in Manhattan, Kan.)
» Savannah State: Hosts Fairfield (5 p.m. Tuesday, March 13 in Savannah, Ga.)
Notables
» Gipson-Long's complete game is the first by a Mercer pitcher since Ryan Askew went the distance in a 4-2 win over ETSU on April 7, 2017.
» Gipson-Long set career-highs in innings pitched (9.0) and strikeouts (10).
» Mercer has won 16 consecutive games against Savannah State dating back to 2010. The Bears are 29-11 overall vs. the Tigers.
» RJ Yeager continued to heat up, going 2-for-5 with three RBI. It was his second multi-hit and multi-RBI performance in the last three games.
» The Bears have struck out at least 10 batters in 13 of 14 games played.
» Gipson-Long's 10 strikeouts mark the third time this season a Mercer starting pitcher has reached double digits (Austin Cox, 13; Kevin Coulter, 11).
» After going hitless in his last two games, Alex Hanson notched a team-high three hits (3-for-5).
» JT Thomas saw his career-long hit streak of 16 games come to an end (0-for-4).
» Jordan Ammons recorded his first career steal.
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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