Friday, March 9
Manhattan, Kan.
4 p.m.
Mercer University
11-4
3
at
12
Kansas State
9-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Mercer
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
0
0
3
8
0
Kansas State
0
1
0
0
5
5
1
0
X
12
10
0
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ford, Kasey (3-0)
L: Vann, Christian (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Yeager, RJ 1
3B: Truitt, Trey 1
HR: Posas, David 1 ; Ware, Jackson 1
RBI: Posas, David 2 ; Ware, Jackson 1
SH: Ware, Jackson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Posas, David 1 ; Ware, Jackson 1 ; Wright, Cory 1
SB: Hanson, Alex 1
Batting:
HR: Mount, Drew 2
RBI: Brennan, Will 1 ; Thompson, Cameron 2 ; Mount, Drew 8 ; Barfield, Kyle 1
SH: Owen, Brett 1
SF: Brennan, Will 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brennan, Will 2 ; Biller, Jake 2 ; Thompson, Cameron 2 ; Mount, Drew 2 ; Ausmus, Rainer 1 ; Barfield, Kyle 2 ; Owen, Brett 1
CS: Thompson, Cameron 1
HBP: Brennan, Will 2
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
Photo by: Cooper Kinley
Bears Drop Series Opener at Kansas State
3/9/2018 7:35:00 PM | Baseball
Mercer falls on Friday for first time in 2018
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Mercer dropped its first weekend series opener of the season Friday as it fell, 12-3, to Kansas State at Tionton Family Stadium.
The Bears (11-4) lost for only the third time in the last 10 games, struggling to execute offensively with runners in scoring position. Kansas State (9-4) used a pair of grand slams by center fielder Drew Mount and a seven-inning start on the mound by Kasey Ford to claim the opener.
Two Bears were thrown out at the plate in the first five innings, halting a pair of potential momentum swings in favor of Mercer. After leading off the game with a triple, Trey Truitt was caught attempting to score on a ground ball to third base. In the fifth, Cory Wright was thrown out at the plate on another soft ground ball to third base. Wright and RJ Yeager had singled and doubled, respectively to put a pair of runners in scoring position before Mercer came away empty-handed.
Solo home runs by David Posas and Jackson Ware gave Mercer life in the sixth and seventh innings, but the Wildcats used consecutive five-run frames powered by Mount's two grand slams to put the game out of reach.
Mercer starting pitcher Christian Vann took the loss, but was effective through the first four innings of play, holding Kansas State to one run on two hits. Five Bears saw the mound in total.
Coach Gibson's Take
Opening statement:
"We weren't ready for the Big 12 [Conference] today and it was just a game where Kansas State was better than us," said head coach Craig Gibson. "Situationally, we had some opportunities early to cash in with a run or two, but we didn't get the job done…that changed the complexion of this game."
On positives he saw Friday:
"On the upside, I thought some guys who needed to get going for us had great days. Caleb Mitchell had a great inning. Cory Wright had a couple hits. David Posas struck the ball well. We had positives throughout the day that will remind us how good of a ball club we can be."
Player of the Game
David Posas delivered a pair of run-scoring hits Friday, going 2-for-5 with a solo home run. The long ball was his second of the season and gave Mercer its first run of the game.
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Kasey Ford (3-0)
» Loss: Christian Vann (2-1)
Record Update
» Mercer: 11-4
» Kansas State: 9-4
Up Next
» Mercer: At Kansas State (3 p.m. ET Saturday, March 10 in Manhattan, Kan.)
» Kansas State: Hosts Mercer (3 p.m. ET Saturday, March 10 in Manhattan, Kan.)
Notables
» Mercer is now 4-4 all-time against Big 12 Conference opponents. The Bears are 0-1 against Kansas State.
» Truitt's triple was his second leadoff triple of the season and extended his hit streak to a season-long seven games.
» Three Bears tallied multi-hit performances: Posas (2-for-5), Cory Wright (2-for-3) and RJ Yeager (2-for-3).
» Yeager has three multi-hit efforts in his last three games.
» Caleb Mitchell tossed one inning of relief, striking out a pair of Wildcats.
» Jackson Ware's home run was his second of the season.
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.
The Bears (11-4) lost for only the third time in the last 10 games, struggling to execute offensively with runners in scoring position. Kansas State (9-4) used a pair of grand slams by center fielder Drew Mount and a seven-inning start on the mound by Kasey Ford to claim the opener.
Two Bears were thrown out at the plate in the first five innings, halting a pair of potential momentum swings in favor of Mercer. After leading off the game with a triple, Trey Truitt was caught attempting to score on a ground ball to third base. In the fifth, Cory Wright was thrown out at the plate on another soft ground ball to third base. Wright and RJ Yeager had singled and doubled, respectively to put a pair of runners in scoring position before Mercer came away empty-handed.
Solo home runs by David Posas and Jackson Ware gave Mercer life in the sixth and seventh innings, but the Wildcats used consecutive five-run frames powered by Mount's two grand slams to put the game out of reach.
Mercer starting pitcher Christian Vann took the loss, but was effective through the first four innings of play, holding Kansas State to one run on two hits. Five Bears saw the mound in total.
Coach Gibson's Take
Opening statement:
"We weren't ready for the Big 12 [Conference] today and it was just a game where Kansas State was better than us," said head coach Craig Gibson. "Situationally, we had some opportunities early to cash in with a run or two, but we didn't get the job done…that changed the complexion of this game."
On positives he saw Friday:
"On the upside, I thought some guys who needed to get going for us had great days. Caleb Mitchell had a great inning. Cory Wright had a couple hits. David Posas struck the ball well. We had positives throughout the day that will remind us how good of a ball club we can be."
Player of the Game
David Posas delivered a pair of run-scoring hits Friday, going 2-for-5 with a solo home run. The long ball was his second of the season and gave Mercer its first run of the game.
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Kasey Ford (3-0)
» Loss: Christian Vann (2-1)
Record Update
» Mercer: 11-4
» Kansas State: 9-4
Up Next
» Mercer: At Kansas State (3 p.m. ET Saturday, March 10 in Manhattan, Kan.)
» Kansas State: Hosts Mercer (3 p.m. ET Saturday, March 10 in Manhattan, Kan.)
Notables
» Mercer is now 4-4 all-time against Big 12 Conference opponents. The Bears are 0-1 against Kansas State.
» Truitt's triple was his second leadoff triple of the season and extended his hit streak to a season-long seven games.
» Three Bears tallied multi-hit performances: Posas (2-for-5), Cory Wright (2-for-3) and RJ Yeager (2-for-3).
» Yeager has three multi-hit efforts in his last three games.
» Caleb Mitchell tossed one inning of relief, striking out a pair of Wildcats.
» Jackson Ware's home run was his second of the season.
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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