Friday, March 9
Kennesaw, Ga.
12 P.M.
Mercer University
16-6
17
vs
3
Fort Wayne
8-14
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Fort Wayne
2
0
1
0
0
3
5
5
Mercer
0
3
2
12
X
17
13
0
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Bilgri, Megan (6-3)
L: Shaina Eyre (2-5)
Batting:
2B: Lacey Wilzbacher 1 ; Maria Palmegiani 1 ; Stephanie Hanic 1
RBI: Lacey Wilzbacher 1 ; Maria Palmegiani 1 ; Stephanie Hanic 1
SH: Morganne Denny 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lauren Watson 1 ; Morganne Denny 1 ; Maria Palmegiani 1
SB: Jenna Balthazor 1
Batting:
2B: Lane, Megan 1 ; Mauga, Quirisa 1 ; Andrew, Emma 1 ; Jones, Allie 1
HR: Rud, Meghan 1 ; Andrew, Emma 1
RBI: Rud, Meghan 3 ; Sanchez, Laurenne 2 ; Lane, Megan 2 ; Mauga, Quirisa 2 ; Taylor, Caroline 1 ; Andrew, Emma 3 ; Jones, Allie 3
SF: Mauga, Quirisa 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rud, Meghan 2 ; Sanchez, Laurenne 2 ; Lane, Megan 2 ; Mauga, Quirisa 1 ; Taylor, Caroline 1 ; Buckland, Kate 1 ; Petersen, Katie 1 ; Andrew, Emma 3 ; Jones, Allie 1 ; Rood, Micayla 2 ; Warren, Shaila 1
SB: Sanchez, Laurenne 1 ; Lane, Megan 1
HBP: Josselet, Catie 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
4
RBI
2
AB
3
R
3
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballC/OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
1B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
Photo by: Dannie Walls Photography
Bears Roll over Mastodons, Fall Short against Bruins
3/9/2018 6:11:00 PM | Softball
Mercer splits Friday’s doubleheader in Rafter Memorial Tournament
KENNESAW, Ga. – It truly was a tale of two games in Friday's doubleheader at the Rafter Memorial Tournament as Mercer dominated Fort Wayne (17-3), before falling to Belmont (5-1). With the doubleheader split, Mercer enters Saturday with a record of 16-7 on the season.
Game 1: Mercer 17, Fort Wayne 3
Fort Wayne struck first in the top of the opening inning after notching back-to-back two-out doubles by Palmegiani and Hanic for the 2-0 advantage.
The Bears claimed the lead in the bottom of the second inning after a three-run inside-the-park homer off the bat of Meghan Rud. After Micayla Rood and Shaila Warren drew two-out walks, Rud laced a ball to right center and used her speed to round the corners for her first home run of the season.
After the Mastodons evened the game in the top of the third, Mercer reclaimed its lead in the bottom of the inning. This time it would be freshman standout Allie Jones with a two-run double to propel the Bears to a 5-3 advantage.
The Bears opened the floodgates in the bottom of the fourth, plating 12 runs on nine hits and three Fort Wayne errors for the 17-3 advantage. Quirisa Mauga and Caroline Taylor plated the first two runs with a double followed by a single with nobody out. Emma Andrew then emptied the bases with a three-run shot to right center for the 10-3 lead and still nobody out. Later in the inning with bases loaded and one out, Laurenne Sanchez and Megan Lane collected back-to-back two-RBI base knocks to stretch the advantage to 14-3. Mauga then lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, followed by a two-run single to right by Jones, capping off the 12-run inning.
Megan Bilgri picked up the win, pitching four innings of work and allowing three runs with four strikeouts. Stella Preston concluded the game, hurling one hitless inning and striking out one batter.
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Megan Bilgri (6-3)
» Loss: Shaina Eyre (2-5)
Game 2: Belmont 5, Mercer 1
The second game proved to be more of a challenge as both squads were held hitless through the first three innings of work. The Bruins then struck first in the top of the fourth inning off a solo shot from Thomas for the 1-0 advantage, belting the long ball to center field.
Mercer left two on base in the bottom of the fourth inning and Belmont made the Bears pay later on with a two-run home run by Rouse in the sixth inning to extend the Bruins lead to 3-0.
The Bears trimmed the Belmont lead to two in the bottom of the sixth inning as Taylor roped a two-out, one-run single to left center, plating Sanchez from second.
The Bruins connected on their third home run of the game in the top of the seventh inning, this time off the bat of Long. Long's home run was a two-run shot to stretch the Belmont lead to 5-1.
Mercer had a chance to rally in the final inning, loading the bases with nobody out and the tying run at the plate. However, the Bears were unable to plate a run as the next three batters were sat down swinging to end the scoring threat.
Preston picked up the loss, falling to 4-2 on the season after pitching seven innings of work and surrendering five runs, three of which were earned. Preston also accounted for three strikeouts on the game.
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Brooklin Lee (8-1)
» Loss: Stella Preston (4-2)
Player of the Day
Megan Lane earned player of the day honors, finishing 5-for-7 at the plate with two runs scored and two RBIs. Lane ended the first game against the Mastodons with a 4-for-4 performance, scoring both of her runs and accumulating both of her RBIs.
Stat of the Day
The Mercer bats came to life today, registering 18 hits and 18 runs on the evening. Lane led the way with five of Mercer's 18 base hits, while Sanchez recorded three hits.
Notables
» Mercer improves to 16-7 on the season with Friday's doubleheader split.
» The Bears' 17 runs against the Mastodons was the most runs scored since plating 21 against Savannah State on Feb. 26, 2017.
» Mercer improves to 3-3 against Fort Wayne, while falling to 19-13 against the Bruins in program history.
Record Update
» Mercer: 16-7
» Fort Wayne: 8-14
» Belmont: 13-3
Up Next
Mercer will return to action tomorrow in day two of the Rafter Memorial Tournament, squaring off with Belmont at 10 a.m., followed by Fort Wayne later in the evening at 3 p.m.
Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Softball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerUSoftball (Twitter), /MercerSoftball (Facebook) and @MercerUSoftball (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
Game 1: Mercer 17, Fort Wayne 3
Fort Wayne struck first in the top of the opening inning after notching back-to-back two-out doubles by Palmegiani and Hanic for the 2-0 advantage.
The Bears claimed the lead in the bottom of the second inning after a three-run inside-the-park homer off the bat of Meghan Rud. After Micayla Rood and Shaila Warren drew two-out walks, Rud laced a ball to right center and used her speed to round the corners for her first home run of the season.
After the Mastodons evened the game in the top of the third, Mercer reclaimed its lead in the bottom of the inning. This time it would be freshman standout Allie Jones with a two-run double to propel the Bears to a 5-3 advantage.
The Bears opened the floodgates in the bottom of the fourth, plating 12 runs on nine hits and three Fort Wayne errors for the 17-3 advantage. Quirisa Mauga and Caroline Taylor plated the first two runs with a double followed by a single with nobody out. Emma Andrew then emptied the bases with a three-run shot to right center for the 10-3 lead and still nobody out. Later in the inning with bases loaded and one out, Laurenne Sanchez and Megan Lane collected back-to-back two-RBI base knocks to stretch the advantage to 14-3. Mauga then lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, followed by a two-run single to right by Jones, capping off the 12-run inning.
Megan Bilgri picked up the win, pitching four innings of work and allowing three runs with four strikeouts. Stella Preston concluded the game, hurling one hitless inning and striking out one batter.
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Megan Bilgri (6-3)
» Loss: Shaina Eyre (2-5)
Game 2: Belmont 5, Mercer 1
The second game proved to be more of a challenge as both squads were held hitless through the first three innings of work. The Bruins then struck first in the top of the fourth inning off a solo shot from Thomas for the 1-0 advantage, belting the long ball to center field.
Mercer left two on base in the bottom of the fourth inning and Belmont made the Bears pay later on with a two-run home run by Rouse in the sixth inning to extend the Bruins lead to 3-0.
The Bears trimmed the Belmont lead to two in the bottom of the sixth inning as Taylor roped a two-out, one-run single to left center, plating Sanchez from second.
The Bruins connected on their third home run of the game in the top of the seventh inning, this time off the bat of Long. Long's home run was a two-run shot to stretch the Belmont lead to 5-1.
Mercer had a chance to rally in the final inning, loading the bases with nobody out and the tying run at the plate. However, the Bears were unable to plate a run as the next three batters were sat down swinging to end the scoring threat.
Preston picked up the loss, falling to 4-2 on the season after pitching seven innings of work and surrendering five runs, three of which were earned. Preston also accounted for three strikeouts on the game.
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Brooklin Lee (8-1)
» Loss: Stella Preston (4-2)
Player of the Day
Megan Lane earned player of the day honors, finishing 5-for-7 at the plate with two runs scored and two RBIs. Lane ended the first game against the Mastodons with a 4-for-4 performance, scoring both of her runs and accumulating both of her RBIs.
Stat of the Day
The Mercer bats came to life today, registering 18 hits and 18 runs on the evening. Lane led the way with five of Mercer's 18 base hits, while Sanchez recorded three hits.
Notables
» Mercer improves to 16-7 on the season with Friday's doubleheader split.
» The Bears' 17 runs against the Mastodons was the most runs scored since plating 21 against Savannah State on Feb. 26, 2017.
» Mercer improves to 3-3 against Fort Wayne, while falling to 19-13 against the Bruins in program history.
Record Update
» Mercer: 16-7
» Fort Wayne: 8-14
» Belmont: 13-3
Up Next
Mercer will return to action tomorrow in day two of the Rafter Memorial Tournament, squaring off with Belmont at 10 a.m., followed by Fort Wayne later in the evening at 3 p.m.
Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Softball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerUSoftball (Twitter), /MercerSoftball (Facebook) and @MercerUSoftball (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
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