NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Mercer baseball squad used timely hits and solid pitching to take down Lipscomb, 8-3, at Ken Dugan Field. The Bisons out-hit the Bears 11-9, but Mercer scored four runs in the sixth to grab the win.

A trio of pitchers led the Bears to victory. David Harden (5-1) scattered seven hits and allowed three runs in the first five innings, while fanning six. Lath Guyer allowed three hits, struck out two and did not allow a run in three innings on the hill. Josh Lowey struck out two in the final inning.

Lipscomb (25-24, 17-11 A-Sun) manufactured one run in the bottom of the third. Caleb Joseph walked and Blake Bratcher moved him to third with a hit through the middle. A balk allowed Joseph to cross the plate, giving the Bisons the early 1-0 lead.

Mercer (21-28, 14-14 A-Sun) took the lead in its next at-bat. Mike Armstrong sent the ball deep over the left field fence, marking his sixth long ball of the season, to record the first hit of the game for the Bears. A sacrifice fly to right by Michael Langley brought in John Dortch, who had reached on a walk, to give the Bears the 2-1 advantage.

The Bisons tallied two hits to score two runs to take a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth. Joseph doubled and scored as Justin Sanders homered over the right field fence.

The Bears took a 6-3 lead they would not relinquish in the top of the sixth, notching four runs on three hits. Joe Winker took one for the team and Casey Stuart singled to right field. Langley drove in Winker with a double down the left field line and Steve Karwatt then cleared the bases with a three-run jack to left field. Mercer added one run in its next at-bat. Armstrong singled through the middle and scored on a hit to centerfield by Stuart, giving the Bears the 7-3 lead.

Mercer tallied one final run in the top of the ninth, increasing its lead to 8-3. Richard Bentley pushed Armstrong to second with a sacrifice bunt. Dortch then knocked in Armstrong with a double to left center.

Rex Brothers (2-5) took the loss for the Bisons, throwing the first eight innings. Brothers allowed seven runs on eight hits, while striking out nine.

Armstrong led the Bears from the plate, going two-for-three, scoring three runs and adding one RBI. Karwatt went two-for-two with one run scored and three RBI. Stuart added a two-for-three performance with one RBI and one run scored.

“It was a great win on the road tonight, against a very good pitcher,” stated coach Craig Gibson.  “We need to continue our momentum into tomorrow’s games.”