Bears Finish Strong at Rafter Memorial, Beating MTSU, 8-4
4/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
BOX
SCORE for Game One vs. Western Illinois- L, 0-4
BOX
SCORE for Game two vs. Tennessee Tech - W, 9-1 (6)
DAY
ONE WRAP
BOX
SCORE for Game Three vs. Ball State - W, 9-1
BOX
SCORE For Game Four vs. Southern Illinois - L, 3-1
DAY
TWO WRAP
BOX SCORE for Game Five vs. Middle Tennessee State - W,
8-4
DAY
THREE WRAP
2/21/10 Game Five - Mercer vs.
Middle Tennessee State
WOODSTOCK, Ga. – The Mercer Bears(6-5, 0-0 A-Sun) finished off the three-day Phyllis Rafter Memorial on a high note Sunday beating Middle Tennessee State 8-4 and going 3-2 overall in the weekend series.
In what was a lot more lopsided game than what the score implies, the Bears offense looked impressive and seemed to catch a rhythm by the end of the weekend. One Bear in particular that impressed the large crowds on Sunday and over the weekend was freshmen first baseman Sarah Santana. Following a breakout game yesterday against Ball State, Santana had yet another notable outing against MTSU.
The Valdosta, Ga. native had five RBI on three hits on Sunday moving her early season total to a team-leading 12 RBI. Three of those RBI came on yet another homerun—she had two yesterday against Ball State. In just her first season in the Orange and Black and with only four starts thus far, Santana is leading the Bears with a .467 batting average, three homeruns and 12 RBI.
Santana got the Bears going in the top of the first as she scored senior Stacey Condra on an RBI single to third base. Then in the top of the sixth with a 5-0 cushion, thanks to a sophomore Kristen Marko two-run-homerun—her first on the season—, Santana came to bat with two on and belted her third homerun of the season hitting the Coca-Cola sign in right center field.
The dinger gave the Bears a commanding 8-0 lead moving into the bottom of the sixth. However, the Blue Raiders would make things interesting scoring four runs on four hits in the bottom half of the inning.
Junior pitcher Natalie Jones got the start in the circle for the Bears and was awarded the win moving her 1-1 on the season. She gave up just two hits and struck out three in four innings of work before being relieved by junior pitcher Kari Chambers in the fifth. Chambers finished the game giving up those four runs in the sixth, yet showed some resiliency to get the game's final outs.
Overall the Bears finished the Phyllis Rafter Memorial in solid fashion outscoring their opponents 27-13. The Bears will next play a pair of double-headers at home next week on Tuesday and Wednesday against Florida A&M and Savannah State respectively.
