Mercer University
Georgia St.
Mercer Falls to Georgia State 14-5 in Mid-Week Clash
2/22/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MACON, Ga. – Georgia State pounded out 16 hits and hit four home runs to power past the Mercer baseball team, 14-5, on Tuesday afternoon at Claude Smith Field.
The Bears pitching staff, which had a collective ERA of 3.25 going into Tuesday game, was no match for a Georgia State offense who returned eight starters from a 2010 squad that led the country in scoring at 10.5 runs per game.
Junior David Randall got the start for the Bears, which seemed to make sense after the Lawrenceville, Ga. native excelled in a start against the Panthers last spring allowing only two earned runs in five innings of work.
The results were not so favorable on Tuesday, however, as Georgia State scored nine runs in the first five innings of the game to take a 9-2 lead.
Mercer started to chip away in the bottom of the fifth when junior Matthew Black hit a two-run home run, cutting the deficit to 9-4.
The Panthers offense nixed any thought of a Mercer rally by adding two runs in the sixth and three more runs in the seventh, thanks to two home runs by senior Rob Lind, to push their lead to 14-4.
Senior Charley Olsen picked up the win for Georgia State after allowing only one unearned run in four innings of relief.
Freshmen Austin Barrett and Derrick Workman both hit solo home runs for the Bears in a losing effort.
Mercer hits the road for the first time in 2011 when it travels to Tallahassee, Fla. for a doubleheader against Florida A&M on Wednesday afternoon. Game times are scheduled for 4 and 7 p.m. at Moore-Kittles Field.
