Mercer University
Kennesaw St.
Bears End Skid with Gritty 6-4 Win over Owls
3/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer baseball team received noteworthy contributions from multiple players on its way to a well deserved 6-4 rain shortened Atlantic Sun win over Kennesaw State on Saturday evening at Claude Smith Field.
The win for Mercer (17-9, 5-6 A-Sun) ended a five-game A-Sun Conference losing streak and evened the series at 1-1 after Kennesaw State (15-11, 8-3 A-Sun) won game one 5-3 on Friday evening.
The game was called after seven innings after torrential rain showers commenced coupled with hail the size of gumballs. The local tornado warning sirens also clicked on forcing play to be cancelled for the day.
Sophomore Matt McCall picked up the win for the Bears, his second of the season, after giving up four runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings pitched.
The Owls jumped on the board first in the top of the second when senior Bucky Smith hit an RBI double and junior Will Howard poked an RBI single to center off McCall to give KSU an early 2-0 lead.
Mercer came right back with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the frame to tie the game back up at 2-2. A throwing error by Kennesaw State starter Bryan Blough and a sacrifice fly by freshman DJ Johnson accounted for the Bears two runs in the inning.
Undeterred, the Owls took the lead right back in the top of the third when junior Andy Chriscaden hit a two-run home run to make the score 4-2 in favor of the visitors.
The Mercer bats, which have struggled of late, picked McCall up in the bottom of the fourth after manufacturing three runs. Senior John Moreland scored on an error, freshman Derrick Workman picked up an RBI on a fielder's choice and senior Joe Winker pulled an RBI single to left to put the Bears up 5-4.
After an RBI single by junior Billy Burns in the fifth made the score 6-4, the combination of relievers Russell Moses and David Teasley shut down the Owls over the final two innings to secure the win for the Orange and Black.
Workman finished 2-for-4 from the lead-off spot in the Bears lineup with an RBI while Moreland and sophomore Evan Boyd each reached base four times in the win.
Mercer hosts Kennesaw State on Sunday for the third and final game of its weekend series. Game time is now scheduled for noon at Claude Smith Field.
