Mercer University
Austin Peay
Softball Loses Two on Day One of KSU Classic
2/11/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
BOX SCORE - Austin Peay
BOX SCORE - Kennesaw St.
WOODSTOCK, Ga. – Mercer softball head coach James DeFeo did not get the result he was expecting in his first games as head coach. His Mercer Bears dropped games to Austin Peay and Kennesaw St. on day one of the KSU Classic on Saturday.
In the season opener against Austin Peay, Mercer gave up a six-run lead in the seventh and then allowed four more runs in the extra inning to lose, 11-9. Game two was a non-conference matchup against in-state rival Kennesaw St. that saw the Bears score one run on three hits in a 6-1 loss.
GAME ONE:
Mercer (0-2, 0-0 A-Sun) had three players go deep in game one against Austin Peay. Senior Kristin Marko started things early when she laced a solo shot as the Bears' second batter of the game.
Leading off the third inning, fellow senior Sara Stukes hit a solo home run of her own to give the Bears a quick 2-0 lead. Two batters later, senior Tiffany Phillips completed the trifecta with her first home run of the season. After three innings, the Bears seemed to have momentum and a 3-0 lead.
Phillips led the Bears on the day going 4-for-8 with a home run and two RBI.
The Mercer lead extended to seven in the fourth as the Bears stroked five hits with RBI's from Marko and Santana (2).
Junior pitcher Kerri Nidiffer got the start inside the circle for MU in game one and did a good job holding Austin Peay to just four hits and one run through six innings. Nidiffer looked to throw the complete game walking into the top of the seventh with a 7-1 lead.
Unfortunately, Austin Peay made an impressive comeback – all with two outs in the inning. Nidiffer began the seventh by striking out the first batter she faced and then had two down after McKenzie Woody made a heads up play by throwing out Austin Peay's Morgan Brewer at second, trying to stretch a single into a double.
It was then that the Lady Governors clawed their way back. Two RBI singles brought the Bears lead to 7-3 and then with a walk the bases were loaded Lauren DeCastro. DeCastro tied the game with a grand slam over the right field wall. All told, Nidiffer allowed 13 hits and 11 runs in 7.1 innings pitched.
Mercer couldn't break the tie in the bottom half of the inning and was pushed to extra innings. In the top half of the eighth, Austin Peay plated four runs on four hits.
In Mercer's half of the eighth, the Bears put themselves into a position to again tie the game. Phillips recorded her second RBI of the game, bringing home Marko to make the score 11-8. On the next play, senior Kassie Bailey reached on an error, which allowed Stukes to score from third.
With the lead down to just two, the Bears had runners on first and second with two out. Unfortunately, Krista Kennedy struck out swinging to end the Bears threat.
GAME TWO:
The Bears were the first to strike in the second game of the day as well, when Kennesaw St. starting pitcher Abbey Mixon walked in McKenzie Woody in the third inning. Mixon would throw just two and two-thirds innings and was relieved after walking five to start the game.
Mercer's Molly Anderson received the start in game two for the Bears. Anderson struck out five batters, but she too had struggled late allowing two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings.
Mercer was unable to answer offensively as KSU's Amanda Henderson was impressive striking out 10 in just over four innings of relief work. Henderson allowed just two hits in her outing.
The Bears pick up day two of the KSU Classic tomorrow afternoon. A schedule change has pushed the Bears games against Miami(Ohio) and Southern Illinois back to 12 and 2 p.m. respectively.
