Mercer University
Eastern Ill.
Bears End Weekend Undefeated; Take Two at Samford Scramble
2/26/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
GAME ONE BOX
GAME TWO BOX
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Mercer softball team showed a little grit and determination in recording two extra-inning victories on day two of the Samford Softball Scramble on Sunday.
The Bears scored seven runs over the final three innings to steal a 9-6 victory over Eastern Illinois in game one and then plated four in the eighth to take a 7-4 win over Samford in game two and finish off the weekend tournament 4-0.
The wins move the Bears record to 6-7 and after starting off the season 0-6, the team has captured six of its last seven.
GAME ONE – Mercer 9, E. Illinois 6 (8 Innings)
Three Mercer runs in the top of the sixth tied game one up at five and ended up pushing the game into extra innings. Then a four-run eighth, sparked by a Tiffany Phillips three-run home run, electrified the team to its third-straight win.
Phillips, who had just seven RBI all of last season, accounted for five of the Bears' nine RBI including driving in what turned out to be the game-winning runs in the eighth. The five-RBI performance was also a career high for Phillips, but she wasn't the only one to go yard in the game.
In all, four Bears went deep including: senior Kassie Bailey, junior Sarah Santana and sophomore Krista Kennedy. All three had solo homeruns with Santana and Kennedy hitting timely back-to-back long balls to cut the Mercer deficit to 5-4 in the top of the sixth. Kennedy led the Bears going 3-for-4 and a run scored in game one.
Later in the sixth, Phillips tallied her second RBI of the game to tie and move the game into extras on a sacrifice fly to left.
Bailey, in addition to hitting her second home run of the season in the game, also received the start inside the circle. In all, she threw four complete innings allowing the five earned runs and striking out four.
She didn't however record the win as Kerri Nidiffer took over and finished the game giving up just three hits in her outing. It was Nidiffer's first victory of the season.
GAME TWO – Mercer 7, Samford 4
The story of game two turned out to be the continued success of freshman pitcher Jessica Holsinger. Holsinger limited Samford to just four hits in picking up her team-leading third win of the season. She also threw all eight innings for her third complete game of the year.
Holsinger was able to work with an early on lead as sophomore McKenzie Woody applied pressure as the game's first batter. Woody set the tone by advancing to third off a single and a throwing by the Bulldog's right fielder.
The Bears' next batter, Kristin Marko plated the first of her three RBIs in the game when she drove Woody in from third off a single to right, giving the Bears a 1-0 lead at the end of one. Marko singled again in the second to bring home two more runs and finished game two with three total hits.
Samford responded and tied the game in the bottom of the third off a Bears defensive miscue. After a Madison Dickey RBI single to cut the Bears lead to 3-1, two more runs were able to score and tie the game when MU's Caitlin Peisel made an error on the play.
Neither team scored again which moved the game into extra innings. Mercer's second extra-inning of the day saw the Bears end it in a very similar fashion. This time is was off the bat of freshman Molly Garmany. Garmany took a page of Phillips' book and hit her own three-run home run to give the Bears what turned out to be the game-winning runs. The game-winning home run was the first home run for Garmany in her Mercer career.
Samford got one back in the bottom half of the inning, but Holsinger ensured the Bears would close out the tournament undefeated.
Mercer will play its first mid-week doubleheader this Tuesday when the team heads to Savannah St. to take on the Tigers. Game time for the doubleheader is set for 2 p.m.
