Mercer University
Ga. Southern
Bears Earn Split With Visiting Georgia Southern
3/14/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
BOX SCORE - Game One: Mercer, 3 - Ga. Southern, 2
BOX SCORE - Game Two: Mercer, 2 - Ga. Southern, 5
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer softball team again flirted with getting above .500 on the year, but couldn't pull out the doubleheader sweep over in-state rival Georgia Southern on Wednesday. The Bears (12-13) split on the day taking game one, 3-2 and then fell in game two, 5-2.
Wednesday was the Bears (12-13, 0-0 A-Sun) third non-conference doubleheader where a sweep would have put the team over .500. Unfortunately, like the two series before the best the Bears could muster was a doubleheader split.
Senior Kassie Bailey threw her fourth complete game and picked up her third win of the season in game one. Freshman pitcher Jessica Holsinger allowed seven hits and five runs over six and a third in recording her second loss of the season. Holsinger is now 6-2 on the year.
Mercer finished with six hits between the two games with Sara Stukes recording two hits on the day and Kristin Marko led the team with a pair of RBI.
GAME ONE
Mercer fell behind in the first inning when Georgia Southern's Andrea Tarashuk lined an RBI double with two outs off Bailey. However, after allowing the one run and two hits in the first inning, Bailey re-focused and was able to limit the Eagles to just two hits over the next three.
Georgia Southern's starting pitcher, Sarah Purvis was impressive in her own right carrying a no-hitter through four innings. It wasn't until the bottom of the fifth when the Bears would snap Purvis no-hit bid.
Sophomore Krista Kennedy got underneath a 2-2 pitch, which popped up just in front of Purvis and spun backward allowing Kennedy to beat the throw at first. The hit would amount to little for the Bears in the fifth however and still trailed 1-0.
Georgia Southern's leadoff batter in the top of the sixth – Marie Fogle – extended the Eagleslead to 2-0 when she hit a deep solo homerun to left center. Bailey would get out of the inning allowing just the one run.
In the bottom of the sixth, Mercer would mount its comeback. Purvis allowed a runner to reach when she hit Randi Rea to start off the inning. Rea was then able to beat a fielder's choice throw to second off McKenzie Woody's bat. Mercer's next batter, Kristin Marko, tied the game at two when she hit her team-leading fourth double of the season down the left field line which scored both Rea and Woody on the play.
Bailey, then laid down a well-executed sacrifice bunt that moved a pinch-running Amber Bowman to third. Bowman would score the game-winning run two batters later when senior Sara Stukes lined a single to right field.
In the top half of the seventh, Bailey finished out the game by setting down the Eagles in order. Bailey finished with seven innings pitched, allowing five hits and striking out five.
GAME TWO
After taking an early 2-0 lead, Mercer's Jessica Holsinger allowed two runs in the fourth, two in the fifth and one in the sixth to give up the lead and subsequently the game as the Bears would generate just three hits in game two.
Unlike game one, Mercer was able to play with the lead early beginning with junior Sarah Santana, seniors Sara Stukes and Tiffany Phillips led off the second inning with three consecutive singles. Krista Kennedy plated Santana when she hit a deep sacrifice fly to right to give the Bears the 1-0 lead. Stukes would come across on the next play on a wild pitch and quickly Mercer had a 2-0 lead.
The Eagles tied the game up in the fourth off a hit and a Mercer error in the inning and then took the lead for good in the fifth when Kourtny Thomas drilled a two-run home run to left center. At the end of the fifth GSU led, 4-2. A McKenzie Williams two-out single in the sixth plated the Eagles sixth and final run of the game.
Junior pitcher Kerri Nidiffer took over for Holsinger in the seventh and recorded the game's final two outs. Holsinger ended up stirking out seven to add to her team lead of 54 on the year.
Mercer continues non-conference play this weekend at the Tennessee St. Tournament. The Bears begin the tournament by facing off against St. Bonaventure on Saturday at 9 a.m. and finish out the day playing Ohio St. at 6 p.m.
