Mercer University
Stetson
Rea Homers Twice to Salvage Split at Stetson
3/23/2013 12:00:00 AM | Softball
DELAND, Fla. – Mercer junior Randi Rea posted a pair of homeruns and four RBI to lead the Bears to an 8-4 victory in game two and salvage a split in Saturday's Atlantic Sun doubleheader at Stetson.
The Bears (19-15, 8-3 A-Sun) dropped game one by an identical 8-4 score as the Hatters (18-11, 1-4 A-Sun) ended the Bears four-game conference winning streak. The teams return to the diamond tomorrow afternoon to finish off the series at 1 p.m.
GAME ONE:
It wasn't until the fifth inning that the Mercer bats were able to figure out Stetson's starting pitcher Courtney Brandt. Brandt held the Bears scoreless over the first four innings and allowed just two hits heading into the fifth.
By that time the Bears had been put into a bit of a hole as Stetson registered seven runs off Mercer starter Julia Rice. Rice allowed three runs to come across in the bottom of the third and then proceeded to give up a bases-clearing three-run triple to Stetson's Demi Meza and a sacrifice fly before being pulled for junior Kristen Bretscher.
In the top of fifth Mercer got to Brandt with back-to-back clutch hits from senior Sarah Santana and junior Krista Kennedy. Santana roped a two-run RBI double to left center that scored both junior McKenzie Woody and freshman Kaytlin Haney.
Kennedy followed that up with her eighth homerun of the season, with a two-run shot to left center. The four runs cut the Stetson lead to 7-4, but the early deficit proved to be too much as the Bears failed to push any more runs across in the final two innings.
The Hatters added run off senior Kerri Nidiffer who came into the game in the fifth to wrap up the scoring and capture the 8-4 victory. Rice picked up the loss and moved her season record to 10-6.
GAME TWO:
Junior Randi Rea tallied a season-high four RBI in game two by hammering two homeruns to help vault the Bears to an 8-4 victory. It was the first multi-homerun game in Rea's three-year career and she has now matched her career season-mark for homeruns with six on the year.
The Bears again had to dig themselves out of an early deficit as Stetson broke out for four runs in the bottom of the first against game two starter Kerri Nidiffer. Nidiffer faced off against Stetson's top pitcher Meredith Owen and it was Owen that did her best to win the game for the Hatters.
Owen connected with a three-run homerun in the opening frame to give the Hatters the early 4-0 lead. After that however, Nidiffer would respond and did not allow another run in the final six innings. Nidiffer picked up her ninth win of the season by throwing her seventh complete game. She allowed seven hits and struck out four in game two.
Rea led off the second with the first of her two homeruns, a solo shot down the left field line. A Marissa Botz single to center scored freshman Natalie Shiver from third to cut the Hatters lead to 4-2 after two.
Junior McKenzie Woody, who went 4-for-7 on the day and improved her season average to .450, lined an RBI single down the left field line to begin a three-run inning for the Bears in the fourth. Marissa Botz and Sarah Santana each recorded RBI in the inning as well and finished as two of four Mercer players with multiple RBI on the day.
The three runs gave the Bears a 5-4 lead that they would carry into the seventh when Rea added the insurance runs. With two on and one out, Rea took a first pitch offering from Owen deep to left center for the game's final runs. The 8-4 victory also gave Owen just her fourth loss of the season.
