Softball Drops Pair of A-Sun Games at North Florida

Saturday, April 13

1 pm

Mercer University

North Fla.

Softball Drops Pair of A-Sun Games at North Florida

4/13/2013 12:00:00 AM | Softball

MACON, Ga. – A tough 5-4 loss in nine innings in game one of Saturday's Atlantic Sun doubleheader unfortunately snowballed into a 12-3 loss in game two as the Mercer softball team was swept at North Florida.

A lead-off homerun in the bottom of the ninth inning capped a come-from-behind victory for North Florida before the Ospreys tagged the Bears for seven-run fifth inning to things early in game two. The losses move Mercer's conference record to 10-10 and 23-25 overall. The wins improve North Florida's A-Sun line to 10-4 and 32-11 altogether.

Due to the chance of rain in the Jacksonville, Fla. area, tomorrow's series finale with North Florida has been moved to 11 a.m. Mercer will look to regroup and pick up a win to keep their postseason chances alive. The Orange and Black is currently one game behind Kennesaw State for the sixth and final spot in the conference tournament with seven conference games remaining.

GAME ONE:

Mercer fell to 2-3 overall in extra inning games this season as the Ospreys scored the final four runs of the game, including a walk-off homerun in the ninth to secure a game one victory. UNF's Mariah Reynolds hit the game-winner off senior Kerri Nidiffer who had come in relief of Mercer's starting pitcher Julia Rice in the seventh inning.

The Bears scored a run in the second off a Molly Garmany RBI single and then put up three runs in the third to take an early 4-1 lead. The three in the third came off RBI's from junior Krista Kennedy, freshman Ashton Holt and junior Randi Rea. Kennedy led the Bears at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and the RBI.

The Bears outhit the Ospreys 11-10 in game the game, however MU watched as its lead slowly evaporated when the Ospreys plated a run in each of the next three innings. Rice worked through the sixth giving up just the four runs off eight hits.

UNF's ace Cortney Radke came into the game in the third and gave up just six hits and no runs while striking out nine Bears in sixth and a third innings pitched. Radke got the Bears to go down in order in the ninth setting the stage for Reynolds game-winner.

GAME TWO:

Mercer twice held a lead in game two before North Florida scored 11 runs over the final two innings, including seven in the fifth to run-rule Mercer 12-3.

MU jumped out to a 1-0 lead as junior McKenzie Woody scored off a wild pitch from third. Woody went 2-for-2 at the plate in game two and finished with four hits on the day to move her season total to 73. She is just one shy of tying her own single-season Mercer record for hits in a season, which she set last year.

The Bears retook the lead, 2-1 in the fourth as Randi Rea connected for her 12^th homerun of the season, a solo shot to lead off the inning. Krista Kennedy would keep pace with Rea in the homerun category as she too went yard in the fifth. It too was Kennedy's 12 of the year.

The lead however was short lived as UNF exploded for 11 runs off nine hits off Mercer pitchers in the fourth and fifth innings. All told, Rice gave up seven runs and picked up the loss to move to 12-11 on the year.