Mercer University
Savannah St.
Rice Nearly Perfect In Home Finale Win Over Savannah State
4/24/2013 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MACON, Ga. – In a make-up game of a rained-out series earlier in the year, the Mercer softball team broke out of its recent slide to take a convincing 8-0 win over Savannah State at Sikes Field on Wednesday.
The Bears (24-29, 10-14 A-Sun) and Lady Tigers (21-19, 5-4 MEAC) were scheduled to play a doubleheader on Wednesday to make up for a pair of games that were rained out in February, but because of championship round play in several tournaments this season, the Bears were forced to play just one game as the doubleheader would have put the team over the NCAA's 56-game limit.
The win snaps the Bears' six-game losing streak and closes out the team's regular season home schedule. It also settles the regular season series between the two schools, as Mercer and Savannah State had traded games at the FIU Classic in late February.
Mercer took the quick outright lead in Wednesday's game as junior McKenzie Woody tagged her A-Sun leading fifth triple of the season to lead things off in the bottom of the first. She would account for the Bears' first run when she took home on a double steal to put the Bears up, 1-0.
Woody finished the game going 2-for-2 at the plate, which moves her season hit total to 80 and moves her into a tie for eighth place all-time in single season hits in the A-Sun.
Back-to-back RBI singles by freshmen Ashton Holt and Natalie Shiver scored the Bears' three additional runs in the inning. Holt recorded one RBI off her hit while Shiver laced a shot through the left side that scored both Randi Rea and Holt on the play.
Junior Julia Rice could have easily thrown a no-hitter on Wednesday as the Oak Park, Calif. native limited the Lady Tigers to just one hit and even that came on a close play at first.
Riding the no-hitter into the third inning, Rice forced Savannah State's Antonette Smith to hit a slow roller to short that was fielded cleanly by Mercer's Krista Kennedy. Kennedy's throw was seemingly in time to retire Smith but Smith was called safe at first to end Rice's chance at the no-hitter.
The one-hit victory was the fewest hits allowed by Rice in 28 starts this season. It was also her first complete game shutout of the season.
Mercer tallied four more runs off three hits in the fourth to plate the necessary runs to end things early. Shiver knocked in her third RBI of the game off a single to left to give the Bears a 5-0 lead. Then with Shiver on first, sophomore Molly Garmany belted her sixth homerun of the season deep over the right field fence to give Mercer a 7-0 lead.
A Savannah State throwing error three plays later allowed the Bears' final run to come across and from there Savannah State went down in order in their final two appearances at the plate.
The Bears finish out their 2013 regular season this weekend at USC Upstate. Mercer is looking for a three-game sweep of the Spartans to keep their postseason chances alive. The Orange and Black is in need of some help as well as both Jacksonville and Stetson stand ahead of them for the sixth and final spot in the upcoming A-Sun Championship.
Mercer and USC Upstate begin their three-game series with a doubleheader set for 2 p.m. on Saturday.
