Mercer University
Stetson
Softball Splits with Stetson
3/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer softball team received an extra-inning walk-off single by sophomore Kaytlin Haney to earn a split in today's doubleheader with Stetson as they won 5-4 after losing game one 6-1 at Sikes Field Saturday.
Haney stepped up and delivered the one-out infield single that scored junior Kaylynn Sloat from third. Sloat used an aggressive slide to get in under the throw and win the game for the Bears. The first game held a different tune, though, as Mercer never erased a five-run third inning by Stetson. Both teams end the day tied in conference play at 3-2 respectively.
GAME 0NE – MU 1, SU 6
Freshman Kirsten Stevens (5-2) pitched a solid game, but ran into some trouble in the third inning as Stetson rattled off four bunt singles and a few other hits to score five runs, a deficit the Mercer never overcame.
Freshman Caroline Taylor attempted to get her squad back in the game by hitting a lead-off home run in the bottom of the fourth, but that would be the Bears only run.
They did hit, though, as they tallied 10 hits on the game. Haney led the team as she went 3-for-4 in game one. Senior Krista Kennedy joined her in the multi-hit game department as she went 2-for-4. Despite the hits, however, the Bears stranded 9 runners.
GAME TWO – MU 5, SU 4
Haney's walk-off won the game, but there were a few other factors that put Mercer in the win column.
Junior Riley Carter started and pitched one heck of a game. Through five innings, she had a no-hitter going and only had allowed a handful of base runners. It was in the sixth inning that things un raveled on her.
With a 3-0 lead coming in, the Bears committed two errors and gave up four runs in the top of the sixth inning to relinquish the lead to Stetson. Carter was pulled in the inning with the bases loaded in favor of senior Julia Rice (5-2). Rice then allowed a 2-run single that Stetson followed with the second forced error to score two more. Rice finished the game and was Mercer's pitcher of record, gaining her fifth win.
Mercer gained the 3-0 lead through a three-run blast by Sloat in the fourth. Sloat finished the game 1-for-3 with the three RBIs on the homer and two runs scored. She also flashed the leather and the arm a few times with some nice gems in the field.
The Bears tied the game after Stetson's four-run sixth when, who else, Haney hit a single to centerfield that scored freshman Taylor Miller from second base. Haney was 3-for-5 in game two, with the two clutch RBIs. She finished the day 6-for-9, all while battling back spasms.
The rubber match of this conference series is slated for a 1:00 p.m. start, but weather may be a factor in whether or not it will stay that way. Follow @MercerUSoftball on twitter and check mercerbears.com for all of your up-to-the-minute details on Mercer Bears softball.
