Mercer University
Stetson
No. 2 Mercer Falls in Extra Innings to No. 7 Stetson, 7-5
5/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Mercer baseball team fought back late to force extra innings, but eventually dropped a tough 7-5 decision to Stetson in the opening round of the Atlantic Sun Baseball Championship on Wednesday afternoon at Swanson Stadium.
Mercer (38-16) committed two costly errors in the game that led to the eventual game-winning runs. The Bears haven't had more than one error in a game since they made four errors in a game against Florida Gulf Coast in Swanson Stadium on April 25.
Wednesday's loss is also the first time that Mercer lost its opening round game in the A-Sun Championship since dropping a 6-5 decision to Belmont in the first round of the 2009 A-Sun Championship.
Freshman Kyle Lewis paced the Bears offense by going 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored.
After both team's starting pitchers posted zeros in the first two innings of play, Stetson lit up the scoreboard first in the top of the third inning. An RBI triple by Tyler Bocock was immediately followed up by an RBI single by Patrick Mazeika to give the Hatters a 2-0 lead.
Mercer cut Stetson's lead in half in the bottom half of the inning when senior Sasha LaGarde ripped a two-out RBI single through the left side of the infield to make the score 2-1.
The Hatters continued to find success against Bears starter Brandon Barker in the top of the fourth. Stetson used four singles in the frame to plate two more runs to extend its lead over Mercer to 4-1.
The Bears stayed within striking distance of the Hatters, however, as they struck for two runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a two-RBI single by Lewis to make the score 4-3 Stetson.
Mercer eventually was able to pull even with Stetson in the bottom of the fifth when senior Nick Backlund flared an RBI single to right field to make the score 4-4.
The Hatters jumped back in front in the top of the seventh after a lead-off walk was followed three batters later by an RBI single from Mike Fernland to make the score 5-4 Stetson.
Mercer didn't give up despite giving up the lead late as it waited until the bottom of the ninth to set up some last-minute magic. Following a lead-off walk to junior Nate Moorhouse, classmate Devin Bonin brought him in with an RBI single up the middle to tie the game up at 5-5.
In the end it would be Stetson that got the last laugh, as Mazeika pulled a two-RBI double into the right centerfield gap in the top of the 10th to secure the 7-5 win for the Hatters.
Barker took the loss for Mercer after throwing 3.2 innings and allowing four earned runs on nine hits to go along with three strikeouts.
Senior Michael Massi went 1-for-4 in the contest with a single to extend his reached base consecutively streak up to 29-straight games. The Powder Springs, Ga. native also recorded four assists in the game to set the Mercer record for most assists in a single-season previously set by Jeff Thompson in 1983.
Mercer now faces off against East Tennessee State on May 22 in an elimination game in the losers bracket of the A-Sun Championship. Game time is scheduled for 10 am at Swanson Stadium.
