Mercer Softball Wraps Up Fall Season With 6-0 Record
10/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University softball team played a pair of doubleheaders over the weekend, winning all four games. The Bears posted three wins over Georgia Military College and one over South Georgia State.
"First and foremost, I'd like to thank all of the parents and friends of the program who helped us get the field playable which allowed us to get these games in this weekend," Mercer head coach James DeFeo said. "Without their assistance, we would have lost more games to the weather.
"Overall, it was a positive weekend and the team did some great things during our final fall contests. We had great intensity and focus throughout the whole weekend."
The Orange and Black kicked off the weekend on Saturday against Georgia Military College and won convincingly by a final of 8-1. The Bears then followed up with another dominant performance, defeating South Georgia State 14-3.
The final day of the fall season featured two more games against Georgia Military College on Sunday. Mercer used an offensive explosion to win the first game of the doubleheader 18-6 and then won the second game of the twinbill 9-3 to cap off the perfect weekend. The four wins combined with the two wins over Georgia Highland on Sept. 27 give Mercer a 6-0 record for the fall.
Over the four games the Mercer offense put up big numbers. The Bears combined to plate 49 runs, while accruing 51 hits, 11 of which were home runs.
Leadoff hitter Taylor Miller was a menace to opposing pitchers over the weekend, going a combined 11-for-15 with three RBIs and six stolen bases. Teammates Natalie Shiver and Megan Lane also did plenty of damage with the bats to the opponents. Shiver finished the four games 6-for-12 with two home runs, seven RBIs and a stolen base while Lane went 6-for-15 with two long balls, nine RBIs and four steals.
Anna O'Neil and Jill McElderry highlighted the Mercer pitching staff, as the Bears used five different pitchers over the four games. O'Neill accumulated 10 innings of work over three appearances, allowing just one run and scattering three hits. McElderry went six innings over two appearances, giving up just one unearned run off two hits.
"Our offense showed great power and speed potential with the ability to score in many different ways," DeFeo said. "The entire pitching staff got quality innings of work in and controlled the opponents quite well. And defensively, our players showed their versatility with us being able to place multiple players in many positions, all with great results in the end.
"We look forward to working on all the little things and getting better as a unit moving forward towards our spring competition."
