Mercer University
Belmont
Baseball Rallies to Defeat Belmont in Extra-Inning Thriller
3/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MACON, Ga. – Kyle Lewis' walk-off double in the bottom of the 11th inning lifted the Mercer University baseball team to a thrilling 5-4 victory over Belmont on Sunday afternoon at Claude Smith Field.
Following Jackson Ware's lead-off double to start the 11th frame, Lewis blasted the first pitch of his at-bat to the right field wall to plate the game's winning run and complete another comeback for the Bears.
Mercer (7-5) rallied for the second time this weekend, erasing a three-run deficit in the eighth inning to win for the sixth time in its last seven games.
Dimitri Kourtis keyed the comeback for the Bears, after stifling Belmont (2-5) over much of the final six innings. The senior pitcher was nearly flawless, tossing 5.2 hitless innings for his second win of the weekend. Kourtis struck out seven in the contest, while retiring the final 10 batters he faced.
"After a tough loss yesterday, I was really proud of our guys for coming out and beating a really good Belmont team," said head coach Craig Gibson. "D.J. (Johnson) had five strong innings for us and Dimitri (Kourtis) showed why he is one of the best pitchers in the Southeast with his performance today. Kyle Lewis stepped up with the game-winning hit to wrap up a great comeback by our team."
The Bears finished the day with nine hits with three of those coming in extra innings. Charlie Madden and Matt Meeder led the way with two hits apiece, while Devin Bonin pushed his hitting streak to eight games with a fifth-inning single.
DJ Johnson had a solid showing on the mound as the team's starter, giving up four runs, two earned, in 5.1 innings to fall two outs shy of a quality start.
Belmont scored the game's first three runs of the game, striking in the first inning before adding two more on Tyler Fullerton's single in the gap in the third.
The Bears used small ball in the fifth inning to cut into the lead with their first run of the game. Danny Edgeworth's sacrifice bunt moved Nate Moorhouse and Meeder into scoring position, before Conrad Cornell's sacrifice fly plated Moorhouse to trim the deficit to two, 3-1.
A Mercer error in the sixth helped the Bruins push their lead to back to three, 4-1, but the Bears would tie the game with a three-run eighth. Charlie Madden started the outburst with a two-run shot to left center, before Edgeworth plated Howard Joe to knot the game at 4-4.
"I'm really proud of young guys for showing a lot of fight this weekend," added Gibson. "Now it is time to get ready for a strong Georgia Southern team on Tuesday night."
Mercer will be back in action on Tuesday, March 3, as it travels to Statesboro, Ga. to take on Georgia Southern. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
