Mercer University
Harvard
Baseball Drops Series Opener to Harvard, 10-6
3/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University baseball team was unable to recover from an early deficit, falling to Harvard, 10-6, at Claude Smith Field on Friday night.
Mercer (8-6), who lost for just the second time in its last nine games, fell behind 4-0 in the first inning, as Harvard (3-2) chased starter Ryan Askew on the strength of five hits in the frame.
The Bears cut into the deficit in the third inning thanks to the bat of Kyle Lewis. The sophomore outfielder smacked his fourth home run of the season, pulling Mercer within two, 4-2, with a two-run blast to left center.
The Crimson would respond with six runs over the next three innings and appeared to be cruising with a 10-2 advantage in the sixth, but Mercer, who rallied for a pair of victories last weekend, kept its hopes of a comeback alive with four runs in the sixth.
Charlie Madden led off the frame with one of his four hits on the night, a solo shot to right field. Howard Joe and Danny Edgeworth followed Madden's home run with back-to-back hits, before Matt Meeder's single to right field plated Joe for the second run of the inning. A Harvard error and a wild pitch kept the rally going, allowing Edgeworth and Meeder to score and help Mercer trim the deficit to four, 10-6.
Reliever D.J. Shives tossed three scoreless innings to keep the Bears within striking distance, but Harvard shut the door on thoughts of a late-inning rally to record the victory.
Mercer reached double-figures in the hit column for the seventh time this season, finishing with 11 in the contest. Madden's career effort led the way for the Bears, who also got multi-hit performances from Lewis and Meeder.
The four-game series continues tomorrow with a doubleheader at Claude Smith Field. The opening game of the twin bill starts at 1 p.m.
