Mercer University
Wofford
Baseball Splits Saturday's SoCon Twinbill with Wofford
4/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Mercer University baseball team split its Southern Conference doubleheader with Wofford on Saturday afternoon, claiming the opener 13-7 before falling 5-1 in the night cap at Russell C. King Field.
Mercer (23-16, 10-4 SoCon) improved to 4-1 in SoCon series openers this season, as 13 of the team's 20 hits in the doubleheader came in the opener that was suspended due to rain after five innings of play on Friday night.
"We came out strong offensively and won the final four innings of the first game," said head coach Craig Gibson. "However, you have to give it to their guy on the mound in the second game, he had good stuff today and didn't give us many opportunities. It was good to come on the road and get a big Southern Conference win in a tough environment."
Mercer 13, Wofford 7
Mercer outscored the Terriers 13-3 over the final seven frames in the series opener, overcoming an early deficit to record the fifth win in its last seven league contests.
The Bears came up big with two outs in the contest, as nine of the team's 13 hits came in two-out situations. Matt Meeder and Devin Bonin each had three runs to pace Mercer, which had six players record two hits in the game.
Mitchell Wade picked up the win to improve to 3-1 on the year, tossing a perfect 1.1 innings of relief to lead a bullpen that gave up just one run over the final 4.2 frames. Morgan Pittman surrendered just one run over 2.1 innings of work, while Ben Lumsden pitched a scoreless ninth with the help of a pair of strikeouts.
Wofford (28-13, 6-5 SoCon) raced out to an early lead on Friday night, opening the game with four straight hits including a bases-clearing triple by Conor Clancey. Carson Waln drove in the Terriers' fourth run of the game moments later, plating Clancey for a 4-0 advantage.
Mercer cut the lead in half in the top of the third, taking advantage of a pair of hit batters and a walk to load the bases with two outs. Danny Edgeworth capitalized on the opportunity, driving in two runs with a single to left field to make it a 4-2 ballgame.
The Bears continued to roll in the fifth, grabbing their first lead of the game with three runs in the frame. Jackson Ware started the scoring with a RBI single, before Howard Joe plated a pair with a single through the left side to push Mercer out in front, 5-4.
The Terriers responded in the home half, as the top of the lineup struck again. Wofford's first three batters reached base before Clancey's blooper scored two to hand the Terriers a 6-5 advantage before the game was suspended due to rain.
The layover failed to stall the Bears' offense, as the team grabbed the lead for good, 7-6, thanks to RBIs from Kyle Lewis and Edgeworth.
Mercer kept its two-out production going in the seventh, using a pair of triples in the inning to grab a 9-6 advantage. Trey Truitt started the rally with a triple to right field, before scoring along with Nate Moorhouse on Matt Meeder's two-run triple to center field.
Wofford trimmed the lead to 9-7 on Derek Hirsch's RBI single in the eighth inning, however, Mercer would put the game out of reach with four runs off the bat of Devin Bonin. The senior second baseman drove a 1-1 pitch over the right field for a grand slam, as his seventh home run of the season wrapped up the scoring, 13-7.
Wofford 5, Mercer 1
The Terriers broke up a scoreless game during the fourth inning of the nightcap, as Hirsch's single up the middle plated the contest's first run. Wofford add two more runs in the fifth, grabbing a 3-0 advantage on Clancey's two-run home run to left.
Back-to-back singles by Wofford in the sixth helped push two more runs across, putting Mercer in a 5-0 hole with three frames remaining.
Mercer ended Terriers' starter Adam Scott's shutout bid in the eighth, as Lewis drove in Conrad Cornell for the team's first run. Joe notched his second hit of the game in the ninth, but the Bears' were unable to rally back as Wofford evened the series.
Grant Papelian was tagged with the loss, despite a solid outing on the mound. The senior gave up three runs on seven hits in five innings of work to fall to 4-3 on the year. Austin Lord, Wade, Carter Varga and DJ Johnson combined to toss three scoreless frames to close out the game, giving up just one hit in that span.
Joe and Lewis paced the squad with two hits in the final game of the day, while Ware's walk in the fourth helped him reach base for the 15th straight game. Meeder saw his streak snapped in the nightcap, after reaching base in each of his previous 20 games.
Due to heavy rain expected in the Spartanburg area tomorrow, Sunday's series finale has been cancelled. The Bears will resume play on Tuesday, when they travel to Savannah for two games with Savannah State.
