Mercer University
The Citadel
Baseball Defeats The Citadel, 4-3, to Even Series
4/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Mercer University baseball team scored four straight runs to even its Southern Conference series with The Citadel, after recording a 4-3 victory on Friday night at Riley Park.
Mercer (19-13, 6-2 SoCon) did most of its damage in the middle innings, recording eight of its 12 hits from the fourth to sixth innings en route to the ninth win in their last 11 contests. Matt Meeder led four players with multiple hits, finishing 3-for-4 at the plate to go along with his SoCon-leading 26th walk of the year. Trey Truitt added two hits and a team-best two RBIs, while Howard Joe and Jackson Ware also had a pair of hits on the night.
Grant Papelian won his second straight Southern Conference start, giving up three runs on six hits in six innings of work. Dimitri Kourtis got the final four outs of the game for his second save of the year, moving within just two saves of tying Andrew Urena for the program's career record.
The Citadel (15-14, 1-3 SoCon) scored the game's first two runs in the bottom of the second, thanks to four consecutive two-out hits including RBI hits from William Kinney and Jacob Watcher for a 2-0 advantage.
After threatening in each of the previous two innings, Mercer finally broke through for a run in the fourth inning. Truitt picked up the Bears' third hit of the frame with a single to center field that plated Ware to cut the deficit in half, 2-1.
Mercer tied the game one inning later, as Ware's double to left center scored Devin Bonin to put the teams on even terms, 2-2, in the fifth. The Bears would take their first lead of the game in the sixth, as Truitt and Meeder each plated runs for a 4-2 advantage.
The Bulldogs cut the lead in half on Drew Ellis' home run, but Papelian would get out of the inning with the lead intact for his second straight quality start. Mercer's bullpen took care of the rest, as Mitchell Wade, Austin Lord and Kourtis combined for three scoreless frames to close out the team's sixth league win.
The Bears conclude their SoCon series with The Citadel tomorrow, April 4, with first pitch set for 1 p.m. at Riley Park.
