Mercer University
Furman
Softball Opens Their First SoCon Road Trip with Two Wins Over Furman
4/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University softball team took two games from Furman University in their first Southern Conference road trip. The Bears defeated the Paladins 5-2 in game one before winning game two 5-3 in eleven innings to move to 4-1 in conference play.
Final – Mercer 5, Furman 2
The Bears jumped out early in game one of the day scoring two runs on one hit and one Furman error in the top of the first inning. Mercer scored both runs on a single by Caroline Taylor up the middle to drive in Meghan Rud and Taylor Miller.
Mercer got on the board again in the top of the fifth inning scoring two runs on two hits and another Paladin error. Shayla Kicklighter scored on a RBI double by Taylor Rogers extending the Mercer lead to three. Quirisa Mauga would drive in Rogers on the next at bat with a hard hit ball to second.
The Bears added their final run of the game in the sixth as Miller scored her second run of the game on a RBI single by Riley Carter to give Mercer a 5-0 lead heading into the seventh inning. Furman added their two runs on three hits in the bottom of the seventh, making the score 5-3 to end the game.
Kirsten Stevens picked up her SoCon best 18th win, pitching her 18th complete game. Stevens recorded 12 strikeouts while allowing two walks and two runs on nine hits.
Final – Mercer 5, Furman 3
Mercer scored the first run of game two in the first inning on one hit. Carter picked up her second RBI of the day on a SAC fly to score Miller. Furman answered quickly scoring two runs of their own in the bottom of the first to take the 2-1 lead heading into the second.
The Bears added a pair of runs in the top of the fourth, taking the lead 3-2, on home runs from Carter and Taylor. Furman tied the game in the bottom of the fourth at three a piece on a SAC fly, where the score would stay until the 11th inning.
Both teams remained in a deadlock through the next six innings. Mercer would break the stalemate in the 11th, as Carter added another RBI on a triple, scoring Rud. Taylor drove in Carter for the Bears final score of the game to extend the Mercer lead to 5-3.
The Bears pitched three pitchers during the game. Anna O'Neill got the start, while Rachael Hugghins pitched 6.1 innings in relief. Bilgri closed out the last four inning of the game en route to her fourth win of the season. Mercer's pitchers combined for five strikeouts, while allowing three runs on nine hits through eleven innings.
With the two wins the Bears move to 28-14 on the year and 4-1 in conference play. Mercer has won 13 of their last 14 games and will be back in action tomorrow in the final game of the series at 12:00 p.m. EST.
Stay tuned to MercerBears.com for live stats and boxscores and be sure to follow Mercer softball on social media (Twitter / Facebook / Instagram) to keep up with all things Mercer Softball.
