Mercer University
Samford
Mercer Claims Outright SoCon Title with 8-5 Win Over Samford
5/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University baseball team scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to pull out an 8-5 victory over Samford and claim the outright Southern Conference regular season title on Senior Night at Claude Smith Field.
Mercer (31-20, 16-6 SoCon) came up with big hits down the stretch for the second straight night to continue its impressive run through the SoCon in its first year in the league. The conference title is the Bears second in the last three seasons, as they grabbed their fifth regular-season crown in program history.
Jackson Ware was hit by a pitch to start the eighth-inning rally, before moving to second on Nate Moorhouse's base on balls. Howard Joe loaded the bases with the single through the left side, setting up another big moment from Charlie Madden. The sophomore catcher smacked a two-run double to deep center field to break the tie, before Joe scored on a wild pitch for a three-run advantage.
The Bears had their closer on the mound in the ninth, as Dimitri Kourtis picked up back-to-back strikeouts to work around a lead-off walk and finish off the victory. The senior right-hander recorded the win to improve to 3-1 on the year, after tossing two hitless frames.
Parity was once again the story for the Mercer lineup, as six players found the hit column including three with multiple-hit performances. Moorhouse and Matt Meeder each reached base three times to pace the club, while Madden and Kyle Lewis each drove in two runs on the night.
Mercer got another solid outing from starter Grant Papelian, as the senior gave up just two runs on six hits in 4.1 innings of work. The Bears' bullpen took over from there, holding one of the league's top offenses to three runs, two earned, over the final 4.2 innings.
Samford (28-24, 13-10 SoCon) broke up a scoreless tie in the top of the third, as Southern Conference home run leader Hunter Swilling hit his 16th long ball of the season, a solo shot to right field, for a 1-0 advantage.
The Bears tied the game, 1-1, in the bottom of the fourth, after Moorhouse blasted a solo home run of his own to right field.
Samford answered in the top of the fifth with a RBI single from Austin Edens for a 2-1 advantage, but Mercer seniors Mitchell Wade and Morgan Pittman recorded the final two outs in relief to leave the bases loaded.
Mercer used that momentum to plate three runs in the home half, grabbing its first lead of the game. Meeder drove in Madden with a double down the right field line, before Lewis matched Swilling at 16 home runs on the year with a two-run shot to center field for a 4-2 advantage.
The Bears added another run in the bottom of the sixth, as Ware led off the frame with a solo homer to right field to push the lead to 5-2.
However, Samford tied the game, 5-5, in the seventh, doing all of its work with two outs to plate three runs in the frame. Frankie Navarrete started the scoring with a two-run single, before a Mercer error allowed the tying run to score. Mercer's clutch hitting in the eighth was the difference though, helping the team claim its sixth league series.
The Bears will go for the sweep tomorrow night, as first pitch for the series finale with Samford is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
