Mercer University
VMI
Mercer Baseball Clinches Series with 7-6 Victory Over VMI
5/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
LEXINGTON, Va. – The Mercer University baseball team clinched its series with VMI on Saturday afternoon, recording a 7-6 victory with its second straight win at Gray-Minor Stadium.
Mercer (28-18, 13-6 SoCon) outscored the Keydets (15-25, 8-9 SoCon) 5-1 over the final five innings to increase its Southern Conference lead with the 13th league win of the year. The Bears reached double-figures hits for the second time this series and fifth straight game overall, finishing with 12 on the afternoon.
"We put some good at-bats together today with Kyle Lewis and Howard Joe each coming through with big home runs for us," said head coach Craig Gibson. "I'm really proud of Carter Varga stepping up in a tough situation and teaming with Morgan Pittman to give us another great performance by our bullpen. Overall, it was a great team victory today and now we have a chance to do something special on Sunday."
Lewis once again led the way for the Mercer lineup, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs to push his batting average over .400 for the season. Trey Truitt reached base three times and drove in a run, while Matt Meeder added a team-best two runs to go along with a pair of hits.
Varga tossed a scoreless to record his first collegiate victory, while Pittman surrendered just one run over the final four frames to pick up his third save of the year.
Mercer scored the game's first run for the second straight contest, as Truitt singled through the right side to plate Danny Edgeworth for a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. VMI responded in the home half of the frame, grabbing the lead, 2-1, on Will Connerley's two-run home run to left field.
The Bears knotted the game, 2-2, in the third frame, as Lewis continued his onslaught over the past two weeks with a run-scoring single. However, the Keydets once again answered, grabbing a 3-2 advantage with a run in the bottom of the inning. VMI added to its lead in the fourth, as Thomas Stallings hit a two-run shot put the Keydets on top, 5-2.
Mercer's offense found its groove in the fifth, plating three runs to tie the game. Matt Meeder started off the scoring with a RBI single to left center, before Lewis came through with his second home run of the series. The sophomore blasted a two-run shot over the left field fence to bring the two teams to even terms, 5-5.
The Bears took over the lead in the top of the seventh, as Devin Bonin crossed the plate on a wild pitch. Joe added an insurance run to Mercer's tally one inning later, smacking a solo shot to left field to hand the team a 7-5 advantage.
VMI cut the deficit in half in the top of the ninth on Collin Fleischner's solo shot, but Pittman rebounded with three straight outs to help Mercer improve to 23-0 when leading after six innings.
The Bears will go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon, as they close out the series against VMI with a 1 p.m. contest at Gray-Minor Stadium.
