Mercer University
Georgia
Baseball Defeats Georgia, 3-1, for Fourth Straight Win
3/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University baseball team pushed its winning streak to four games, defeating Georgia, 3-1, on Tuesday night at Foley Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mercer jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the top of the third, as Kyle Lewis doubled off the wall in right field to plate Trey Truitt and Ryan Hagan. The Bears added another run in the fourth, as Hagan's third-straight hit drove in Matt Meeder for a 3-0 advantage.
Georgia made it a two-run game with a run in the bottom of the fourth, taking an advantage of a throwing error to cut the Bears' lead to 3-1.
Both pitching staffs settled in though, as neither offense could find the scoreboard the rest of the way out. Conard Broom and Taylor Lobus iced the game for Mercer, holding the Bulldogs' lineup without a run and just three hits over the final five innings of action.
KEY TO THE GAME
Mercer's pitching staff had one of its best outings of the year, holding Georgia to just six hits while reaching double-figure strikeouts for the seventh time in 2016. The Bears' staff gave up no earned runs for the first time this season and were especially lethal with runners on base as they limited the Bulldogs to just 2-for-11 hitting in those situations.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Hagan pushed his team-leading hitting streak to 12 games with his double in the first inning. The second baseman recorded hits in each of his first three at-bats including two doubles, finishing 3-for-4 at the plate for his 11th multiple-hit performance.
Lobus closed the game with three scoreless innings for his second save of the season. The freshman righty gave up just one hit during that stretch, while striking out four of the nine batters he faced.
COACH GIBSON'S TAKE
"It was a great win tonight, any time you play a Georgia team you know you are going to be in for a fight. Scott's done a great job here, but we were able to pitch really well and win some key moments at the plate tonight. Hopefully we can carry that momentum into our opening SoCon series against Wofford, who has a very talented team with some great arms."
MERCER NOTABLES
- The Bears have now won four of their last five against Georgia to improve to 25-89-1 in their all-time series with the Bulldogs.
- Head coach Craig Gibson claimed career win No. 406 with the win, moving him past Claude Smith into sole possession of second place on the program's all-time wins list.
- Mercer's offense fell just one hit shy of its 13th game with double-digit hits, finishing with nine on the night.
- Connor Herd had his most effective start of the season, holding the Bulldogs to one unearned run on just two hits in 3.2 innings to pick up his second win in 2016. The sophomore struck out three in his eighth appearance of the year.
- Broom pushed his nation-leading appearance total to 15 with 2.1 innings of action on Tuesday. The freshman tied a career-high with five strikeouts, while only allowing three hits in his ninth scoreless appearance of the year.
- Lewis stretched his hitting streak to 11 games with a two-run double in the third. He now has a team-leading 12 games with two or more hits to go along with eight multiple-RBI contests this season.
RECORDS UPDATE
Mercer improves to 13-8 on the year, while Georgia slides to 14-8.
UP NEXT
The Bears open Southern Conference play this Thursday, Mar. 24, as they welcome Wofford to town for the first of a three-game series at Claude Smith Field. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
