Mercer University
14-8, 1-0
Wofford
15-8, 0-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wofford | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| Mercer | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | X | 12 | 15 | 1 |
Baseball Takes Two from Wofford to Open SoCon Play
3/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University baseball team pushed its winning streak to six games with a pair of victories over Wofford on Friday at Claude Smith Field. The Bears picked up a 12-7 win in the opener and a dominant 14-3 triumph in the nightcap to put themselves in position for a sweep of the opening series of Southern Conference play.
COACH GIBSON'S TAKE
"Wofford is one of the best teams in the league, they do one of the best jobs in the SoCon and their pitching is one of the confrence's top staffs. However, we hung in there against two preseason All-SoCon arms. We had several big moments both games and were able to get away from them."
"Winning the first two games against a great club that has a chance to win the league means a lot. It has been our weekend the first two days, but they still have a great bullpen with a guy like Will Stillman so game three will be a tough one. We are ready to go out there and try to keep this momentum going tomorrow afternoon"
GAME 1: Mercer 12, Wofford 7
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mercer jumped out early on Wofford starter Matthew Milburn, the SoCon Preseason Pitcher of the Year, tagging the senior for four runs in the first inning. Charlie Madden started the rally with a two-run double off the wall in right center, before crossing the plate himself on Ben Upton's two-run blast to right field for a 4-0 lead.
The Bears added a pair of runs in the third to push their lead to 6-0, as Hunter Bening and Blaise Lezynski each drove in a run for the Orange and Black. A Wofford error and a RBI single from Kyle Lewis resulted in two more runs in the fourth, as Mercer took an 8-0 lead before the game was postponed on Thursday night due to rain.
When play resumed on Friday, Wofford put together three hits in the fifth to break up the shutout bid, pushing two runs across in the inning before adding another score in the sixth to cut the Bears' lead to 8-3. However, Mercer responded with three runs in the seventh with two of those coming off of Bening's two-run blast. Jackson Ware's RBI double in the eighth gave the Orange and Black a 12-3 lead, but Wofford would score four in the top of the ninth to close out the scoring.
KEY TO THE GAME
Mercer's lineup had a big outing in the SoCon opener, tying a season high with 15 hits in the game. The Bears had six players record multiple hits, while adding to its home run total with a pair of long balls.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
The early run support was more than enough for starter Josh Knies, who retired 12 straight batters after giving up a lead-off single. The junior scattered two hits over four innings of action in his first start, while striking out a career-high five batters to record his first win as a Mercer Bear.
GAME 1 NOTABLES
- Mercer is now 7-6 in conference openers under head coach Craig Gibson.
- The Bears' offense recorded their 13th game with double-digit hits, tying a season high with 15 hits in the contest.
- The Orange and Black reached double figure runs for the 10th time this season, improving to 8-2 in those games.
- Bening drove in a career-high three runs thanks to his first home run at Mercer. The junior closed the game 2-for-3 at the dish.
- Upton recorded his third multiple-hit performance of the year with a 2-for-3 effort, including his third home run of the season.
- Madden's two-run double in the first gave him his seventh game with two RBIs or more. He would finish 2-for-3 in his fourth multiple-hit outing.
- Hagan pushed his hitting streak to a team-high 13 games with a 2-for-5 performance at the plate.
- Lewis went 1-for-2 with three walks to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.
- Lezynski and Matt Meeder also recorded multiple-hit efforts in the contest.
GAME 2: Mercer 14, Wofford 3
HOW IT HAPPENED
Wofford raced out to an early lead in the top of the first, using a pair of hits to score twice in the frame. The Bears used four hits in the bottom of the second to tie the game, 2-2, as Upton and Ware each notched RBI singles.
Mercer grabbed the lead in the bottom of the third, as Danny Edgeworth's single down the right field line drove in Hagan and Lewis for a 4-2 lead. The Terriers cut the deficit to one, 4-3, thanks to three straight two-out hits.
The Bears broke the game open with 10 runs over their final two innings. Meeder started the rally with a lead-off walk in the seventh, before advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt and scoring later in the frame thanks to a pair of wild pitches. Lewis kept it going with a two-run double to the gap in right center. He would score one batter later on Madden's safety squeeze for an 8-3 lead.
Mercer kept the fireworks going in the eighth, scoring three runs early in the inning thanks to RBIs from Truitt and Hagan. Lewis capped off the scoring with a three-run home run to right to hand the Bears their sixth straight win, 14-3.
KEY TO THE GAME
The Bears' offense turned a one-run game into a blowout in just two innings, as half of their 12 hits and 10 of the team's 14 runs came in the final two frames.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Lewis showcased his power in his final two at-bats, driving in five runs thanks to a double and a home run, his 10th of the year, during that stretch. The junior finished with three hits in the contest, his seventh game with three or more hits this season.
GAME 2 NOTABLES
- The Bears are now 15-8 in their all-time series with Wofford, having won 10 of the last 11 contests.
- Mercer improves to 5-0 in opening weekends of league play since joining the SoCon prior to the 2015 season.
- The Bears' offense reached double-digit hits for the second straight game and the 14th time this season with 12 on the night.
- The Orange and Black also found double-figure runs for the second time today, scoring 14 to improve to 9-2 when accomplishing the feat this year.
- Mercer's pitching staff came through late in the game for the second time this week, holding Wofford to just one run over the final eight frames including five scoreless innings to close it.
- Starter Ryan Askew notched his second quality start of the season to improve to 1-2, giving up three runs on seven hits in 6.1 innings of action. The junior struck out six batters in the contest, his third contest with six or more strikeouts this season.
- Lobus retired all seven batters he faced to keep the Bears on top, as he recorded his third save of the year and second this week.
- Edgeworth tied Lewis with a team-high three hits, as he reached the mark for the fourth time this season. The junior also notched two RBIs in the contest for his fourth multiple RBI performance in his last eight games.
- Hagan added another game to his team-leading 14 games with an infield single in the eighth.
RECORDS UPDATE
Mercer improves to 15-8 overall and 2-0 in the Southern Conference, while Wofford drops to 15-9 overall and 0-2 in the league.
UP NEXT
The Bears wrap up their series with Wofford tomorrow, Mar. 26, as first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Claude Smith Field.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Knies, Josh (1-1)
L: Matthew Milburn (4-2)
Batting:
2B: Carson Waln 1
HR: Alec Paradowski 1
RBI: Alec Paradowski 3 ; Chandler Engel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Alec Paradowski 1 ; Carson Waln 1 ; Reed Massey 1 ; Demetrius Jennings 2 ; Chandler Engel 1 ; Mack Nathanson 1
SB: Carson Waln 1 ; Demetrius Jennings 1
CS: Chandler Engel 1
HBP: Reed Massey 1 ; Mack Nathanson 1
Batting:
2B: Hagan, Ryan 1 ; Madden, Charlie 1 ; Ware, Jackson 1
HR: Upton, Ben 1 ; Bening, Hunter 1
RBI: Hagan, Ryan 1 ; Lewis, Kyle 1 ; Madden, Charlie 2 ; Upton, Ben 2 ; Bening, Hunter 3 ; Lezynski, Blaise 1 ; Ware, Jackson 1
SH: Upton, Ben 1 ; Meeder, Matt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Truitt, Trey 1 ; Hagan, Ryan 1 ; Lewis, Kyle 1 ; Madden, Charlie 3 ; Upton, Ben 2 ; Moore, Adam 1 ; Bening, Hunter 1 ; Lezynski, Blaise 1 ; Meeder, Matt 1
HBP: Meeder, Matt 1
PO: Lezynski, Blaise 1
