Mercer University
Savannah State
Baseball Cruises Past Savannah State, 16-6
3/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University baseball team rolled past Savannah State, 16-6, on Tuesday evening at Claude Smith Field, as the Bears used four home runs to win their fifth straight game over an in-state opponent.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Savannah State took advantage of a throwing error for the game's first run, before the Bears answered in the home half with three runs, all with two outs. Kyle Lewis started the rally with a single, scoring on Ben Upton's two-run blast that handed the Orange and Black a 2-1 advantage. Mercer followed Upton's homer with three-straight singles, including Danny Edgeworth's RBI hit for a 3-1 advantage.
The Bears tacked on three more runs in the third for a 6-1 lead, thanks to a two-run triple by Edgeworth and an ensuing wild pitch that allowed him to score from third. SSU put together five hits in the fourth to cut the deficit to four, 6-4, thanks to three runs.
However, Mercer answered in the bottom of the frame, as Ryan Hagan followed a Trey Truitt triple with a home run for an 8-4 lead. The Bears added two more runs in the inning thanks to a solo shot from Lewis as well as Upton's score on a wild pitch to stay out in front, 10-4.
Mercer would tack on six more runs with a score in the sixth and five more runs in the bottom of the eighth, before Savannah State plated two in the top of the ninth to round out the scoring.
KEY TO THE GAME
Mercer's offense rolled up a season-high 16 hits in the game, including eight in two-out situations. The Bears, who had five of those in a three-run first inning, hit .500 with two outs en route to a .432 overall batting average on the day.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Conard Broom recorded his second win of the season, after retiring all eight batters he faced including two big outs in the fourth to stop a big rally by the Tigers. The freshman struck out a career-high batters, while making his nation-leading 17th appearance of the year.
NOTABLES
- The Bears are now 25-11 in their all-time series with Savannah State.
- Mercer reached double figures in the runs column for the 12th time this season, improving to 10-2 in those contests.
- The Orange and Black's offense recorded their fourth straight double-digit hit performance and the 16th of the year, finishing with a season-high 17 on the day. The total is the team's highest since tallying 23 against VMI in the 2015 SoCon Tournament.
- The Bears' pitching staff fell two shy of a season-high with 12 strikeouts in the contest.
- Josh Knies made his second start of the year, giving up four runs, three earned, in 3.1 innings of action.
- Kyle Bialousz and Carter Varga each tossed one inning of scoreless relief.
- Lewis extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a single in the first inning. He reached four times in the game, with two walks and two hits including his 12th home run of the season.
- Hagan homered in the fourth to push his hitting streak to a team-high 16 games, before adding a RBI double in the eighth. His three RBIs in the game gave him his fifth multiple-RBI contest this season.
- Edgeworth notched a pair of RBI hits in the contest, finishing 2-for-3 with a team-high three RBIs.
- Hunter Bening finished 2-for-4 at the plate to tally his third multiple-hit outing in his last four contests.
- Jose Hernandez recorded his second multiple-hit performance of the year, finishing 2-for-4 at the plate.
- Blaise Lezynski reached four times to match Lewis, finishing 2-for-2 with a pair of walks.
- Howard Joe led-off the eighth with a solo home run, his first of the season. He is the 11th Bear to homer this year.
RECORDS UPDATE
Mercer improves to 16-9 overall, while Savannah State slides to 7-19.
UP NEXT
The Bears wrap up their mid-week contests tomorrow night, Mar. 30, as they take on Georgia State at Claude Smith Field. First pitch is at 6 p.m.
