Eight-Run Inning Carries Mercer Past Austin Peay to Even Series

Saturday, March 5

Macon, Ga.

2 pm

Mercer University

Austin Peay

Eight-Run Inning Carries Mercer Past Austin Peay to Even Series

3/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University baseball team used an eight-run fourth inning to even the series with Austin Peay, after recording a 13-12 victory on Saturday afternoon at Claude Smith Field.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The series picked up where it left off on Friday with the long ball once again featured, as the first nine runs of the game came via home runs. Austin Peay opened the scoring with a pair of two-out home runs to grab a 4-0 advantage in the top of the first.

Kyle Lewis answered in the home half with a solo blast off the batter's eye in straight-away center field. However, the Governors got a grand slam in the top of the second to take a commanding 8-1 lead.

Mercer's offense exploded in the fourth though, putting up eight runs for a 9-8 lead thanks to four hits and five free passes. The Bears added two more runs in the fifth, as RBIs from Ryan Hagan and Lewis pushed the lead to 11-8.

Austin Peay answered in the top of the sixth with three runs to tie the contest, 11-11, but the Bears came through in the home half as Jackson Ware crossed the plate with the go-ahead run. Mercer added a key insurance run in the seventh on Lewis' RBI double, before Austin Lord kept the Orange and Black on top to record his second save of the year.

KEY TO THE GAME
Trailing 8-1, Mercer's offense changed the course of the game in the bottom of the fourth, pushing eight runs across in the frame. The Bears' outburst was their third inning of seven or more runs this week as four of the eight runs in the inning were the direct result of free passes.

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Lewis had a dominant performance in the second game of the series, finishing 3-for-4 at the plate with two-extra base hits and a season-high four RBIs. The junior has now reached base safely in 20 straight games dating back to last season thanks to his sixth multiple-hit performance of the year.

COACH GIBSON'S TAKE
"It was huge to dig ourselves out of an 8-1 deficit and come up with the win against a good club. It was a team effort. Our hitters came through for us with some moments at the plate and defensively we didn't make any mistakes. The pitching was shaky early on, but some other guys got a chance to show what they could do and Austin Lord was great late in the game."

"We have some professional type hitters at the top of the lineup. Meeder had three hits and is worth two runs. Of course Ryan (Hagan) is a part of four runs and then one of the best players in the country comes up and has a big day when we needed him most. Hunter (Bening) had some great at-bats, Charlie (Madden) was really good and Jackson (Ware) had a couple hits and a fantastic catch in the outfield. We gave up some runs, but as a team I thought we had one of our better games both offensively and defensively. Game three will be really tough test against a team that has shown a lot of talent this weekend."

MERCER NOTABLES

The Bears are now 1-1 in the all-time series with Austin Peay.
Mercer is now 4-0 when scoring 10 or more runs this season.
The Orange and Black outscored APSU 12-4 over the final six innings.
Mercer wore its orange digital camouflage jerseys for the second time this season, improving to 2-0 in the new threads.
The Bears outhit Austin Peay for the second straight game, posting 13 hits on the afternoon. Mercer has now reached double-figures in the hits column a total of seven times this season including in each of the past six contests.
Mercer added to its nation-leading walk total, drawing seven again on Saturday. The Bears now have 80 walks through the first 11 games.
The bullpen was strong for the Orange and Black this afternoon, holding Austin Peay to just three runs over the final 7.1 innings.
Conrad Cornell tossed 2.1 scoreless frames, holding the Governors to just one hit during that stretch.
Taylor Lobus picked up the win, his second of the year after holding APSU scoreless in the seventh.
Lord retired six of the seven batters he faced, as a solo shot in the ninth was the only run he surrendered. The junior struck out two in the contest.
Matt Meeder singled in each of his first three at-bats. His three hits ties a career-high and marks his second multiple-hit effort of the season.
Ware was the other Bear to reach multiple hits in the game, as he finished 2-for-5 with one RBI and two runs scored. The sophomore has a team-leading five hits in the series.
Hagan crossed the plate twice to push his team-leading run total to 17 on the year. The junior also drove in a pair of runs, his third multiple-RBI performance in the last five games.