Mercer University
Florida A&M
Softball Sweeps Florida A&M On The Road
3/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Mercer University softball team picked up two wins in a mid-week doubleheader sweep of Florida A&M on Wednesday, March 9, defeating the Rattlers 15-7 and 9-1 in nonconference play.
FINAL – Mercer 15, Florida A&M 7
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bears scored a season-high 15 runs, highlighted by a six-run third inning, to top the Rattlers in the opening leg of Wednesday's doubleheader. Mercer scored at least one run in four of the seven inning played as eight players picked up at least one of the total 11 hits by the Bears.
Florida A&M appeared to rally twice, as it scored three runs in the fourth inning to cut Mercer's lead to 7-4 and three runs in the sixth to make it 10-7, but the Bears tacked on five runs in the final frame to seal the win.
Three pitchers – Maxine Rodriguez, Anna O'Neill and Megan Bilgri filled the seven innings in the circle for Mercer, with Rodriguez picked up her third win of the season in the process. Rodriguez tossed 4.2 innings, scattering four hits while surrendering four runs and striking out two batters.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
The focal point of Mercer's 15-run outburst against the Rattlers came from freshman Lindsay Boynton's red-hot bat. Boynton went 2-for-4 at the plate with a career-high six RBI on two three-run home runs, both coming in the third and sixth innings.
Boynton's six RBI are a season-high for any Mercer player so far and gave the freshman a team-best 14 through only 14 games played. Boynton has only started seven games for the Bears, all coming in their last seven games.
FINAL – Mercer 9, Florida A&M 1 (5 innings)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mercer wasted no time continuing its offensive downpour in Game 2, piling on five runs in the top of the first inning to coast to a shortened game, due to the run rule. Following a bases-loaded walk by Lindsay Boynton (1-for-3, 3 RBI), Natalie Shiver hit a two-run single to break things open. Megan Lane would go on to draw another bases-loaded walk before Meghan Rud singled to left field for the fifth run of the inning.
Back-to-back RBI doubles by Quirisa Mauga and Lindsay Boynton in the top of the fifth inning sealed the sweep for the Bears.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Another freshman made a big impact for Mercer in Game 2, as Megan Bilgri earned her first collegiate win in the circle in her second career start. Bilgri, who only allowed one run in five innings of work, struck out four batters while issuing only four hits.
In five appearances since March 2, Bilgri has only allowed the one run and struck out eight batters in the process.
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NOTABLES
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Mercer's 24 runs on Wednesday are the most the Bears have scored in a two-game stretch this season, besting its back-to-back output of 15 runs against Iowa State (9-3) and Fordham (6-0) last weekend in the Black & Orange Challenge.
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The Bears drew a collective 21 walks against Florida A&M, including a season-high 11 in Game 1. Freshman Megan Lane earned a free pass four times over the doubleheader, while three other Bears picked up three walks a piece.
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Four Bears had multi-hit performances, including two by Meghan Rud. Mercer had a collective 19 hits in the two games, improving the team batting average to .270.
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Meghan Rud hit safely twice in both games, extending her hitting streak to four games and improving her batting average to .333. With RBI in both games, Rud has also tacked on at least one RBI in three of her last four games. The sophomore is in a four-way tie for fourth place on the team in that category.
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Taylor Miller stole two bases in Game 2, pushing her Southern Conference-best mark to 11 steals in 23 games. Meghan Rud, who is second in the SoCon in steals, picked up one in Game 1, giving her eight for the season.
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Since joining the Mercer starting lineup, Lindsay Boynton has provided a much-needed power source. Her 14 RBI are a team-best, as is her .833 slugging percentage. She's tied with Shaila Warren for second on the team in home runs (3), trailing only Emma Andrew (4).
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Anna O'Neill's three strikeouts in Game 1 continues to inch her closer to a career-high in that category. The junior is only six away from reaching a career-best 61.
RECORD UPDATE
Mercer's sweep of Florida A&M on Wednesday improved its record to 9-14 overall.
UP NEXT
Mercer will head further south to Boca Raton, Fla. and play five games in three days at the FAU Invitational at Florida Atlantic University. The Bears will face Rutgers, Long Island, Robert Morris, Minnesota and Massachusetts on March 11-13.
STAY SOCIAL
Follow @MercerUSoftball on Twitter and Instagram or visit the team's official Facebook page for up-to-date information on the Bears' softball program.
