Mercer University
VMI
Baseball Takes Series with 7-2 Win Over VMI
4/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University baseball team defeated VMI, 7-2, on Sunday afternoon at Claude Smith Field to win its seventh weekend series of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mercer's offense got off to a quick start, as Trey Truitt and Matt Meeder each reached base before Kyle Lewis drove both in with a single to center for a 2-0 lead. Lewis plated his third run of the game in the third inning, driving in Truitt for a 3-0 advantage.
The 3-0 lead was plenty of early run support for Mercer starter Kevin Coulter, who faced the minimum through the first four innings. The Keydets broke up his shutout bid in the fifth with a solo home run, before cutting their deficit to one, 3-2, with a run in the seventh.
Lewis continued his hot hitting in the seventh to answer the run, as his third hit of the contest went over the fence in left field for a two-run homer and a 5-2 lead for the Bears. Mercer tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the eighth for a 7-2 lead thanks to Truitt's two-run triple.
KEY TO THE GAME
Mercer came through with runners on base in Sunday's finale, as eight of the team's nine hits occurred with a runner on. Four of those eight hits resulted in runs, something the Bears' pitching staff was able to keep VMI from doing. The Orange and Black's pitchers limited the Keydets to just 2-of-11 hitting with runners on base, while holding VMI to only five total hits on the afternoon.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Lewis' two-run single in the first stretched his on-base streak to 46 games, the nation's longest active streak. He finished 3-for-4 at the plate with five RBIs, to move past 50 RBIs for the second straight season thanks in part to his 15th home run of the year. He now leads the team with 19 multiple-hit performances and the 14 contests with two or more RBIs.
COACH GIBSON'S TAKE
"It all started with Kevin Coulter, I'm so happy we were able to get him a win. It was probably the best weekend of starting pitching that we have had all season with all three guys throwing great. We also had one of our most complete games as a team. The offense had some timely hitting, the defense was incredible and our bullpen came through in the end. Kyle was great today with five RBIs, but I'm very impressed with that VMI team."
"Hopefully we can carry on this momentum and keep playing well on weekends. We take on another great club on Tuesday up in Atlanta and hopefully we'll play better than we did the last time, but I'm very proud of a total team effort today."
NOTABLES
- Mercer is now 8-4 in its all-time series with VMI, having won seven of the last nine meetings.
- Coulter notched his second straight quality start, after giving up just two runs on three hits in 6.1 innings of work. The freshman picked up his team-leading fourth win of the season, while striking out five batters.
- Conard Broom made his nation-leading 26th appearance of the season, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings for his second save of the year.
- The Bears also got scoreless relief outings from Austin Cox and Austin Lord.
- Meeder reached base in his first four trips the plate in the series finale, to finish 2-for-3 with two walks. He now has seven multiple-hit efforts this season.
- Truitt's two-run triple gives him eight multiple-RBI contests in 2016, as he reached base three times with a hit and a pair of walks.
RECORDS UPDATE
Mercer moves to 21-15 overall and 7-4 in the SoCon, while VMI moves to 17-22 overall and 2-9 in league play.
UP NEXT
The Bears hit the road on Tuesday, as they travel up I-75 to for a 6 p.m. contest at Georgia Tech.
