Mercer University
UNC Greensboro
Mercer Softball Splits Pair Of SoCon Games At UNCG
4/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Mercer University softball team split two Southern Conference games at UNCG, defeating the Spartans 15-2 before falling 6-3 on Saturday, April 9 at UNCG Softball Stadium.
FINAL – Mercer 15, UNCG 2 (5 innings)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bears (17-22, 1-3 SoCon) earned their first league win of the season in dominant fashion, tagging three-time conference pitcher of the week Alicia Bazonski (13-4) with eight runs in a little more than one inning pitched. By the end of the second inning, Mercer owned an 11-0 lead on 11 hits, eight of which had RBIs. A five-run first was sparked by RBI-singles from senior Natalie Shiver, sophomore Emma Andrew and freshmen Lindsay Boynton and Shaila Warren. Shiver and Warren added another RBI-single each in the second while junior and starting pitcher Maxine Rodriguez added a two-RBI single as well.
Mercer later tacked on three runs in the fifth inning as Shiver hit her fifth home run of the season, followed by an RBI-double by senior Kaytlin Haney and a RBI-single by junior Taylor Rodgers. Ten of the 13 Bears with at-bats had at least one hit, including multi-hit performances by Shiver, freshman Shaila Warren and sophomore Meghan Rud.
Mercer additionally outhit UNCG (24-15, 1-3 SoCon) 15-3.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Rodriguez earned her team-best sixth win in the circle by doing a little bit of everything for the Bears. The right-handed pitcher tossed a five-inning complete game and held the SoCon's top offense to two runs on three hits while going 1-for-2 with a pair of RBIs at the plate as well.
FINAL – UNCG 6, Mercer 3
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Black and Orange (17-23, 1-4 SoCon) took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh, but it was the Spartans (25-15, 2-3 SoCon) who walked away victories as Nicole Thomas launched a walk-off grand slam off junior Jill McElderry (4-7).
Mercer led 2-0 through 3.5 innings as Rud scored after hitting a triple in the third and Andrew blasted a solo home run in the fourth. After UNCG tied it 2-2 on Kendall McKinney's second home run of the day, the Bears reclaimed the lead on a solo shot by Boynton in the sixth, but the lead didn't last.
The Spartans out-hit Mercer eight to seven and Stephanie Bryden earned her 10th win of the season with a complete game performance. Sophomore Megan Bilgri was effective through five complete innings for Mercer, scattering four hits and surrendering only two runs, both coming on the home run.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Boynton's home run to center field gave the Bears what looked to be the series-clinching run in the sixth. It was her only hit of the game, as she went 1-for-4, but it was undeniably Mercer's biggest one in game two.
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MERCER STAT OF THE DAY
Mercer's 15 runs in game one marked the first time the Bears have scored double-digit runs in Southern Conference play. Their previous game-high was nine runs against the Spartans in the first round of the SoCon Tournament last season.
NOTABLES
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Rodriguez held the SoCon's top two hitters, senior twins Nicole and Lindsay Thomas, hitless in game one. The siblings came into the game hitting .429 and .423 and went a combined 0-for-3 with one walk. UNCG's No. 1-5 hitters went a combined 0-10 against Rodriguez as well.
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Shiver went 3-for-3 in game one, giving her seven hits in as many at bats dating back to her 4-for-4 performance at Virginia Tech on April 2. The streak ended in game two as she went 0-for-3, but is still hitting .322 for the season.
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Sophomore Quirisa Mauga extended her reached-base streak to a team-high 20 games in Saturday's doubleheader. She was 1-for-2 in game one and was hit by a pitch in game two to keep the career-high streak rolling.
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Warren had her first multi-hit game since March 13 against Massachusetts in game one. She was 3-for-3, setting a new career-high in hits, and added three RBIs and two stolen bases.
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Mercer's leadoff batter reached base in all five innings of game one, picking up four hits and drawing one walk.
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Hitless in her prior 10 at-bats dating back to March 2, Haney connected with a RBI-double in a pinch-hit opportunity in game one. She made her 18th start of the season in game two, going 1-for-3 to have hits in back-to-back games for the first time since the Bears' opening contests on Feb. 12.
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The 13-run scoring differential in game one was Mercer's best of the season. The Bears' 15 hits tied a season-high, set only three games prior in a 16-5 victory at Alabama State on March 30.
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Rud had two hits in each game Saturday, giving her 15 multi-hit performances this season and 33 for her career. Only Miller has more this season (19).
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Andrew scored three runs in game one, tying a career-high mark set earlier this season against Seton Hall. She was a combined 2-for-6 with four runs scored and three RBIs on Saturday.
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Bilgri reached five innings pitched in a game for the fifth time this season with her game two performance.
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All of Mercer's 18 wins have come when scoring five or more runs. The team remains winless when held below that total.
RECORD UPDATE
Mercer is now 18-23 overall and 1-4 in the SoCon following its split at UNCG on Saturday. The Spartans continue to lead the all-time series, 4-3.
UP NEXT
Mercer seeks the series-clinching win in game three at UNCG Softball Stadium at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 10. It'd be the Bears' first SoCon series win of the 2016 season.
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.
