Baseball Claims Series Opener with 8-2 Win Over UNCG

Thursday, May 19

Greensboro, NC

6 pm

Mercer University

34-20, 15-7

UNC Greensboro

36-18, 14-8

Mercer

UNCG

Baseball Claims Series Opener with 8-2 Win Over UNCG

5/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Mercer University baseball team moved one win away from its second straight Southern Conference regular-season title, defeating UNCG, 8-2, in the opening game of the series on Thursday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Mercer struck the opening salvo, scoring four runs in the top of the fourth inning. Jackson Ware started the scoring, plating Ryan Hagan and Hunter Bening with a double in the right center gap. Trey Truitt followed with a two-run hit of his own, scoring Matt Meeder and Ware with his single to right field for a 4-0 advantage.

The Bears tacked on two more runs in the top of the fifth, as a single by Blaise Lezynski and walks from Hagan and Meeder set up another two-run by Ware that pushed the lead to 6-0. Hagan's two-run double in the top of the sixth gave the Orange and Black an 8-0 lead and multiple runs for the third straight inning.

UNCG broke up Mercer starter Ryan Askew's shutout bid in the sixth, scoring twice on four hits to pull back within six, 8-2. However, Askew and reliever Nick Spear combined to toss three scoreless innings to close out the victory.

KEY TO THE GAME
The Bears came through with two outs in the series opener, as six of the team's eight runs came in those situations. Mercer finished 5-for-13 with two outs, while limiting UNCG to just 2-for-13 hitting in those situations.

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ryan Askew kept the nation's top hitting team in check en route to his eighth quality start of the year. The junior limited the Spartans to just two runs on six hits in seven innings of action to improve to 5-2 with his second-straight victory.

NOTABLES

Mercer now holds a 4-3 lead in the all-time series.
The Orange and Black held the Spartans to less than three runs for just the third time this season.
The Bears tallied 12 hits on the afternoon and are now 24-7 when accomplishing the feat.
Ware notched back-to-back two-run hits to finish 2-for-4 while tying a career high with four RBIs on the day. The sophomore now has seven multiple hit performances and four games with
Truitt's two-run single in the fourth handed him his 13th multiple-RBI effort of the year.
Lezynski finished 3-for-5 at the plate en route to his 10th contest with two or more hits. He now has four three-hit performances this season.
Danny Edgeworth's single in the seventh gave him two hits on the day, as his 14th multiple-hit effort stretched his on-base streak to 18 games.
Kyle Lewis singled in the opening inning of play to push his hitting streak to 14 games.

RECORDS UPDATE
Mercer moves to 34-20 overall and 15-7 in the Southern Conference, while UNCG slides to 36-18 overall and 14-8 in league play.