Mercer University
Western Carolina
Series-Opening Win Highlights Softball's Saturday Split
5/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – A tight 3-2 victory by the Mercer University softball team in the Southern Conference series opener at Western Carolina highlighted a twin bill split on Saturday, May 7 at Catamount Softball Complex. The Bears dropped game two, 7-5, and will play the rubber match at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 8.
FINAL – Mercer 3, Western Carolina 2
HOW IT HAPPENED
Behind a stout performance from Maxine Rodriguez in the circle, Mercer claimed a series-opening victory on Saturday. The junior struck out two batters and scattered six Western Carolina hits en route to her seventh win and complete game of the season. The Catamounts' two runs came on one swing in the third inning, a home run by Victoria Mariscal.
Mercer's No. 1-3 batters, Meghan Rud, Taylor Miller and Natalie Shiver, had their fingerprints all over the Bears' three runs scored. Mercer struck first in the opening frame as the trio reached base, highlighted by a RBI-single from Shiver.
It wasn't until the fifth inning that Mercer would pick up another hit, when trailing 2-1. With Emma Andrew on base following a fielder's choice, Rud and Miller both singled, the latter of which scored Andrew for the tying run. A RBI-groundout by Shiver in the following at-bat plated Rud for the eventual game-winner.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Rodriguez out-dueled Western Carolina starting pitcher Taylor Sigmon – who leads the SoCon in strikeouts and ranks second in ERA – and kept the Catamounts below their season-average for runs scored. WCU entered the game averaging 4.9 runs per game and Rodriguez allowed only a pair, both coming on a long ball in the third inning. The performance dropped her ERA to 3.43 and opponent's batting average to .265.
FINAL – Western Carolina 7, Mercer 5
HOW IT HAPPENED
Despite owning a 3-0 lead after 1.5 innings played, Mercer faltered in game two as the Catamounts scored six runs over a three-inning span to knot the series 1-1 heading into Sunday's regular season finale. WCU scored two runs in each of the second, third and fourth innings, capped by a pair of two-run home runs off of Mercer starting pitcher Megan Bilgri.
The sophomore right-hander took the loss and dropped to 6-7 despite tossing her third complete game in her last five appearances.
Mercer's three early runs came in the second inning when Quirisa Mauga, Kaytlin Haney, Shaila Warren and Rodriguez drew four straight walks and were followed up by a two-RBI double by Andrew off of the left field wall. Trailing 6-3 in the top of the fifth inning, the Bears clawed their way back into it when Shiver blasted a two-run home run to center field. Only one Bear would reach base after Shiver's long ball though, stunting any chance to complete the rally.
Western Carolina's Courtney Buchanan earned the win in the circle, but it was game one starter Taylor Sigmon who proved to be most effective against the Bears, tossing the final 2.1 innings and striking out a trio while keeping them hitless.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Shiver did all she could to keep the Bears close in the game two loss, blasting a two-run home run in the fifth inning to cut Western Carolina's lead to one run. She was 1-for-4 at the plate, but the long ball was one of two big hits by Mercer in the game and came at a timely moment. The two RBIs resulted in four total for Shiver on the day and 38 for the season, a team-best mark. She also leads the team with seven long balls.
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MERCER STAT OF THE DAY
The Bears' 3-2 win in the series opener is their first win of the season when scoring less than five runs. Mercer was 0-25 entering the contest when failing to reach at least five runs. It was also the Bears' second one-run victory of the season.
NOTABLES
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Following Saturday's split, Mercer continues to lead the all-time series against Western Carolina, 7-2.
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Miller's game-tying, RBI-single in the fifth inning of game one was the 200th base hit of her career. She's only the fourth Bear all-time to reach the milestone.
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Rodriguez and Bilgri both tossed complete games Saturday and remain tied for the team-lead in that category. The two right-handers passed teammate Anna O'Neill in innings pitched for the season, with 85.2 and 86.0, respectively.
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With hits in both games on Saturday, Miller extended her hitting streak to a season-best 15 games. She went 4-for-7 with one run scored and one RBI on the day and is hitting .424 for the season.
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Rud, Miller and Shiver went a combined 6-for-11 with two runs scored and all three RBIs in the game one win. All six other Bears batters had only one total hit in the series-opener.
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Andrew's two-RBI double in game two was her first extra-base hit since a home run at UNCG on April 9. Despite the drought, Andrew still ranks fourth on the team with 10 extra-base hits this season.
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Junior Taylor Rodgers made her fifth and sixth starts of the season on Saturday, both as Mercer's designated player.
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Head coach James DeFeo earned his 145th career victory on Saturday and needs only eight more to surpass Ken Phillips as the Bears' all-time wins leader with 153.
RECORD UPDATE
The Orange and Black sit at 21-32 overall and 4-13 in the SoCon. They are locked into seventh place heading into Sunday's game.
UP NEXT
The Bears will try to gain momentum heading into next week's SoCon Tournament and claim their first series win of the 2016 season. Sunday's rubber match between Mercer and Western Carolina is the regular season finale for both programs.
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.
