Mercer University
21-4, 0
ETSU
11-9, 0
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cox, Austin (2-1)
L: Drew Korzybski (2-3)
S: Spear, Nick (3)
Batting:
2B: Cullen Smith 1 ; Christian Bailey 1 ; Hunter Parker 1
RBI: Aaron Maher 1 ; Hunter Parker 2 ; Caleb Longley 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Cullen Smith 1 ; Hagen Owenby 1 ; Aaron Maher 2 ; Christian Bailey 1 ; Seth Cunningham 1
SB: Seth Cunningham 2
Batting:
2B: Hanson, Alex 1 ; Thomas, JT 1 ; Madden, Charlie 1
HR: Madden, Charlie 1 ; Edgeworth, Danny 1 ; Bening, Hunter 1
RBI: Hanson, Alex 1 ; Thomas, JT 2 ; Madden, Charlie 3 ; Edgeworth, Danny 1 ; Bening, Hunter 2 ; Meeder, Matt 1
SH: Bening, Hunter 1
SF: Meeder, Matt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Truitt, Trey 1 ; Hanson, Alex 1 ; Thomas, JT 2 ; Madden, Charlie 1 ; Edgeworth, Danny 1 ; Ware, Jackson 1 ; Hagan, Ryan 2 ; Bening, Hunter 1
SB: Hanson, Alex 1 ; Edgeworth, Danny 1 ; Hagan, Ryan 1
CS: Thomas, JT 1
PO: Ware, Jackson 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Mercer Downs ETSU, 10-6, to Claim Series
3/25/2017 5:55:00 PM | Baseball
Fast start, three long balls push Bears to eighth straight win
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Charlie Madden and Danny Edgeworth went back-to-back in a seven-run, six-hit second inning that gave Mercer (21-4, 2-0 SoCon) an early 8-0 advantage. Alex Hanson and JT Thomas added RBI doubles in the frame to knock out ETSU (11-9, 0-2) starter Drew Korzybski. The Bucs would tighten it up, 8-6, with six runs from the third to the seventh innings, but a two-run blast to center field by Hunter Bening after the seventh inning stretch sealed the win.
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Austin Cox (2-1) earned the win with five solid innings in his sixth start of the year as he limited the Bucs to three runs while striking out five. Nick Spear picked up his third save in a strong relief effort, striking out a pair over a scoreless 2.1 innings of work.
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The Bears seek the series sweep of ETSU at 1 p.m. Sunday at OrthoGeorgia Park.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
Madden extended his lead in the SoCon RBI department to 33 total with a trio Saturday afternoon. The senior went 2-for-5 and scored once as he picked up one or more RBIs for the sixth straight game.
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STAT OF THE GAME
Mercer and ETSU totaled 12 hits apiece Saturday. Both teams entered Saturday's contest ranked among the top three teams in the conference in batting average.
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COACH GIBSON'S TAKE
"We weren't great today with some mental mistakes, but some big moments offensively – home runs by Charlie [Madden], Danny [Edgeworth] and [Hunter] Bening – were huge for us. Austin Cox was strong…I thought he hung in and gave us five good innings. We saw a good Nick Spear today too; when he's on, he's tough to get."
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PITCHER'S OF RECORD
- Win: Austin Cox, Mercer (2-1)
- Loss: Drew Korzybski, ETSU (2-3)
- Save: Nick Spear, Mercer (3)
- Mercer: 21-4 (1-0 SoCon)
- ETSU: 11-9 (0-2 SoCon)
- Mercer: Hosts ETSU, 1 p.m., March 26 at OrthoGeorgia Park (Macon, Ga.)
- ETSU: At Mercer, 1 p.m., March 26 at OrthoGeorgia Park (Macon, Ga.)
- Mercer's 21-4 overall record continues to remain tied for the best start in program history alongside the 1969 Bears. A win Sunday would solidify the best start in program history for this year's team.
- The Bears have won three straight SoCon-opening series since joining the league and five overall dating back to 2013 in the ASUN.
- Mercer extended its win streak against the Bucs to nine games, including a perfect 8-0 mark since the two programs joined the SoCon.
- Three Bears – Thomas, Madden and Edgeworth – had two-hit performances.
- Six different Bears had at least one RBI.
- Bening notched his seventh home run of the season, already two more than his season total from last year.
- Spear has held opponents scoreless over his last six appearances and nine innings pitched.
For complete coverage of Mercer Baseball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerBaseball (Twitter), /MercerBaseball (Facebook) and @Mercer.Baseball (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
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