Wednesday, May 24
Greenville, S.C.
12 p.m. (Noon)
Mercer University
39-15
11
vs
6
#9 VMI
23-33
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VMI | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 1 |
| Mercer | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | X | 11 | 12 | 2 |
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cox, Austin (4-2)
L: Eagle (4-4)
Batting:
2B: Pita 1 ; Maddox 1 ; Diodato 1
HR: Dunlevy 1
RBI: Tharp 1 ; Maddox 1 ; Dunlevy 2 ; Diodato 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pita 2 ; Huggins 1 ; Dunlevy 1 ; Hollifield 1 ; Diodato 1
SB: Tharp 1 ; Dunlevy 1
HBP: Diodato 1
Batting:
2B: Hagan, Ryan 1 ; Hanson, Alex 1 ; Thomas, JT 1 ; Edgeworth, Danny 1 ; Madden, Charlie 2
HR: Hagan, Ryan 1 ; Madden, Charlie 1
RBI: Hagan, Ryan 1 ; Thomas, JT 4 ; Madden, Charlie 4 ; Ware, Jackson 1
SH: Truitt, Trey 1
SF: Ware, Jackson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hagan, Ryan 2 ; Hanson, Alex 3 ; Thomas, JT 1 ; Edgeworth, Danny 2 ; Madden, Charlie 2 ; Truitt, Trey 1
CS: Ware, Jackson 1
HBP: Ware, Jackson 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
RHP
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LHP
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OF
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/ BaseballPhoto by: Southern Conference
Mercer Powers Past VMI in SoCon Championship Opener
5/24/2017 4:50:00 PM | Baseball
Top-seeded Bears will face No. 4 Furman Thursday evening
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Top-seeded Mercer used a hot start to power toward an 11-6 win over No. 9 VMI in its opening game of the Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field Wednesday afternoon.
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The Bears (39-15) will face No. 4 Furman in the tournament's quarterfinals at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The game was pushed back from 4 p.m. due to adjusting the tournament schedule for inclement weather. VMI (23-33) drops to the elimination portion of the bracket and will face No. 5 Wofford at 9 a.m. Thursday.
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A first-inning grand slam by Charlie Madden helped the Bears claim a 5-1 lead that they never lost control of as they knocked out VMI starting pitcher Matt Eagle (4-4) after 1.1 innings of work. Mercer tagged Eagle for seven runs on six hits, including a pair by JT Thomas who had three RBIs by the end of the second frame. Thomas finished the game 3-for-5 with four RBIs.
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The early run support was all left-hander Austin Cox (4-2) needed to work through five innings of work. Cox, who made his first postseason start, struck out seven Keydets and scattered four runs to earn the win. A two-run home run by VMI's Matt Dunlevy cut Mercer's lead to three in the fourth, but Mercer held on for its eighth all-time SoCon Championship victory with four insurance runs the rest of the way.
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Wednesday's game featured a 31-minute weather delay in the bottom of the seventh inning.
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Coach Gibson's Take
"It was a good day for us, but we have to keep playing well going forward. It is good to win game one. We struggled in the top of the first, but [Austin] Cox rebounded to give us a quality start and I thought our bullpen was outstanding."
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"We were offensive today and that is what we needed. Our bats came alive and that is what we are going to need against a talented Furman club [tomorrow]. We got a couple balls out of the park today. It is a great park, but it plays small so if you put a good swing on one you have a chance to hit it out."
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Player of the Game
Charlie Madden notched his first three-hit game since April 25 and provided the fireworks for the Bears' lineup. The senior catcher went 3-for-4 with three extra-base hits, including his grand slam in the first inning. Madden owns seven extra-base hits and 15 RBIs in 10 career SoCon Championship games.
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Stat of the Game
Three Bears – Hagan, Madden and Thomas – went a combined 8-for-14 with five runs scored, nine RBIs and six extra-base hits.
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Pitchers of Record
For complete coverage of Mercer Baseball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerBaseball (Twitter), /MercerBaseball (Facebook), @Mercer.Baseball (Instagram) and Mercer Bears (Snapchat) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
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The Bears (39-15) will face No. 4 Furman in the tournament's quarterfinals at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The game was pushed back from 4 p.m. due to adjusting the tournament schedule for inclement weather. VMI (23-33) drops to the elimination portion of the bracket and will face No. 5 Wofford at 9 a.m. Thursday.
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A first-inning grand slam by Charlie Madden helped the Bears claim a 5-1 lead that they never lost control of as they knocked out VMI starting pitcher Matt Eagle (4-4) after 1.1 innings of work. Mercer tagged Eagle for seven runs on six hits, including a pair by JT Thomas who had three RBIs by the end of the second frame. Thomas finished the game 3-for-5 with four RBIs.
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The early run support was all left-hander Austin Cox (4-2) needed to work through five innings of work. Cox, who made his first postseason start, struck out seven Keydets and scattered four runs to earn the win. A two-run home run by VMI's Matt Dunlevy cut Mercer's lead to three in the fourth, but Mercer held on for its eighth all-time SoCon Championship victory with four insurance runs the rest of the way.
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Wednesday's game featured a 31-minute weather delay in the bottom of the seventh inning.
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Coach Gibson's Take
"It was a good day for us, but we have to keep playing well going forward. It is good to win game one. We struggled in the top of the first, but [Austin] Cox rebounded to give us a quality start and I thought our bullpen was outstanding."
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"We were offensive today and that is what we needed. Our bats came alive and that is what we are going to need against a talented Furman club [tomorrow]. We got a couple balls out of the park today. It is a great park, but it plays small so if you put a good swing on one you have a chance to hit it out."
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Player of the Game
Charlie Madden notched his first three-hit game since April 25 and provided the fireworks for the Bears' lineup. The senior catcher went 3-for-4 with three extra-base hits, including his grand slam in the first inning. Madden owns seven extra-base hits and 15 RBIs in 10 career SoCon Championship games.
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Stat of the Game
Three Bears – Hagan, Madden and Thomas – went a combined 8-for-14 with five runs scored, nine RBIs and six extra-base hits.
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Pitchers of Record
- Win: Austin Cox, Mercer (4-2)
- Loss: Matt Eagle, VMI (4-4)
- #1 Mercer: 39-15
- #9 VMI: 23-33
- #1 Mercer: vs. #4 Furman (7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 25 at Fluor Field)
- #9 VMI: vs. #5 Wofford (9 a.m., Thursday, May 25 at Fluor Field)
- Mercer improved to 8-2 all-time at the SoCon Championship. The Bears are now 13-4-1 all-time against VMI including a 2-0 mark in championship play with a 19-7 triumph during their 2015 title run.
- The Orange and Black have outscored opponents 27-9 in the opening round of the SoCon Tournament since joining the league in 2015.
- The Bears' two home runs this afternoon give them 18 long balls in their 10 SoCon Championship contests.
- SoCon Co-Player of the Year Ryan Hagan led off the Bears' attack with a double off the left-field wall and added his eighth home run of the year in the fifth. Three of Hagan's home runs have come against VMI.
- Thomas finished 3-for-5 at the dish to record his team-leading 23rd multiple-hit game of the year, while also driving in four runs to tie Madden with a team-best 14 multiple-RBI efforts.
- Madden's grand slam was his 17th long ball of the year. It also marked the Bears' second grand slam in SoCon Championship play, including Kyle Lewis' against VMI in 2015.
- All-SoCon First Team selection Robert Broom was effective, striking out four and scattering two hits over two innings.
- Nick Spear needed just 16 pitches to record the final four outs of the game, thanks in part to three straight strikeouts.
- Cox picked up his fourth win of the year while fanning seven to set a new Mercer SoCon Tournament record, eclipsing DJ Johnson's previous mark of six from the 2015 tourney.
- Mercer's 12 hits marked its third double-digit hit total in the last 10 games.
- The Orange and Black's pitching staff combined for 14 strikeouts, the program's 23rd double-digit strikeout effort of the year and the most since fanning 16 against The Citadel on April 23.
For complete coverage of Mercer Baseball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerBaseball (Twitter), /MercerBaseball (Facebook), @Mercer.Baseball (Instagram) and Mercer Bears (Snapchat) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
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