Sunday, March 4
Macon, Ga.
9 p.m.
Mercer University
9-2
12
vs
4
Holy Cross
1-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Holy Cross
0
0
0
0
2
1
1
0
0
4
7
0
Mercer
0
0
4
1
3
1
3
0
X
12
12
1
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cox, Austin (3-0)
L: McGowan, Pat (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Meyer, Cam 1
3B: Rinaldi, Chris 1
RBI: Livingston, Riley 1 ; Meyer, Cam 1
SF: Livingston, Riley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dudunakis, Peter 1 ; O'Neill, Cam 1 ; Rinaldi, Chris 1 ; Meyer, Cam 1
SB: O'Neill, Cam 1
PO: Meyer, Cam 1
Batting:
2B: Michie, Brandon 2
HR: Thomas, JT 2
RBI: Hanson, Alex 2 ; Michie, Brandon 3 ; Thomas, JT 4 ; Posas, David 2
SH: Hanson, Alex 1 ; Wright, Cory 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Truitt, Trey 1 ; Michie, Brandon 2 ; Thomas, JT 4 ; Bassett, Le 1 ; Ware, Jackson 1 ; Yeager, RJ 1 ; Wright, Cory 2
SB: Thomas, JT 1
HBP: Michie, Brandon 1 ; Thomas, JT 1 ; Ware, Jackson 2 ; Posas, David 1 ; Yeager, RJ 1 ; Wright, Cory 1
PO: Ware, Jackson 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
Photo by: Woody Marshall
Bears Defeat Holy Cross in Midnight Clash
3/5/2018 1:44:00 AM | Baseball
JT Thomas goes yard twice, Austin Cox tallies nine strikeouts
MACON, Ga. – Nothing good usually happens after midnight, but Monday morning proved to be an exception as Mercer sealed a 12-4 series-opening victory over Holy Cross at 12:24 a.m. at OrthoGeorgia Park.
The game started at 9 p.m. Sunday after Holy Cross (1-6) experienced travel delays due to the current Nor'easter in Massachusetts. It was the latest start time for an originally scheduled Sunday home game in program history.
JT Thomas connected on a pair of two-run home runs and Austin Cox (3-0) struck out nine Crusaders to earn his third victory on the mound and help Mercer (9-2) notch its sixth straight victory. A hot start – thanks to Brandon Michie (two-run double) and Thomas (two-run home run) – gave Mercer a four-run advantage after three innings of play. Alex Hanson made it a five-run game the following inning with a RBI single up the middle to score RJ Yeager.
Holy Cross would score all four of its runs over the over the following three innings, but the Bears took advantage of multiple Crusader miscues and continued to square the ball up offensively with a pair of three-run innings in the fifth and seventh. A RBI single by David Posas in the sixth and another explosive combo by Michie and Thomas in the seventh helped the Bears pull away.
Zach Graveno, Taylor Lobus and Ben Brock teamed up for three innings of relief work and allowed only one Holy Cross hit while striking out three batters. Each Bear tossed one inning apiece.
Coach Gibson's Take
Opening statement:
"We came away with a solid win despite dealing with the odd circumstances of starting the game at 9 p.m. on a Sunday," said head coach Craig Gibson. "I thought Austin Cox got us off to a good start and once again, our pitching did a fine job of allowing only four runs to a good offensive club in Holy Cross.
"We had some timely hits. JT [Thomas] had the big night with two home runs but [Brandon] Michie had a great night as well…[Alex] Hanson was good as well. This was a good first-game effort; we'll get ready to play a twin bill at Monday afternoon.
Player of the Game
JT Thomas hit his second and third home runs of the season while going 3-for-4 with four RBI and a career-best four runs scored. The senior is hitting .500 (22-for-44) on the season.
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Austin Cox (3-0)
» Loss: Pat McGowan (0-2)
Record Update
» Mercer: 9-2
» Holy Cross: 1-6
Up Next
» Mercer: Hosts Holy Cross (3 p.m. Monday, March 4 in Macon, Ga.)
» Holy Cross: At Mercer (3 p.m. Monday, March 4 in Macon, Ga.)
Notables
» Mercer has struck out at least 10 batters in 10 of 11 games played this season.
» The Bears a 1-0 all-time against Holy Cross.
» Trey Truitt (1-for-2) drew a career-high four walks.
» Austin Cox has struck out 30 batters in 15 innings this season.
» JT Thomas extended his hit streak to 14 games with his two-run home run in the third.
» Jackson Ware (2-for-4) recorded his second straight multi-hit effort and fourth in the last six games.
» Thomas recorded his seventh multi-hit game of the season.
» Three of Mercer's eight runs came via a balk, hit-by-pitch and walk in the fifth.
Follow the Bears
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.
The game started at 9 p.m. Sunday after Holy Cross (1-6) experienced travel delays due to the current Nor'easter in Massachusetts. It was the latest start time for an originally scheduled Sunday home game in program history.
JT Thomas connected on a pair of two-run home runs and Austin Cox (3-0) struck out nine Crusaders to earn his third victory on the mound and help Mercer (9-2) notch its sixth straight victory. A hot start – thanks to Brandon Michie (two-run double) and Thomas (two-run home run) – gave Mercer a four-run advantage after three innings of play. Alex Hanson made it a five-run game the following inning with a RBI single up the middle to score RJ Yeager.
Holy Cross would score all four of its runs over the over the following three innings, but the Bears took advantage of multiple Crusader miscues and continued to square the ball up offensively with a pair of three-run innings in the fifth and seventh. A RBI single by David Posas in the sixth and another explosive combo by Michie and Thomas in the seventh helped the Bears pull away.
Zach Graveno, Taylor Lobus and Ben Brock teamed up for three innings of relief work and allowed only one Holy Cross hit while striking out three batters. Each Bear tossed one inning apiece.
Coach Gibson's Take
Opening statement:
"We came away with a solid win despite dealing with the odd circumstances of starting the game at 9 p.m. on a Sunday," said head coach Craig Gibson. "I thought Austin Cox got us off to a good start and once again, our pitching did a fine job of allowing only four runs to a good offensive club in Holy Cross.
"We had some timely hits. JT [Thomas] had the big night with two home runs but [Brandon] Michie had a great night as well…[Alex] Hanson was good as well. This was a good first-game effort; we'll get ready to play a twin bill at Monday afternoon.
Player of the Game
JT Thomas hit his second and third home runs of the season while going 3-for-4 with four RBI and a career-best four runs scored. The senior is hitting .500 (22-for-44) on the season.
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Austin Cox (3-0)
» Loss: Pat McGowan (0-2)
Record Update
» Mercer: 9-2
» Holy Cross: 1-6
Up Next
» Mercer: Hosts Holy Cross (3 p.m. Monday, March 4 in Macon, Ga.)
» Holy Cross: At Mercer (3 p.m. Monday, March 4 in Macon, Ga.)
Notables
» Mercer has struck out at least 10 batters in 10 of 11 games played this season.
» The Bears a 1-0 all-time against Holy Cross.
» Trey Truitt (1-for-2) drew a career-high four walks.
» Austin Cox has struck out 30 batters in 15 innings this season.
» JT Thomas extended his hit streak to 14 games with his two-run home run in the third.
» Jackson Ware (2-for-4) recorded his second straight multi-hit effort and fourth in the last six games.
» Thomas recorded his seventh multi-hit game of the season.
» Three of Mercer's eight runs came via a balk, hit-by-pitch and walk in the fifth.
Follow the Bears
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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