Saturday, April 21
Macon, Ga.
1 P.M.
Mercer University
29-13, 0
6
vs
5
Samford
15-32, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Samford
3
0
1
1
0
0
0
5
8
1
Mercer
1
0
5
0
0
0
X
6
8
2
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Preston, Stella (10-3)
L: McKenna Gillespie (3-8)
Batting:
2B: Kelsey Royalty 1
HR: Lexie Higgins 1
RBI: Ashlyn Barnes 1 ; Ryan Brzozoski 1 ; Lexie Higgins 3
SH: Madison Couch 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Shelby Maze 1 ; Ashlyn Barnes 2 ; Lexie Higgins 1 ; Kelsey Royalty 1
SB: Ashlyn Barnes 2
HBP: Madison Couch 1
Batting:
RBI: Mauga, Quirisa 2 ; Andrew, Emma 2 ; Jones, Allie 2
SH: Sanchez, Laurenne 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rud, Meghan 2 ; Sanchez, Laurenne 1 ; Buckland, Kate 1 ; Mauga, Quirisa 1 ; Andrew, Emma 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C/OF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
Bears Trade Games with Bulldogs in Saturday Doubleheader
4/21/2018 7:48:00 PM | Softball
Mercer held on to win game one, falling to the Bulldogs in game two
MACON, Ga. – Mercer Softball traded blows with Samford in Saturday's doubleheader, winning game one by the final score of 6-5 before falling 7-3 in game two. With the split, Mercer now holds a record of 29-14 on the season, including 8-2 in SoCon play. The Bulldogs improve to 16-32 with a 5-5 conference mark.
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Game One: Mercer 6, Samford 5
The Bulldogs came out ready to play in game one, scoring three quick runs in the first inning off three hits. The big base knock for Samford in the first frame came off Higgins' two-run blast to center field for the 3-0 lead.
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The Bears got a run back of their own in the bottom of the first inning thanks to three hits of their own, capped off by a Quirisa Mauga RBI single to third base to bring Meghan Rud in from third.
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The Mercer bats came to life in the third inning after Samford stretched its lead back to three after a Higgins RBI single. With the bases jacked and only one away, Mauga plated another run with her second consecutive RBI single to third base. Emma Andrew then tied the game up at four apiece with a two-run single off the shortstop's glove, bringing home Kate Buckland and Laurenne Sanchez. After Abby Walsh walked to load the bases again, freshman lefty Allie Jones stepped up with a huge base knock with a two-run single to the right center gap for the 6-4 advantage in favor of the Orange & Black.
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The Bulldogs cut the Mercer lead in half in the top of the fourth inning with a bases-loaded walk by Barnes. Stella Preston, pitching in relief for Megan Bilgri, was able to induce an infield fly and a strikeout to end the Samford threat.
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Neither team would cross the plate in the final three innings of play as Preston allowed just one hit and two base runners in the final three innings to preserve the victory for the Bears. Preston earned the win in relief, hurling three and two-thirds inning while allowing just one hit and striking out three batters.
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Pitchers of Record
» Win: Stella Preston (10-3)
» Loss: McKenna Gillespie (3-8)
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Game Two: Samford 7, Mercer 3
Mercer corralled the game's only hit through the first two innings until consecutive singles by Samford to open the third put the Bulldogs in business. Samford captured the game's first run off Higgins single up the middle and a fielding error by Rud allowed Mekhi Mayfield to score from second.
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The lead was short lived for Samford thanks to Shaila Warren's leadoff dinger in the bottom of the third inning, her second of the season. After a Rud single to left center, Sanchez put Mercer on top with a double in the left center gap, allowing the speedy senior to score all the way from first. Sanchez advanced to third on the throw and then scored on the next at bat following a squeeze play from Megan Lane for the 3-1 lead.
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Mercer's lead did not last long as Samford scored four runs on three hits in the top of the fourth inning to take the 5-3 advantage. The Bulldogs led off the inning with a homer from Hinton, before claiming the lead for good following a two-run triple from Shelby Maze.
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The Bears had their chance to close the gap in the bottom of the inning with bases loaded and nobody out. However, Mercer was unable to trim the deficit after a strikeout, fielder's choice and pop up to short ended the scoring threat.
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Samford added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the fifth after a Jackson two-run homer to left center. The Bulldogs only yielded one hit over the final three innings, putting Mercer away by the final of 7-3.
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Stella Preston picked up the loss in game two, pitching four innings and giving up four earned runs to fall to 10-4 on the season and 1-1 on the day.
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Pitchers of Record
» Win: Taylor DeCelles (7-12)
» Loss: Stella Preston (10-4)
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Stat of the Day
Both squads combined for 31 hits on the day, with Samford leading the way with 16 hits. The Bears allowed 10 free bases on the day, walking eight and drilling two batters.
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Player of the Day
Quirisa Mauga ended the day with a 3-for-6 performance at the plate. The senior third baseman finished 2-of-3 in game one, picking up two RBIs and scoring one run. Mauga also ended the day with seven putouts and two assists.
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Notables
» Mercer drops just its third game at home all season, improving to 16-3 at Sikes Field following the split.
» The Bears are now 31-41-1 all-time against the Bulldogs, including 9-16 in games played at Sikes Field against Samford.
» Meghan Rud appeared at the plate eight times today, bringing her career total to 704, passing Taylor Miller for the third-most plate appearances in Mercer history.
» Quirisa Mauga hit her team-leading 12th double of the season, four shy of tying her single-season personal record of 16 set last season.
» Mercer and UNCG each split a doubleheader today, remaining tied atop the SoCon leaderboard in terms of fewest conference losses (2).
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Record Update
» Mercer: 29-14, 8-2
» Samford: 16-32, 5-5
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Up Next
The rubber match for the Bears and Bulldogs will be played tomorrow at 11 a.m. The game was originally scheduled for 1 p.m., but has been moved up due to inclement weather in the forecast for the afternoon.
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Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Softball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerUSoftball (Twitter), /MercerSoftball (Facebook) and @MercerUSoftball (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
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Game One: Mercer 6, Samford 5
The Bulldogs came out ready to play in game one, scoring three quick runs in the first inning off three hits. The big base knock for Samford in the first frame came off Higgins' two-run blast to center field for the 3-0 lead.
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The Bears got a run back of their own in the bottom of the first inning thanks to three hits of their own, capped off by a Quirisa Mauga RBI single to third base to bring Meghan Rud in from third.
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The Mercer bats came to life in the third inning after Samford stretched its lead back to three after a Higgins RBI single. With the bases jacked and only one away, Mauga plated another run with her second consecutive RBI single to third base. Emma Andrew then tied the game up at four apiece with a two-run single off the shortstop's glove, bringing home Kate Buckland and Laurenne Sanchez. After Abby Walsh walked to load the bases again, freshman lefty Allie Jones stepped up with a huge base knock with a two-run single to the right center gap for the 6-4 advantage in favor of the Orange & Black.
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The Bulldogs cut the Mercer lead in half in the top of the fourth inning with a bases-loaded walk by Barnes. Stella Preston, pitching in relief for Megan Bilgri, was able to induce an infield fly and a strikeout to end the Samford threat.
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Neither team would cross the plate in the final three innings of play as Preston allowed just one hit and two base runners in the final three innings to preserve the victory for the Bears. Preston earned the win in relief, hurling three and two-thirds inning while allowing just one hit and striking out three batters.
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Pitchers of Record
» Win: Stella Preston (10-3)
» Loss: McKenna Gillespie (3-8)
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Game Two: Samford 7, Mercer 3
Mercer corralled the game's only hit through the first two innings until consecutive singles by Samford to open the third put the Bulldogs in business. Samford captured the game's first run off Higgins single up the middle and a fielding error by Rud allowed Mekhi Mayfield to score from second.
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The lead was short lived for Samford thanks to Shaila Warren's leadoff dinger in the bottom of the third inning, her second of the season. After a Rud single to left center, Sanchez put Mercer on top with a double in the left center gap, allowing the speedy senior to score all the way from first. Sanchez advanced to third on the throw and then scored on the next at bat following a squeeze play from Megan Lane for the 3-1 lead.
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Mercer's lead did not last long as Samford scored four runs on three hits in the top of the fourth inning to take the 5-3 advantage. The Bulldogs led off the inning with a homer from Hinton, before claiming the lead for good following a two-run triple from Shelby Maze.
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The Bears had their chance to close the gap in the bottom of the inning with bases loaded and nobody out. However, Mercer was unable to trim the deficit after a strikeout, fielder's choice and pop up to short ended the scoring threat.
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Samford added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the fifth after a Jackson two-run homer to left center. The Bulldogs only yielded one hit over the final three innings, putting Mercer away by the final of 7-3.
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Stella Preston picked up the loss in game two, pitching four innings and giving up four earned runs to fall to 10-4 on the season and 1-1 on the day.
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Pitchers of Record
» Win: Taylor DeCelles (7-12)
» Loss: Stella Preston (10-4)
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Stat of the Day
Both squads combined for 31 hits on the day, with Samford leading the way with 16 hits. The Bears allowed 10 free bases on the day, walking eight and drilling two batters.
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Player of the Day
Quirisa Mauga ended the day with a 3-for-6 performance at the plate. The senior third baseman finished 2-of-3 in game one, picking up two RBIs and scoring one run. Mauga also ended the day with seven putouts and two assists.
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Notables
» Mercer drops just its third game at home all season, improving to 16-3 at Sikes Field following the split.
» The Bears are now 31-41-1 all-time against the Bulldogs, including 9-16 in games played at Sikes Field against Samford.
» Meghan Rud appeared at the plate eight times today, bringing her career total to 704, passing Taylor Miller for the third-most plate appearances in Mercer history.
» Quirisa Mauga hit her team-leading 12th double of the season, four shy of tying her single-season personal record of 16 set last season.
» Mercer and UNCG each split a doubleheader today, remaining tied atop the SoCon leaderboard in terms of fewest conference losses (2).
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Record Update
» Mercer: 29-14, 8-2
» Samford: 16-32, 5-5
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Up Next
The rubber match for the Bears and Bulldogs will be played tomorrow at 11 a.m. The game was originally scheduled for 1 p.m., but has been moved up due to inclement weather in the forecast for the afternoon.
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Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Softball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerUSoftball (Twitter), /MercerSoftball (Facebook) and @MercerUSoftball (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
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