Friday, May 11
Macon, Ga.
6 p.m.
Mercer University
33-18
10
vs
3
Alcorn State
12-36
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Alcorn State
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
3
6
3
Mercer
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
6
X
10
13
0
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Graveno, Zach (2-1)
L: Jahborus Smith (2-11)
Batting:
2B: Brendly Martina 1 ; Christian Acklin 1
HR: A.J. Makarewicz 1
RBI: A.J. Makarewicz 1 ; Jordan McGowan 1 ; Brendly Martina 1
Base Running:
RUNS: A.J. Makarewicz 1 ; Kyle Jenkins 1 ; Jordan McGowan 1
Batting:
2B: Hanson, Alex 1 ; Truitt, Trey 3 ; Ware, Jackson 1 ; Thomas, JT 1
HR: Michie, Brandon 1 ; Crotty, Alex 1
RBI: Hanson, Alex 1 ; Michie, Brandon 1 ; Truitt, Trey 2 ; Ware, Jackson 1 ; Bassett, Le 1 ; Thomas, JT 1 ; Crotty, Alex 1 ; Posas, David 1
SH: Yeager, RJ 1 ; Truitt, Trey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hanson, Alex 1 ; Michie, Brandon 2 ; Truitt, Trey 2 ; Ware, Jackson 1 ; Bassett, Le 1 ; Crotty, Alex 1 ; Posas, David 1 ; Cornell, Conrad 1
SB: Yeager, RJ 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
Photo by: Pierce Yarberry
Six-Run Eighth Powers Mercer Past Alcorn State
5/11/2018 10:16:00 PM | Baseball
Bears shells out eight extra-base hits, takes series
MACON, Ga. – Mercer pulled away from Alcorn State with a six-run eighth inning in a closely-fought contest and defeated the Braves, 10-3, to clinch the nonconference series Friday at OrthoGeorgia Park.
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The seven-run victory helped Mercer improved to 33-18 overall despite Alcorn State (12-36) making it interesting over the first seven and a half innings played. The Bears batted around the order in the eighth with four hits – highlighted by Alex Crotty's solo home run and consecutive RBI doubles by Trey Truitt and Jackson Ware – to put the game out of reach.
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Mercer led, 2-0, through three innings after Brandon Michie hit his second home run in as many games in the home half of the third before Alcorn State rallied for a shortly-lived lead in the fourth. The Braves plated three runs on four hits off Mercer starter Austin Cox, who struck out eight batters over a predetermined four innings of work.
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Alex Hanson quickly tied the game in the bottom of the fourth with a RBI double down the left-field line to score David Posas from first base after he drew a one-out walk. It was then Le Bassett's turn to rise to the occasion in the fifth, as he singled home Trey Truitt (leadoff double) to give Mercer a 4-3 advantage.
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Zach Graveno (2-1) earned the win with 2.2 innings of scoreless relief and was complimented by Robert Broom and Nick Spear out of the bullpen. Mercer's four pitchers tallied 14 strikeouts and allowed just six hits.
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Stat of the Game
Mercer is 29-0 when leading after eight innings played and 17-1 when scoring 10-plus runs this season.
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Player of the Game
A second-straight three-hit night by Trey Truitt earned him the nod once again. The senior right fielder went 3-for-4 with three doubles, two RBI, two runs scored and a sacrifice bunt while raising his season batting average to .375. Truitt leads Mercer with 24 multi-hit games this season (77 for his career).
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Postgame Quotes
Coach Gibson's opening statement:
"Tonight's game was a close one that we had to grind through in order to pull out and clinch the series," said head coach Craig Gibson. "Generally, there's at least one close game in every weekend series and this one was definitely the case, being a one-run game through seven and a half innings.
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"Our pitching was outstanding, led by [Austin] Cox and complimented by quality bullpen appearances by [Zach] Graveno, [Robert] Broom and [Nick] Spear. Brandon Michie had some great plays defensively at first base as well. Our bats continued to add pressure to [Alcorn State's] pitchers before finally breaking through big in the eighth."
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Records Update
» Mercer: 33-18
» Alcorn State: 12-36
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Pitchers of Record
» Win: Zach Graveno (2-1)
» Loss: Jahborus Smith (2-11)
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Up Next
» Mercer: Hosts Alcorn State (8 p.m. Saturday, May 12 in Macon, Ga.)
» Alcorn State: At Mercer (8 p.m. Saturday, May 12 in Macon, Ga.)
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Notables
» Mercer is just two wins away from reaching 35 victories for the ninth straight season.
» Austin Cox became just the ninth player in program history to register 100 strikeouts in a single season. He struck out at least eight batters for the eighth time this season.
» Trey Truitt has doubled in six of his last eight plate appearances.
» Le Bassett extended his hit streak to a season-best 10 games with a single in the fifth.
» Jackson Ware tied his career-long reached base streak of 17 games with a two-hit effort.
» Alex Hanson reached base safely for the 72nd time in the last 76 games played.
» Nick Spear struck out two batters in his team-leading 29th appearance.
» Alex Crotty's solo home run made Mercer one of three teams nationally to have 14 players with at least one home run this season (Tennessee Tech, 15; Houston Baptist, 14).
» Crotty notched his first multi-hit performance since March 5 (2-for-4).
» Mercer has tallied at least 10 strikeouts in 28 of 51 games played. The Bears have also collected at least 10 hits in 30 games this season.
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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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The seven-run victory helped Mercer improved to 33-18 overall despite Alcorn State (12-36) making it interesting over the first seven and a half innings played. The Bears batted around the order in the eighth with four hits – highlighted by Alex Crotty's solo home run and consecutive RBI doubles by Trey Truitt and Jackson Ware – to put the game out of reach.
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Mercer led, 2-0, through three innings after Brandon Michie hit his second home run in as many games in the home half of the third before Alcorn State rallied for a shortly-lived lead in the fourth. The Braves plated three runs on four hits off Mercer starter Austin Cox, who struck out eight batters over a predetermined four innings of work.
Â
Alex Hanson quickly tied the game in the bottom of the fourth with a RBI double down the left-field line to score David Posas from first base after he drew a one-out walk. It was then Le Bassett's turn to rise to the occasion in the fifth, as he singled home Trey Truitt (leadoff double) to give Mercer a 4-3 advantage.
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Zach Graveno (2-1) earned the win with 2.2 innings of scoreless relief and was complimented by Robert Broom and Nick Spear out of the bullpen. Mercer's four pitchers tallied 14 strikeouts and allowed just six hits.
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Stat of the Game
Mercer is 29-0 when leading after eight innings played and 17-1 when scoring 10-plus runs this season.
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Player of the Game
A second-straight three-hit night by Trey Truitt earned him the nod once again. The senior right fielder went 3-for-4 with three doubles, two RBI, two runs scored and a sacrifice bunt while raising his season batting average to .375. Truitt leads Mercer with 24 multi-hit games this season (77 for his career).
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Postgame Quotes
Coach Gibson's opening statement:
"Tonight's game was a close one that we had to grind through in order to pull out and clinch the series," said head coach Craig Gibson. "Generally, there's at least one close game in every weekend series and this one was definitely the case, being a one-run game through seven and a half innings.
Â
"Our pitching was outstanding, led by [Austin] Cox and complimented by quality bullpen appearances by [Zach] Graveno, [Robert] Broom and [Nick] Spear. Brandon Michie had some great plays defensively at first base as well. Our bats continued to add pressure to [Alcorn State's] pitchers before finally breaking through big in the eighth."
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Records Update
» Mercer: 33-18
» Alcorn State: 12-36
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Pitchers of Record
» Win: Zach Graveno (2-1)
» Loss: Jahborus Smith (2-11)
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Up Next
» Mercer: Hosts Alcorn State (8 p.m. Saturday, May 12 in Macon, Ga.)
» Alcorn State: At Mercer (8 p.m. Saturday, May 12 in Macon, Ga.)
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Notables
» Mercer is just two wins away from reaching 35 victories for the ninth straight season.
» Austin Cox became just the ninth player in program history to register 100 strikeouts in a single season. He struck out at least eight batters for the eighth time this season.
» Trey Truitt has doubled in six of his last eight plate appearances.
» Le Bassett extended his hit streak to a season-best 10 games with a single in the fifth.
» Jackson Ware tied his career-long reached base streak of 17 games with a two-hit effort.
» Alex Hanson reached base safely for the 72nd time in the last 76 games played.
» Nick Spear struck out two batters in his team-leading 29th appearance.
» Alex Crotty's solo home run made Mercer one of three teams nationally to have 14 players with at least one home run this season (Tennessee Tech, 15; Houston Baptist, 14).
» Crotty notched his first multi-hit performance since March 5 (2-for-4).
» Mercer has tallied at least 10 strikeouts in 28 of 51 games played. The Bears have also collected at least 10 hits in 30 games this season.
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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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