Saturday, May 12
Macon, Ga.
8 p.m.
Mercer University
34-18
19
vs
1
Alcorn State
12-37
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Alcorn State
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
5
1
Mercer
4
3
3
0
3
6
X
19
12
0
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Varga, Carter (1-0)
L: George Osborne III (0-7)
Batting:
RBI: Brandon Barna 1
Base Running:
RUNS: A.J. Makarewicz 1
Batting:
2B: Michie, Brandon 1 ; Crotty, Alex 1
HR: Taylor, Steven 1 ; Michie, Brandon 1
RBI: Taylor, Steven 2 ; Michie, Brandon 3 ; Truitt, Trey 2 ; Ware, Jackson 1 ; Bassett, Le 2 ; Lingo, Drew 1 ; Thomas, JT 3 ; Crotty, Alex 4 ; Cornell, Conrad 1
SF: Michie, Brandon 1 ; Crotty, Alex 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hanson, Alex 3 ; Yeager, RJ 2 ; Taylor, Steven 3 ; Michie, Brandon 3 ; Truitt, Trey 4 ; Ware, Jackson 2 ; Lingo, Drew 2
SB: Yeager, RJ 1
HBP: Hanson, Alex 1 ; Taylor, Steven 1 ; Bassett, Le 1 ; Lingo, Drew 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
3
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
3
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballIF
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
Photo by: Gerrit Van Genderen
Seniors Shine as Mercer Sweeps Alcorn State
5/12/2018 11:56:00 PM | Baseball
Mercer outscores Braves, 46-7, in three-game sweep
MACON, Ga. – Mercer scored 10 runs over the first three innings and ran away with a dominant 19-1 win and series sweep of Alcorn State on Saturday night at OrthoGeorgia Park.
The 8 p.m. contest was called after six and a half innings of play because it was a travel day for Alcorn State (12-37). First pitch was moved back two hours due to Mercer University's Commencement ceremony earlier in the afternoon. Mercer (34-18) earned its fourth weekend sweep of the season while outscoring the Braves, 46-7, over the three games.
Mercer sent nine batters to the plate in each of the first two innings; a two-run single by Le Bassett and a pair of sacrifice flies from Brandon Michie and Alex Crotty led to four runs in a tone-setting first inning. Steven Taylor and Michie connected for back-to-back home runs in the third to make it a 10-run game heading into the fourth. Taylor's long ball, a two-run shot, was the first of his career.
Chase Burks struck out six Braves and allowed just one hit over three scoreless innings on the mound before turning it over to the bullpen. Four pitchers – including seniors Carter Varga and Austin Lord – closed out the remaining four innings and struck out two batters apiece. Varga earned the win for his first decision of the year.
Crotty delivered a two-run double in the fifth en route to a career-best four-RBI performance. The Bears then added six runs in the sixth when all nine batters reached base safely to open the inning; seven Bears drew walks while Taylor was hit by a pitch and Jackson Ware added a RBI single.
Stat of the Game
Mercer batted .388 (38-for-98) with 46 runs scored and 20 extra-base hits in the three-game series against Alcorn State. Not to be outdone, the Bears' pitching staff struck out 41 batters while the Braves hit just .180 against them over 25 innings.
Player of the Game
Steven Taylor submitted a career performance just hours after walking across the stage at Commencement. The senior went 2-for-3 with two RBI and three runs scored, all career-highs. After replacing RJ Yeager at shortstop in the third, Taylor belted his first career home run in the home half of the third.
Postgame Quotes
Coach Gibson's opening statement:
"It says a lot about our team for these guys to take on a community service initiative this morning [Miracle League of Macon], participate in Commencement this afternoon and then come out and play such a complete game," said head coach Craig Gibson. "A lot of that boils down to our great seniors; I'm so happy for those guys.
"All of our seniors played – and played well – tonight. [Steve] Taylor, [Drew] Lingo, [Carter] Varga, [Austin Lord]…the list goes on. Hopefully we can use this weekend to springboard into a quality in-state finale next Tuesday against Georgia State and then turn our focus to wrapping up conference play against The Citadel."
Records Update
» Mercer: 34-18
» Alcorn State: 12-37
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Carter Varga (1-0)
» Loss: George Osborne III (0-7)
Up Next
» Mercer: Hosts Georgia State (6 p.m. Tuesday, May 15 in Macon, Ga.)
» Alcorn State: vs. Texas Southern (3 p.m. Wednesday, May 16 in New Orleans, La.)
Notables
» Mercer struck out Alcorn State 41 times in the series. The Bears have tallied at least 10 strikeouts in 29 games this season.
» Saturday also marked the 31st time that Mercer has recorded 10 or more hits in a game.
» Mercer drew a season-high 14 walks and did not issue any to Alcorn State.
» Taylor's 2-for-3 performance was his first career multi-hit game.
» Trey Truitt batted .778 with six doubles in nine at bats this series.
» Mercer needs one more win to clinch a ninth straight season of at least 35 victories.
» Mercer is one of two teams nationally (Tennessee Tech) with 15 players to hit at least one home run this season.
» Alex Hanson reached base safely for the 73rd time in his last 77 games played.
» Jackson Ware extended his reached base streak to a career-long 18 games.
» Le Bassett extended his hit streak to a season-best 11 games.
» JT Thomas drew a season-high four walks and added three RBI despite going 0-for-1.
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 8 p.m. contest was called after six and a half innings of play because it was a travel day for Alcorn State (12-37). First pitch was moved back two hours due to Mercer University's Commencement ceremony earlier in the afternoon. Mercer (34-18) earned its fourth weekend sweep of the season while outscoring the Braves, 46-7, over the three games.
Mercer sent nine batters to the plate in each of the first two innings; a two-run single by Le Bassett and a pair of sacrifice flies from Brandon Michie and Alex Crotty led to four runs in a tone-setting first inning. Steven Taylor and Michie connected for back-to-back home runs in the third to make it a 10-run game heading into the fourth. Taylor's long ball, a two-run shot, was the first of his career.
Chase Burks struck out six Braves and allowed just one hit over three scoreless innings on the mound before turning it over to the bullpen. Four pitchers – including seniors Carter Varga and Austin Lord – closed out the remaining four innings and struck out two batters apiece. Varga earned the win for his first decision of the year.
Crotty delivered a two-run double in the fifth en route to a career-best four-RBI performance. The Bears then added six runs in the sixth when all nine batters reached base safely to open the inning; seven Bears drew walks while Taylor was hit by a pitch and Jackson Ware added a RBI single.
Stat of the Game
Mercer batted .388 (38-for-98) with 46 runs scored and 20 extra-base hits in the three-game series against Alcorn State. Not to be outdone, the Bears' pitching staff struck out 41 batters while the Braves hit just .180 against them over 25 innings.
Player of the Game
Steven Taylor submitted a career performance just hours after walking across the stage at Commencement. The senior went 2-for-3 with two RBI and three runs scored, all career-highs. After replacing RJ Yeager at shortstop in the third, Taylor belted his first career home run in the home half of the third.
Postgame Quotes
Coach Gibson's opening statement:
"It says a lot about our team for these guys to take on a community service initiative this morning [Miracle League of Macon], participate in Commencement this afternoon and then come out and play such a complete game," said head coach Craig Gibson. "A lot of that boils down to our great seniors; I'm so happy for those guys.
"All of our seniors played – and played well – tonight. [Steve] Taylor, [Drew] Lingo, [Carter] Varga, [Austin Lord]…the list goes on. Hopefully we can use this weekend to springboard into a quality in-state finale next Tuesday against Georgia State and then turn our focus to wrapping up conference play against The Citadel."
Records Update
» Mercer: 34-18
» Alcorn State: 12-37
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Carter Varga (1-0)
» Loss: George Osborne III (0-7)
Up Next
» Mercer: Hosts Georgia State (6 p.m. Tuesday, May 15 in Macon, Ga.)
» Alcorn State: vs. Texas Southern (3 p.m. Wednesday, May 16 in New Orleans, La.)
Notables
» Mercer struck out Alcorn State 41 times in the series. The Bears have tallied at least 10 strikeouts in 29 games this season.
» Saturday also marked the 31st time that Mercer has recorded 10 or more hits in a game.
» Mercer drew a season-high 14 walks and did not issue any to Alcorn State.
» Taylor's 2-for-3 performance was his first career multi-hit game.
» Trey Truitt batted .778 with six doubles in nine at bats this series.
» Mercer needs one more win to clinch a ninth straight season of at least 35 victories.
» Mercer is one of two teams nationally (Tennessee Tech) with 15 players to hit at least one home run this season.
» Alex Hanson reached base safely for the 73rd time in his last 77 games played.
» Jackson Ware extended his reached base streak to a career-long 18 games.
» Le Bassett extended his hit streak to a season-best 11 games.
» JT Thomas drew a season-high four walks and added three RBI despite going 0-for-1.
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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