Saturday, May 19
Macon, Ga.
2 p.m.
Mercer University
35-20, 0
5
vs
7
The Citadel
19-33, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
The Citadel
0
1
0
3
1
0
0
1
1
7
13
0
Mercer
0
0
0
0
1
4
0
0
0
5
7
2
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Alex Bialakis (3-5)
L: Broom, Robert (10-3)
S: Jonathan Sabo (4)
Batting:
2B: Jonathan Sabo 1 ; William Kinney 1
HR: Jonathan Sabo 1
RBI: Jonathan Sabo 3 ; Jeffery Brown 1 ; Taylor Cothran 2 ; Michael Ray 1
SH: Michael Ray 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jonathan Sabo 1 ; Jeffery Brown 1 ; William Kinney 1 ; Ryan McCarthy 1 ; Clay Martin 2 ; Michael Ray 1
SB: Jeffery Brown 2 ; William Kinney 2 ; Bryce Leasure 1 ; Ryan McCarthy 1
HBP: Clay Martin 1
Batting:
HR: Crotty, Alex 2
RBI: Crotty, Alex 5
Base Running:
RUNS: Truitt, Trey 1 ; Ware, Jackson 1 ; Thomas, JT 1 ; Crotty, Alex 2
SB: Michie, Brandon 1 ; Cornell, Conrad 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
5
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballC
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
Photo by: Woody Marshall
Bears Drop Series Rubber Match to The Citadel
5/19/2018 6:21:00 PM | Baseball
Alex Crotty drives in five runs with two home runs in loss
MACON, Ga. – Alex Crotty drove in a career-high five runs with two home runs despite Mercer falling to The Citadel, 7-5, in the regular season and series finale Saturday afternoon at OrthoGeorgia Park.
Mercer finished the regular season at 35-20 overall and 11-13 in Southern Conference action following the loss. The Citadel, which claimed their third SoCon series win of the season, ended the regular season at 19-33 (8-16).
Crotty's two home runs – a solo shot and grand slam – came in consecutive innings to tie the game after Mercer faced an early 5-0 deficit through four and a half innings. The sophomore snaked a two-out solo home run around the left-field foul pole in the bottom of the fifth for the Bears' first run of the game, before coming up with an even bigger swat in the sixth; after Trey Truitt (single), Jackson Ware (walk) and JT Thomas (walk) loaded the bases, Crotty delivered a two-out grand slam to knot the contest, 5-5.
The Citadel reclaimed its lead for good in the top of the eighth against Mercer reliever Robert Broom when Jeffery Brown scored on an infield single by Taylor Cothran with one out and the bases loaded. The infield single came after a well-executed hit-and-run and intentional walk. Two errors by the Bears in the ninth – a fielding error at third base and failed pickoff attempt – led to an insurance run for the Bulldogs.
The Citadel's bats were hot early; a three-run third inning helped the Bulldogs jump out to their five-run advantage. Mercer starting pitcher Christian Vann made an early exit after surrendering four runs on seven hits through four innings pitched. Broom (10-3) took the loss for his one run allowed in the eighth. Five Bears in total saw action on the mound.
Stat of the Game
Five Mercer pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts Saturday afternoon. It was the 30th time in 55 games played this season that the Bears have tallied 10 or more strikeouts in a single game. Mercer's pitching staff finished the regular season with 585 strikeouts.
Player of the Game
Alex Crotty (2-for-4) was the biggest spark plug in the lineup, driving in all five of Mercer's runs on two swings. It was his third multi-hit game of the season and first multi-home run performance of his career.
Postgame Quotes
Coach Gibson's opening statement:
"Moving into the Southern Conference Tournament next week, we simply just have to play better overall baseball," said head coach Craig Gibson. "We threw a couple balls away defensively and really weren't very offensive until the fifth inning.
"The lack of production in those first four innings hurt us over the course of this game. I'm disappointed in general. We didn't make some pitches we should have. We had chances down the stretch and didn't help ourselves out. Our second season starts Wednesday…we'll turn the page and be ready for it to begin in Greenville [S.C.]."
Records Update
» Mercer: 35-20 (11-13 SoCon)
» The Citadel: 19-33 (8-16 SoCon)
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Alex Bialakis (3-5)
» Loss: Robert Broom (10-3)
» Save: Jonathan Sabo (4)
Up Next
» Mercer: vs. TBD at SoCon Tournament (Wednesday, May 23 at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C.)
» The Citadel: vs. No. 9 Western Carolina (10 a.m. Tuesday, May 22 at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C.)
Notables
» Crotty entered Saturday's contest with two career home runs. It was his first multi-home run game.
» Vann's start on the mound was his 50th career appearance for Mercer.
» Jackson Ware extended his career-long reached base streak to 21 games.
» Ware finished SoCon play with a team-best .356 batting average over 24 conference games.
» Le Bassett tied his season-long reached base streak of 14 games.
» Alex Hanson (1-for-4) has reached base safely in 76 of the last 80 games played.
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.
Mercer finished the regular season at 35-20 overall and 11-13 in Southern Conference action following the loss. The Citadel, which claimed their third SoCon series win of the season, ended the regular season at 19-33 (8-16).
Crotty's two home runs – a solo shot and grand slam – came in consecutive innings to tie the game after Mercer faced an early 5-0 deficit through four and a half innings. The sophomore snaked a two-out solo home run around the left-field foul pole in the bottom of the fifth for the Bears' first run of the game, before coming up with an even bigger swat in the sixth; after Trey Truitt (single), Jackson Ware (walk) and JT Thomas (walk) loaded the bases, Crotty delivered a two-out grand slam to knot the contest, 5-5.
The Citadel reclaimed its lead for good in the top of the eighth against Mercer reliever Robert Broom when Jeffery Brown scored on an infield single by Taylor Cothran with one out and the bases loaded. The infield single came after a well-executed hit-and-run and intentional walk. Two errors by the Bears in the ninth – a fielding error at third base and failed pickoff attempt – led to an insurance run for the Bulldogs.
The Citadel's bats were hot early; a three-run third inning helped the Bulldogs jump out to their five-run advantage. Mercer starting pitcher Christian Vann made an early exit after surrendering four runs on seven hits through four innings pitched. Broom (10-3) took the loss for his one run allowed in the eighth. Five Bears in total saw action on the mound.
Stat of the Game
Five Mercer pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts Saturday afternoon. It was the 30th time in 55 games played this season that the Bears have tallied 10 or more strikeouts in a single game. Mercer's pitching staff finished the regular season with 585 strikeouts.
Player of the Game
Alex Crotty (2-for-4) was the biggest spark plug in the lineup, driving in all five of Mercer's runs on two swings. It was his third multi-hit game of the season and first multi-home run performance of his career.
Postgame Quotes
Coach Gibson's opening statement:
"Moving into the Southern Conference Tournament next week, we simply just have to play better overall baseball," said head coach Craig Gibson. "We threw a couple balls away defensively and really weren't very offensive until the fifth inning.
"The lack of production in those first four innings hurt us over the course of this game. I'm disappointed in general. We didn't make some pitches we should have. We had chances down the stretch and didn't help ourselves out. Our second season starts Wednesday…we'll turn the page and be ready for it to begin in Greenville [S.C.]."
Records Update
» Mercer: 35-20 (11-13 SoCon)
» The Citadel: 19-33 (8-16 SoCon)
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Alex Bialakis (3-5)
» Loss: Robert Broom (10-3)
» Save: Jonathan Sabo (4)
Up Next
» Mercer: vs. TBD at SoCon Tournament (Wednesday, May 23 at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C.)
» The Citadel: vs. No. 9 Western Carolina (10 a.m. Tuesday, May 22 at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C.)
Notables
» Crotty entered Saturday's contest with two career home runs. It was his first multi-home run game.
» Vann's start on the mound was his 50th career appearance for Mercer.
» Jackson Ware extended his career-long reached base streak to 21 games.
» Ware finished SoCon play with a team-best .356 batting average over 24 conference games.
» Le Bassett tied his season-long reached base streak of 14 games.
» Alex Hanson (1-for-4) has reached base safely in 76 of the last 80 games played.
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.
Mercer 38 | ETSU 34 Postgame Press Conference 9/27/25
Sunday, September 28
Mercer v. East Tennessee State Women's Soccer Highlight Reel: 9/26/2025
Saturday, September 27
Press Conference Mercer Football (Week 5 vs East Tennessee State)
Tuesday, September 23
Mercer 38, Citadel 0 | Postgame Press Conference (9/20/25)
Saturday, September 20
