Saturday, May 26
Greenville, S.C.
12 p.m.
Mercer University
37-21
3
vs
10
Samford
35-24
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Samford
0
0
1
0
5
2
2
0
0
10
11
1
Mercer
0
0
0
2
1
0
0
0
0
3
8
2
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Josh Rich (6-5)
L: Broom, Robert (10-4)
Batting:
2B: Brooks Carlson 1
HR: Troy Dixon 1
RBI: Troy Dixon 1 ; Brooks Carlson 3 ; Ayrton Schafer 1 ; Connor Burns 1 ; Anthony Mulrine 2 ; Sam Teague 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Branden Fryman 2 ; Troy Dixon 3 ; Brooks Carlson 1 ; Ayrton Schafer 1 ; Anthony Mulrine 1 ; Taylor Garris 1 ; Ryan Crockett 1
SB: Sam Teague 1
CS: Connor Burns 1
HBP: Brooks Carlson 1 ; Ayrton Schafer 1 ; Ryan Crockett 1
Batting:
2B: Hanson, Alex 1
HR: Bassett, Le 1
RBI: Bassett, Le 3
SH: Crotty, Alex 1
SF: Bassett, Le 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Yeager, RJ 1 ; Ware, Jackson 1 ; Bassett, Le 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
Photo by: Southern Conference
Bears Falter in SoCon Tournament Loss to Samford
5/26/2018 4:02:00 PM | Baseball
Mercer faces elimination, No. 9 Western Carolina in Saturday nightcap
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Fifth-seeded Mercer fell into the loser's bracket of the Southern Conference Championship, presented by Holston Gases, with a 10-3 loss to No. 2 Samford on Saturday afternoon at Fluor Field.
The Bears (37-21) will face elimination when they play the winner of No. 1 UNCG and No. 9 Western Carolina at 7 p.m. Saturday in the loser's bracket. Samford (35-24) won its fifth straight game against Mercer and advanced to Sunday's championship game at noon.
Robert Broom made his first collegiate start with a title-game berth on the line, but was removed in the fifth inning with a blister on his throwing hand. The junior sidewinder was business as usual until that point; he limited Samford to three hits and struck out seven batters through four innings but did take the loss.
With Mercer trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth, Le Bassett deposited a 351-foot, two-run home run over the Green Monster to give the Bears a one-run lead. Samford's first run came via a solo home run by Troy Dixon in the third; it was the first run allowed by Mercer's pitching staff in the SoCon Tournament.
Broom was relieved by Zach Graveno, who inherited a pair of runners with no outs in the fifth after RJ Yeager muffed a throw by Broom on a potential double-play ball back to the mound. Graveno walked the first batter he faced, loading the bases, and then hit both Brooks Carlson and Ayrton Schafer to give Samford a 3-2 advantage. Samford then made it a 6-2 contest with a pair of consecutive RBI singles off of Sawyer Gipson-Long, who replaced Graveno.
After a sacrifice fly by Bassett in the bottom of the fifth cut Samford's lead to three runs, the Bulldogs swiftly responded with a two-run double to center field by Carlson, making it an 8-3 game. Samford added another pair of runs in the seventh to close out its seven-run victory.
Stat of the Game
Mercer held Samford scoreless over the first 2.1 innings and reached a 16.1-inning scoreless streak to start the SoCon Tournament. The Bears tossed a pair of seven-inning shutouts in the first and second rounds.
Player of the Game
Le Bassett was responsible for driving in all three of Mercer's runs. The freshman went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and one sacrifice fly. He leads Mercer with 58 RBI on the season.
Postgame Quotes
Craig Gibson's opening statement:
"Robert Broom gave us a great effort on the mound today…what are the chances you get the first blood blister of your career in a game like this," said head coach Craig Gibson. "It was tough luck. Otherwise, we just didn't handle adversity well today.
"We didn't turn a key double play in the fifth [inning] and then gave up some free passes. Outside of Broom, we didn't pitch well. I don't think you're ever out of things in a tournament, so we'll see what we bring to the table tonight [Saturday night]."
Records Update
» Mercer: 37-21
» Samford: 35-24
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Josh Rich (6-5)
» Loss: Robert Broom (10-4)
Up Next
» Mercer: vs. #9 Western Carolina (7 p.m. Saturday, May 26 at Fluor Field)
» Samford: vs. #5 Mercer/#9 Western Carolina (12 p.m. Sunday, May 27 at Fluor Field)
Notables
» Mercer fell to 1-2 all-time against Samford in the SoCon Tournament.
» Mercer is 10-5 all-time at the SoCon Tournament.
» Saturday marked Robert Broom's first start in 102 career collegiate appearances.
» The Bears set a program record for most runs scored in a conference tournament with 37. The former record was 35 runs, set at the 2015 SoCon Tournament in Charleston, S.C.
» Mercer's streak of 16.1 scoreless innings against was snapped by Dixon's home run in the third frame.
» Jackson Ware extended his career-long reached base streak to 23 games.
» Alex Hanson reached base safely for the 79th time in the last 83 games.
» Conrad Cornell (1-for-4) tallied his fifth hit of the tournament. He had seven hits in the regular season.
» All but one Mercer starter tallied one hit. Bassett (home run) and Hanson (double) had extra-base hits.
» Six Mercer pitchers saw action on the mound.
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 Bears (37-21) will face elimination when they play the winner of No. 1 UNCG and No. 9 Western Carolina at 7 p.m. Saturday in the loser's bracket. Samford (35-24) won its fifth straight game against Mercer and advanced to Sunday's championship game at noon.
Robert Broom made his first collegiate start with a title-game berth on the line, but was removed in the fifth inning with a blister on his throwing hand. The junior sidewinder was business as usual until that point; he limited Samford to three hits and struck out seven batters through four innings but did take the loss.
With Mercer trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth, Le Bassett deposited a 351-foot, two-run home run over the Green Monster to give the Bears a one-run lead. Samford's first run came via a solo home run by Troy Dixon in the third; it was the first run allowed by Mercer's pitching staff in the SoCon Tournament.
Broom was relieved by Zach Graveno, who inherited a pair of runners with no outs in the fifth after RJ Yeager muffed a throw by Broom on a potential double-play ball back to the mound. Graveno walked the first batter he faced, loading the bases, and then hit both Brooks Carlson and Ayrton Schafer to give Samford a 3-2 advantage. Samford then made it a 6-2 contest with a pair of consecutive RBI singles off of Sawyer Gipson-Long, who replaced Graveno.
After a sacrifice fly by Bassett in the bottom of the fifth cut Samford's lead to three runs, the Bulldogs swiftly responded with a two-run double to center field by Carlson, making it an 8-3 game. Samford added another pair of runs in the seventh to close out its seven-run victory.
Stat of the Game
Mercer held Samford scoreless over the first 2.1 innings and reached a 16.1-inning scoreless streak to start the SoCon Tournament. The Bears tossed a pair of seven-inning shutouts in the first and second rounds.
Player of the Game
Le Bassett was responsible for driving in all three of Mercer's runs. The freshman went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and one sacrifice fly. He leads Mercer with 58 RBI on the season.
Postgame Quotes
Craig Gibson's opening statement:
"Robert Broom gave us a great effort on the mound today…what are the chances you get the first blood blister of your career in a game like this," said head coach Craig Gibson. "It was tough luck. Otherwise, we just didn't handle adversity well today.
"We didn't turn a key double play in the fifth [inning] and then gave up some free passes. Outside of Broom, we didn't pitch well. I don't think you're ever out of things in a tournament, so we'll see what we bring to the table tonight [Saturday night]."
Records Update
» Mercer: 37-21
» Samford: 35-24
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Josh Rich (6-5)
» Loss: Robert Broom (10-4)
Up Next
» Mercer: vs. #9 Western Carolina (7 p.m. Saturday, May 26 at Fluor Field)
» Samford: vs. #5 Mercer/#9 Western Carolina (12 p.m. Sunday, May 27 at Fluor Field)
Notables
» Mercer fell to 1-2 all-time against Samford in the SoCon Tournament.
» Mercer is 10-5 all-time at the SoCon Tournament.
» Saturday marked Robert Broom's first start in 102 career collegiate appearances.
» The Bears set a program record for most runs scored in a conference tournament with 37. The former record was 35 runs, set at the 2015 SoCon Tournament in Charleston, S.C.
» Mercer's streak of 16.1 scoreless innings against was snapped by Dixon's home run in the third frame.
» Jackson Ware extended his career-long reached base streak to 23 games.
» Alex Hanson reached base safely for the 79th time in the last 83 games.
» Conrad Cornell (1-for-4) tallied his fifth hit of the tournament. He had seven hits in the regular season.
» All but one Mercer starter tallied one hit. Bassett (home run) and Hanson (double) had extra-base hits.
» Six Mercer pitchers saw action on the mound.
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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