Friday, February 15
Macon, Ga.
6 p.m.
Mercer University
1-0
5
vs
4
Evansville
0-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Evansville
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
3
4
8
1
Mercer
3
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
X
5
8
2
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gipson-Long, Sawyer (1-0)
L: Lukas, Adam (0-1)
S: Coulter, Kevin (1)
Batting:
2B: Fritz, A.J. 1 ; Borgstron, Danny 1
RBI: Troyer, Sam 1 ; Crews, Kenton 1 ; Shepherd, Craig 1 ; Borgstron, Danny 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Reeder, Nate 1 ; Fritz, A.J. 1 ; Jones, Matthew 1 ; Borgstron, Danny 1
SB: Troyer, Sam 1
HBP: Crews, Kenton 1
Batting:
HR: Yeager, RJ 1 ; Johnson, Kel 1
RBI: Yeager, RJ 1 ; Johnson, Kel 1 ; Price, Collin 1 ; Miller, Zach 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Yeager, RJ 1 ; Johnson, Kel 2 ; DiSpigna, Angelo 1 ; Price, Collin 1
CS: Dockus, Kyle 1
HBP: DiSpigna, Angelo 1 ; Price, Collin 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
C/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballPhoto by: Daniel Gibbons
Mercer Edges Evansville for Season-Opening Win
2/15/2019 10:29:00 PM | Baseball
Bears defeat Evansville, 5-4, at home
MACON, Ga. – Mercer won on opening day for the ninth consecutive season as it edged Evansville, 5-4, in front of a sellout crowd on Friday at OrthoGeorgia Park.
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The Bears (1-0) led the entire game but had to quell a ninth-inning rally by Evansville (0-1) to pull off the victory. After entering the ninth with a 5-1 lead, Mercer used three pitchers in the final frame before putting away the Purple Aces; Kevin Coulter struck out two batters with the bases loaded and the tying run on third base to record a save and seal the win.
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RBI singles by Collin Price and Zach Miller in the first inning gave Mercer an early 3-0 advantage. RJ Yeager and Kel Johnson added to the lead with solo home runs in the second and fifth innings. The Bears led 5-1 after the fifth, giving way to an impressive effort collectively from their pitching staff.
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Sawyer Gipson-Long (1-0) struck out eight Purple Aces and allowed one unearned run over five frames in his season-opening start. His only shaky inning, the fourth, was a result of two fielding errors by the Bears. Scott Smith followed Gipson-Long with a stellar two innings of relief, keeping Evansville without a baserunner while striking out five batters.
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Player of the Game
Junior right-hander Sawyer Gipson-Long was dominant, holding Evansville to one unearned run on four hits over five innings pitched. Gipson-Long fanned eight batters while issuing only one walk.
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Coach Gibson's Take
"I think this game is going to do a lot for us down the road," said head coach Craig Gibson. "We faced a [starting pitcher] throwing in the upper 90s and we got to him early, which was great to see.
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"Tonight's win started and ended with great pitching by Sawyer Gipson-Long and Kevin Coulter. I am proud of our entire staff, especially [Scott] Smith and Coulter in relief. Offensively, it was good to see many of the new guys contribute; Kel Johnson hit a long ball and Collin Price and Zach Miller came up with a couple big hits in the first inning."
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Records Update
» Mercer: 1-0
» Evansville: 0-1
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Pitchers of Record
» Win: Sawyer Gipson-Long (1-0)
» Save: Kevin Coulter (1)
» Loss: Adam Lukas (0-1)
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Notables
» Mercer has won nine straight times on opening day.
» Mercer is 13-3 on opening day under Craig Gibson.
» The Bears improved to 10-3 all-time against Evansville.
» Five Mercer pitchers combined to throw 18 strikeouts.
» Kel Johnson's home run was the 34th of his career.
» Six Mercer newcomers were included in the Bears' starting lineup.
» Trevor Austin and Kyle Dockus recorded two hits apiece.
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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 Bears (1-0) led the entire game but had to quell a ninth-inning rally by Evansville (0-1) to pull off the victory. After entering the ninth with a 5-1 lead, Mercer used three pitchers in the final frame before putting away the Purple Aces; Kevin Coulter struck out two batters with the bases loaded and the tying run on third base to record a save and seal the win.
Â
RBI singles by Collin Price and Zach Miller in the first inning gave Mercer an early 3-0 advantage. RJ Yeager and Kel Johnson added to the lead with solo home runs in the second and fifth innings. The Bears led 5-1 after the fifth, giving way to an impressive effort collectively from their pitching staff.
Â
Sawyer Gipson-Long (1-0) struck out eight Purple Aces and allowed one unearned run over five frames in his season-opening start. His only shaky inning, the fourth, was a result of two fielding errors by the Bears. Scott Smith followed Gipson-Long with a stellar two innings of relief, keeping Evansville without a baserunner while striking out five batters.
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Player of the Game
Junior right-hander Sawyer Gipson-Long was dominant, holding Evansville to one unearned run on four hits over five innings pitched. Gipson-Long fanned eight batters while issuing only one walk.
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Coach Gibson's Take
"I think this game is going to do a lot for us down the road," said head coach Craig Gibson. "We faced a [starting pitcher] throwing in the upper 90s and we got to him early, which was great to see.
Â
"Tonight's win started and ended with great pitching by Sawyer Gipson-Long and Kevin Coulter. I am proud of our entire staff, especially [Scott] Smith and Coulter in relief. Offensively, it was good to see many of the new guys contribute; Kel Johnson hit a long ball and Collin Price and Zach Miller came up with a couple big hits in the first inning."
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Records Update
» Mercer: 1-0
» Evansville: 0-1
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Pitchers of Record
» Win: Sawyer Gipson-Long (1-0)
» Save: Kevin Coulter (1)
» Loss: Adam Lukas (0-1)
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Notables
» Mercer has won nine straight times on opening day.
» Mercer is 13-3 on opening day under Craig Gibson.
» The Bears improved to 10-3 all-time against Evansville.
» Five Mercer pitchers combined to throw 18 strikeouts.
» Kel Johnson's home run was the 34th of his career.
» Six Mercer newcomers were included in the Bears' starting lineup.
» Trevor Austin and Kyle Dockus recorded two hits apiece.
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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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