Sunday, February 24
Macon, Ga.
1 p.m.
Mercer University
6-1
8
vs
7
Alabama A&M
0-9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Alabama A&M
0
4
1
0
0
2
0
0
0
7
11
0
Mercer
2
0
0
1
0
0
2
0
3
8
14
2
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Coulter, Kevin (1-0)
L: Peyton Baker (0-1)
Batting:
HR: Stephan Soto 1 ; Justin Lott 1 ; Pierre Brewton 1
RBI: Stephan Soto 1 ; Justin Lott 1 ; Kyle Redmond 1 ; Pierre Brewton 4
SH: Daniel Tart 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Stephan Soto 1 ; Justin Lott 1 ; Richard Polinsky 1 ; Dillon Roop 1 ; Daniel Tart 1 ; Kyle Redmond 1 ; Pierre Brewton 1
HBP: Jonathan Smith II 1
Batting:
2B: Wilkinson, Garrett 1
HR: Yeager, RJ 3 ; Johnson, Kel 1
RBI: Yeager, RJ 5 ; Johnson, Kel 1 ; Price, Collin 1
SF: Price, Collin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dockus, Kyle 1 ; Wilkinson, Garrett 1 ; Yeager, RJ 3 ; Johnson, Kel 2 ; DiSpigna, Angelo 1
SB: Austin, Trevor 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
C/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
Photo by: Daniel Gibbons
Yeager Leads Mercer to Sweep of Alabama A&M
2/24/2019 5:22:00 PM | Baseball
RJ Yeager hits three home runs in 8-7 walk-off win
MACON, Ga. – RJ Yeager hit three home runs and Angelo DiSpigna scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth as Mercer rallied to defeat Alabama A&M, 8-7, in walk-off fashion at OrthoGeorgia Park on Sunday afternoon.
Yeager, who went 3-for-5 with five runs batted in, hit home runs in the first, seventh and ninth innings, the latter of which tied the game at 7-7 and set up the walk-off win. Mercer (6-1) swept the weekend series against the visiting Bulldogs (0-9) while putting up 39 runs in the process. Kevin Coulter (1-0) earned the win on the mound with two innings of scoreless relief.
Mercer saw an early 2-0 lead – courtesy of Yeager's first long ball – quickly vanish when Alabama A&M plated four runs in the second and one run in the third on three total home runs. Starting pitcher Zach Graveno lasted just three innings for Mercer after surrendering five runs on five hits.
Kel Johnson scored on a sacrifice fly by Collin Price in the fourth to pull Mercer within two runs. The Bulldogs took their largest lead of the game, 7-3, in the sixth with a pair of RBI singles against Mercer's Jackson Kelley, who pitched two innings of relief. Alabama A&M had the bases loaded in the sixth when the Bears turned to Nick Spear, who stranded all three runners with a strikeout.
Spear and Coulter combined to toss the final 3.1 innings and did not allow a run while scattering three hits and striking out eight batters. Yeager and Johnson hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh to pull Mercer within two runs once again. Kyle Dockus led off the ninth with a walk before Yeager tied the game with his third long ball two at bats later. DiSpigna drew a two-out walk and advanced to third with an intentional walk of Zach Miller and walk of Trevor Austin. DiSpigna then scored on a wild pitch by Alabama A&M's Logan Smith to win the game.
Coach Gibson's Take
"Getting a weekend sweep is always a difficult task, but we were special in the bullpen and RJ [Yeager] obviously hits three balls out of the park to lead us today," said head coach Craig Gibson. "We had our best guys out there at the end – RJ, [Kevin] Coulter, [Nick] Spear – and they gave us a chance to win.
"If you're going to win a championship, you need three, four, five sweeps in your league and this was important to see that we've got that capability. Different guys stepped up over 27 innings this weekend, so hopefully it's just a momentum boost for the future."
Player of the Game
RJ Yeager showed his star power on Sunday with a three-home-run effort. The sophomore shortstop went 3-for-5 with five RBI at the plate and is now hitting .387 for the season.
Records Update
» Mercer: 6-1
» Alabama A&M: 0-9
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Kevin Coulter (1-0)
» Loss: Peyton Baker (0-1)
Notables
» Yeager is the first Bear to hit three home runs in a single game since Trey Truitt did so against The Citadel in the SoCon Tournament on May 25, 2016.
» Yeager has already matched his home run total from last season (6) through seven games.
» Five Mercer pitchers combined to throw 13 strikeouts, including four apiece by Spear and Coulter.
» Coulter has not allowed a run over 6.2 innings and four appearances on the mound.
» Five Bears had multi-hit games, led by Yeager's three.
» Trevor Austin stole his third base of the year.
» Kel Johnson's home run was his third this season.
» Sunday's win marked Mercer's first weekend sweep since the Alcorn State series on May 10-12, 2018.
Up Next
» Mercer: Hosts Florida A&M (6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26 at OrthoGeorgia Park)
» Alabama A&M: At Missouri (Tuesday, Feb. 26 in Columbia, Mo.)
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.
Yeager, who went 3-for-5 with five runs batted in, hit home runs in the first, seventh and ninth innings, the latter of which tied the game at 7-7 and set up the walk-off win. Mercer (6-1) swept the weekend series against the visiting Bulldogs (0-9) while putting up 39 runs in the process. Kevin Coulter (1-0) earned the win on the mound with two innings of scoreless relief.
Mercer saw an early 2-0 lead – courtesy of Yeager's first long ball – quickly vanish when Alabama A&M plated four runs in the second and one run in the third on three total home runs. Starting pitcher Zach Graveno lasted just three innings for Mercer after surrendering five runs on five hits.
Kel Johnson scored on a sacrifice fly by Collin Price in the fourth to pull Mercer within two runs. The Bulldogs took their largest lead of the game, 7-3, in the sixth with a pair of RBI singles against Mercer's Jackson Kelley, who pitched two innings of relief. Alabama A&M had the bases loaded in the sixth when the Bears turned to Nick Spear, who stranded all three runners with a strikeout.
Spear and Coulter combined to toss the final 3.1 innings and did not allow a run while scattering three hits and striking out eight batters. Yeager and Johnson hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh to pull Mercer within two runs once again. Kyle Dockus led off the ninth with a walk before Yeager tied the game with his third long ball two at bats later. DiSpigna drew a two-out walk and advanced to third with an intentional walk of Zach Miller and walk of Trevor Austin. DiSpigna then scored on a wild pitch by Alabama A&M's Logan Smith to win the game.
Coach Gibson's Take
"Getting a weekend sweep is always a difficult task, but we were special in the bullpen and RJ [Yeager] obviously hits three balls out of the park to lead us today," said head coach Craig Gibson. "We had our best guys out there at the end – RJ, [Kevin] Coulter, [Nick] Spear – and they gave us a chance to win.
"If you're going to win a championship, you need three, four, five sweeps in your league and this was important to see that we've got that capability. Different guys stepped up over 27 innings this weekend, so hopefully it's just a momentum boost for the future."
Player of the Game
RJ Yeager showed his star power on Sunday with a three-home-run effort. The sophomore shortstop went 3-for-5 with five RBI at the plate and is now hitting .387 for the season.
Records Update
» Mercer: 6-1
» Alabama A&M: 0-9
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Kevin Coulter (1-0)
» Loss: Peyton Baker (0-1)
Notables
» Yeager is the first Bear to hit three home runs in a single game since Trey Truitt did so against The Citadel in the SoCon Tournament on May 25, 2016.
» Yeager has already matched his home run total from last season (6) through seven games.
» Five Mercer pitchers combined to throw 13 strikeouts, including four apiece by Spear and Coulter.
» Coulter has not allowed a run over 6.2 innings and four appearances on the mound.
» Five Bears had multi-hit games, led by Yeager's three.
» Trevor Austin stole his third base of the year.
» Kel Johnson's home run was his third this season.
» Sunday's win marked Mercer's first weekend sweep since the Alcorn State series on May 10-12, 2018.
Up Next
» Mercer: Hosts Florida A&M (6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26 at OrthoGeorgia Park)
» Alabama A&M: At Missouri (Tuesday, Feb. 26 in Columbia, Mo.)
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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