Friday, May 10
Chattanooga, Tenn.
2 P.M.
Mercer University
27-28
6
vs
1
ETSU
22-27-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
ETSU
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
6
0
Mercer
2
0
4
0
0
0
X
6
9
1
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Preston, Stella (4-6)
L: Boling (9-12)
Batting:
RBI: K. Brown 1
SH: K. Toler 1
Base Running:
RUNS: M. Schurr 1
Batting:
2B: Jones, Allie 1 ; Ash, Tori 1
HR: Castleberry, Danielle 1
RBI: Castleberry, Danielle 3 ; Ash, Tori 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Rood, Micayla 1 ; Jones, Allie 2 ; Castleberry, Danielle 1 ; Buckland, Kate 1 ; Lane, Megan 1
SB: Castleberry, Danielle 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF/OF
/ Softball
P/1B
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
Long Day Comes to Tough End for Mercer
5/10/2019 7:35:00 PM | Softball
Mercer eliminated ETSU, 6-1, before falling to UNCG, 9-7
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – After staving off elimination twice during the day, Mercer softball saw its season come to an end Friday afternoon with a loss to UNCG, 9-7, at the Southern Conference Tournament at Jim Frost Stadium.
Â
The Bears (27-29) started the morning by knocking out Western Carolina, then exacted revenge on ETSU with a 6-1 win in the second game of the afternoon. Mercer seemingly ran out of gas, though, against top-seeded UNCG in the afternoon finale – the Spartans advance to take on Chattanooga in the championship game Saturday.
Â
Game One: Mercer 6, ETSU 1
Mercer struck for six runs in the first three innings of the ballgame to build a lead that could not be overcome by ETSU, eliminating the Bucs from the tournament.
Â
Danielle Castleberry kicked off the scoring with a two-run shot in the bottom of the first inning – the all-conference second baseman's first homer since March 30. She finished the game 2-for-3 with three runs driven in.
Â
Joining Castleberry with crooked numbers in the hit column were Micayla Rood and senior Shaila Warren. The Bears then plated four in the third to blow the game wide open, two of which coming on a bases-loaded double from all-freshman catcher Tori Ash.
Â
Stella Preston (4-6) gave the Bears four quality innings in the circle, allowing just one run on four hits to pick up the win. Lynn Gardner (8) picked up a save after dealing three scoreless innings of two-hit work.
Â
Game Two: UNCG 9, Mercer 7
The Bears touched the plate seven times in the top of the second inning but could not get anything else going as the top-seeded Spartans stormed back for a 9-7 win.
Â
Mercer brought 11 batters to the plate and scored seven runs on three hits and five UNCG errors in that big second inning – capped by an RBI double from Abby Walsh.
Â
UNCG then rallied for three in the fourth and four in the fifth to take back the lead for good, with the big blow coming on a three-run homer from Marissa Sholtes.
Â
It was a wild contest between two teams looking to fight off elimination and punch a ticket into Saturday's championship contest. The two squads combined for 16 runs on 14 hits and nine errors in the contest.
Â
Notable
» The Bears were a couple of runs away from pulling off a rare feat in SoCon Tournament history; playing in, and winning three games in one day.
» Head coach Stephanie DeFeo won her 300th career game in the first of the day and added her 301st with the win in game two.
» Danielle Castleberry went 5-for-9 on the day with seven RBI, three runs scored and a homer to end her all-conference first team season on a high note.
» Micayla Rood led all Bears with six hits on the day and scored three more runs to take her season total to 48. She finished the year tied for third all-time in single-season runs scored, just four shy of the school record.
» Mercer fell just shy of advancing to its first SoCon title game appearance since its inaugural season in the conference (2015).
Â
Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Softball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerUSoftball (Twitter), /MercerSoftball (Facebook) and @MercerUSoftball (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
Â
The Bears (27-29) started the morning by knocking out Western Carolina, then exacted revenge on ETSU with a 6-1 win in the second game of the afternoon. Mercer seemingly ran out of gas, though, against top-seeded UNCG in the afternoon finale – the Spartans advance to take on Chattanooga in the championship game Saturday.
Â
Game One: Mercer 6, ETSU 1
Mercer struck for six runs in the first three innings of the ballgame to build a lead that could not be overcome by ETSU, eliminating the Bucs from the tournament.
Â
Danielle Castleberry kicked off the scoring with a two-run shot in the bottom of the first inning – the all-conference second baseman's first homer since March 30. She finished the game 2-for-3 with three runs driven in.
Â
Joining Castleberry with crooked numbers in the hit column were Micayla Rood and senior Shaila Warren. The Bears then plated four in the third to blow the game wide open, two of which coming on a bases-loaded double from all-freshman catcher Tori Ash.
Â
Stella Preston (4-6) gave the Bears four quality innings in the circle, allowing just one run on four hits to pick up the win. Lynn Gardner (8) picked up a save after dealing three scoreless innings of two-hit work.
Â
Game Two: UNCG 9, Mercer 7
The Bears touched the plate seven times in the top of the second inning but could not get anything else going as the top-seeded Spartans stormed back for a 9-7 win.
Â
Mercer brought 11 batters to the plate and scored seven runs on three hits and five UNCG errors in that big second inning – capped by an RBI double from Abby Walsh.
Â
UNCG then rallied for three in the fourth and four in the fifth to take back the lead for good, with the big blow coming on a three-run homer from Marissa Sholtes.
Â
It was a wild contest between two teams looking to fight off elimination and punch a ticket into Saturday's championship contest. The two squads combined for 16 runs on 14 hits and nine errors in the contest.
Â
Notable
» The Bears were a couple of runs away from pulling off a rare feat in SoCon Tournament history; playing in, and winning three games in one day.
» Head coach Stephanie DeFeo won her 300th career game in the first of the day and added her 301st with the win in game two.
» Danielle Castleberry went 5-for-9 on the day with seven RBI, three runs scored and a homer to end her all-conference first team season on a high note.
» Micayla Rood led all Bears with six hits on the day and scored three more runs to take her season total to 48. She finished the year tied for third all-time in single-season runs scored, just four shy of the school record.
» Mercer fell just shy of advancing to its first SoCon title game appearance since its inaugural season in the conference (2015).
Â
Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Softball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerUSoftball (Twitter), /MercerSoftball (Facebook) and @MercerUSoftball (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
Mercer v. Georgia Southern Men's Soccer Highlight Reel: 10/14/2025
Wednesday, October 15
Mercer 38 | Princeton 14 Post Game Press Conference (10.11.25)
Sunday, October 12
Mercer v. UNC Greensboro Women's Soccer Highlight Reel: 10/11/2025
Sunday, October 12
Mercer Football Press Conference (Week 7 vs Princeton)
Monday, October 06
