Thursday, May 16
Greenville, S.C.
6 p.m.
Mercer University
29-24, 14-8
8
at
3
Furman
23-29, 11-11
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Mercer
0
1
2
0
0
4
0
0
1
8
12
1
Furman
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
9
0
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gipson-Long, Sawyer (6-3)
L: John M. Bertrand (4-5)
S: Spear, Nick (7)
Batting:
2B: Knight, Bill 1
HR: Yeager, RJ 1 ; Price, Collin 1 ; Ammons, Jordan 1
RBI: Yeager, RJ 1 ; Price, Collin 2 ; Knight, Bill 1 ; Ammons, Jordan 3 ; Austin, Trevor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Yeager, RJ 1 ; Johnson, Kel 1 ; Price, Collin 2 ; DiSpigna, Angelo 1 ; Crotty, Alex 1 ; Knight, Bill 1 ; Ammons, Jordan 1
Batting:
2B: David Webel 1
RBI: Jabari Richards 1 ; Jared Mihalik 1 ; Banks Griffith 1
Base Running:
RUNS: David Webel 1 ; Jabari Richards 1 ; Trent Alley 1
SB: Jabari Richards 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
IF
/ BaseballC
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball3B
/ BaseballC/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
Photo by: Mitch Robinson
Bears Down Furman in Series Opener
5/16/2019 9:59:00 PM | Baseball
Nick Spear ties career saves record, Mercer bashes three home runs in 8-3 victory
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Three home runs fueled Mercer's series-opening, 8-3 road victory at Furman on Thursday night at Latham Stadium.
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Six of Mercer's eight runs came via the long ball as Collin Price, Jordan Ammons and RJ Yeager went deep over a four-inning span. Nick Spear tied a school record with his 20th career save by tossing 2.2 scoreless frames to back Sawyer Gipson-Long, who fanned eight over six innings to earn the win.
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The Bears (29-24, 14-8 SoCon) won their fifth straight series-opening game and maintained their tie with UNCG for second place in the conference standings with two contests remaining in the regular season.
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With the game tied at 3-3 in the sixth inning, Ammons connected on a go-ahead three-run home run to left field. Ammons' blast was Mercer's second of three home runs – Price knotted the game with a two-run shot in the third and Yeager added a solo home run later in the sixth.
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Mercer fell behind, 3-0, in the bottom of the first inning before rallying to tie it up with a bases-loaded walk in the second and Price's long ball in the third. Furman collected three hits against Gipson-Long and was aided by a Mercer fielding error in the first.
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Gipson-Long settled in after the opening frame, retiring 13 of 15 batters down the stretch to help stage the rally. He scattered five hits and walked two batters over his six innings pitched.
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Scott Smith took over on the mound to start the bottom of the seventh with a four-run lead. After a flyout to center field for the first out of the inning, Furman loaded the bases against Smith with a walk and two singles. Smith was relieved by Spear, who ended the threat effectively with help from Trevor Austin, who turned a 5-3 double play to hold the Paladins scoreless.
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Spear worked around two hits and struck out three in his 2.2 frames. Bill Knight added a RBI double in the top of the ninth to tack on an insurance run.
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Records Update
» Mercer: 29-24 (14-8 SoCon)
» Furman: 23-29 (11-11 SoCon)
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Pitchers of Record
» Win: Sawyer Gipson-Long (6-3)
» Save: Nick Spear (7)
» Loss: John Michael Bertrand (4-5)
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Notables
» Nick Spear tied Andrew Urena (2005-06) for the most career saves in program history (20).
» Thursday was the sixth time Mercer has hit three or more home runs in a game.
» Thursday marked Mercer's fifth straight series-opening win. Mercer has won all four previous series.
» Collin Price's home run was his sixth overall and second in SoCon action.
» Gipson-Long fanned eight-plus batters for the fourth time overall and third time in his last four starts.
» Trevor Austin extended his hit streak to a team-leading 10 games.
» Price (2-for-3), Alex Crotty (2-for-5) and Bill Knight (2-for-5) all had multi-hit performances.
» All nine Mercer batters had at least one hit.
» Price reached four times with two hits and two walks.
» RJ Yeager's home run was his first since March 22 vs. UNCG. He has eight for the season.
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Up Next
Mercer and Furman continue their SoCon series with game two at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 17.
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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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Six of Mercer's eight runs came via the long ball as Collin Price, Jordan Ammons and RJ Yeager went deep over a four-inning span. Nick Spear tied a school record with his 20th career save by tossing 2.2 scoreless frames to back Sawyer Gipson-Long, who fanned eight over six innings to earn the win.
Â
The Bears (29-24, 14-8 SoCon) won their fifth straight series-opening game and maintained their tie with UNCG for second place in the conference standings with two contests remaining in the regular season.
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With the game tied at 3-3 in the sixth inning, Ammons connected on a go-ahead three-run home run to left field. Ammons' blast was Mercer's second of three home runs – Price knotted the game with a two-run shot in the third and Yeager added a solo home run later in the sixth.
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Mercer fell behind, 3-0, in the bottom of the first inning before rallying to tie it up with a bases-loaded walk in the second and Price's long ball in the third. Furman collected three hits against Gipson-Long and was aided by a Mercer fielding error in the first.
Â
Gipson-Long settled in after the opening frame, retiring 13 of 15 batters down the stretch to help stage the rally. He scattered five hits and walked two batters over his six innings pitched.
Â
Scott Smith took over on the mound to start the bottom of the seventh with a four-run lead. After a flyout to center field for the first out of the inning, Furman loaded the bases against Smith with a walk and two singles. Smith was relieved by Spear, who ended the threat effectively with help from Trevor Austin, who turned a 5-3 double play to hold the Paladins scoreless.
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Spear worked around two hits and struck out three in his 2.2 frames. Bill Knight added a RBI double in the top of the ninth to tack on an insurance run.
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Records Update
» Mercer: 29-24 (14-8 SoCon)
» Furman: 23-29 (11-11 SoCon)
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Pitchers of Record
» Win: Sawyer Gipson-Long (6-3)
» Save: Nick Spear (7)
» Loss: John Michael Bertrand (4-5)
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Notables
» Nick Spear tied Andrew Urena (2005-06) for the most career saves in program history (20).
» Thursday was the sixth time Mercer has hit three or more home runs in a game.
» Thursday marked Mercer's fifth straight series-opening win. Mercer has won all four previous series.
» Collin Price's home run was his sixth overall and second in SoCon action.
» Gipson-Long fanned eight-plus batters for the fourth time overall and third time in his last four starts.
» Trevor Austin extended his hit streak to a team-leading 10 games.
» Price (2-for-3), Alex Crotty (2-for-5) and Bill Knight (2-for-5) all had multi-hit performances.
» All nine Mercer batters had at least one hit.
» Price reached four times with two hits and two walks.
» RJ Yeager's home run was his first since March 22 vs. UNCG. He has eight for the season.
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Up Next
Mercer and Furman continue their SoCon series with game two at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 17.
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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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