Wednesday, May 22
Greenville, S.C.
12:50 p.m.
Mercer University
30-26
11
vs
2
Furman
25-30
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Furman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 3 |
| Mercer | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | X | 11 | 11 | 1 |
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
3B
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C/OF
/ BaseballTeam Stats
Pitching:
W: Gipson-Long, Sawyer (7-3)
L: John M. Bertrand (4-6)
Batting:
2B: Trent Alley 2 ; John Michael Boswell 1 ; Bret Huebner 1
RBI: Trent Alley 1 ; Logan Taplett 1
SH: David Webel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dax Roper 1 ; Trent Alley 1
Batting:
2B: Crotty, Alex 1 ; Knight, Bill 1
3B: Johnson, Kel 1
HR: Crotty, Alex 1 ; Knight, Bill 1
RBI: Price, Collin 2 ; Crotty, Alex 3 ; Ammons, Jordan 1 ; Knight, Bill 5
SH: Yeager, RJ 1 ; Price, Collin 2
SF: Crotty, Alex 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Yeager, RJ 2 ; Johnson, Kel 2 ; DiSpigna, Angelo 2 ; Crotty, Alex 2 ; Ammons, Jordan 1 ; Knight, Bill 1 ; Austin, Trevor 1
Game Leaders
Photo by: Todd Drexler
Bears Blast Paladins, Advance in #SoConBSB Tournament
5/22/2019 4:45:00 PM | Baseball
Mercer opens SoCon Championship with 11-2 win over Furman
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Freshman Bill Knight drove in five runs and launched a third-inning grand slam as Mercer rolled past fifth-seeded Furman, 11-2, on Wednesday in the first round of the 2019 Southern Conference Baseball Championship, presented by Holston Gases.
The fourth-seeded Bears (30-26) advanced into the tournament's winners bracket and will face No. 1 Samford at 4 p.m. Thursday at Fluor Field. Mercer's win was its fifth straight in the first round of the SoCon Championship dating back to 2015.
Mercer scored at least one run in each of the first six innings, including a five-run third frame that was keyed by Knight's big blast. The freshman went 2-for-4 with a walk and five RBI in his tournament debut. The offensive momentum was plenty enough to back a strong start on the mound by Sawyer Gipson-Long, who tossed six innings and struck out eight batters. He scattered seven hits and allowed just two runs, both coming in the first four innings.
Both teams traded two-out blows in the first inning. Furman struck first with a RBI double from Trent Alley before Gipson-Long struck out the side. Mercer retaliated in the home half when Kel Johnson blasted a stand-up triple and scored on a RBI single by Collin Price. Alex Crotty and Knight doubled in the second inning to claim Mercer's first lead of the game. Knight ripped a ground-rule double into the right-field line stands to score Crotty, who led off the frame with his two-bagger.
A trio of Furman errors set up the Bears' five-spot in the third. Jordan Ammons drew a bases-loaded walk before Knight busted the game open with his grand slam to left-center. Mercer would score four runs the rest of the way, three of which came off the bat of Crotty, who had a sacrifice fly and a two-run home run.
Taylor Lobus tossed two hitless innings in relief of Gipson-Long. A pair of freshmen, Peyton Berry and Will Bowdoin, closed out the game in the ninth.
Records Update
» #4 Mercer: 30-26
» #5 Furman: 25-30
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Sawyer Gipson-Long (7-3)
» Loss: John Michael Bertrand (4-6)
Notables
» Mercer is 12-6 overall at the SoCon Championship and 5-0 in first-round games.
» Mercer improved to 2-1 against Furman at the SoCon Championship.
» The Bears have outscored their opponents 57-11 in SoCon Championship first-round games.
» Trevor Austin extended his hit streak to 13 consecutive games.
» Knight's grand slam was the first of his career. He tallied a career-best five RBI.
» Kel Johnson's triple was just Mercer's fifth three-bagger this year. He reached in all five plate appearances on Wednesday (triple, error, walk, walk walk).
» Kel Johnson's triple was just Mercer's fifth three-bagger this year.
» Mercer drew 11 walks, including three apiece for Johnson and Angelo DiSpigna.
» Mercer has won 30-plus games in 12 of Craig Gibson's 16 years as head coach.
» Wednesday marked the fourth straight game between Mercer and Furman.
Video Recap
Up Next
Mercer will face top-seeded Samford at 4 p.m. Thursday at Fluor Field in Greenville.
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 fourth-seeded Bears (30-26) advanced into the tournament's winners bracket and will face No. 1 Samford at 4 p.m. Thursday at Fluor Field. Mercer's win was its fifth straight in the first round of the SoCon Championship dating back to 2015.
Mercer scored at least one run in each of the first six innings, including a five-run third frame that was keyed by Knight's big blast. The freshman went 2-for-4 with a walk and five RBI in his tournament debut. The offensive momentum was plenty enough to back a strong start on the mound by Sawyer Gipson-Long, who tossed six innings and struck out eight batters. He scattered seven hits and allowed just two runs, both coming in the first four innings.
Both teams traded two-out blows in the first inning. Furman struck first with a RBI double from Trent Alley before Gipson-Long struck out the side. Mercer retaliated in the home half when Kel Johnson blasted a stand-up triple and scored on a RBI single by Collin Price. Alex Crotty and Knight doubled in the second inning to claim Mercer's first lead of the game. Knight ripped a ground-rule double into the right-field line stands to score Crotty, who led off the frame with his two-bagger.
A trio of Furman errors set up the Bears' five-spot in the third. Jordan Ammons drew a bases-loaded walk before Knight busted the game open with his grand slam to left-center. Mercer would score four runs the rest of the way, three of which came off the bat of Crotty, who had a sacrifice fly and a two-run home run.
Taylor Lobus tossed two hitless innings in relief of Gipson-Long. A pair of freshmen, Peyton Berry and Will Bowdoin, closed out the game in the ninth.
Records Update
» #4 Mercer: 30-26
» #5 Furman: 25-30
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Sawyer Gipson-Long (7-3)
» Loss: John Michael Bertrand (4-6)
Notables
» Mercer is 12-6 overall at the SoCon Championship and 5-0 in first-round games.
» Mercer improved to 2-1 against Furman at the SoCon Championship.
» The Bears have outscored their opponents 57-11 in SoCon Championship first-round games.
» Trevor Austin extended his hit streak to 13 consecutive games.
» Knight's grand slam was the first of his career. He tallied a career-best five RBI.
» Kel Johnson's triple was just Mercer's fifth three-bagger this year. He reached in all five plate appearances on Wednesday (triple, error, walk, walk walk).
» Kel Johnson's triple was just Mercer's fifth three-bagger this year.
» Mercer drew 11 walks, including three apiece for Johnson and Angelo DiSpigna.
» Mercer has won 30-plus games in 12 of Craig Gibson's 16 years as head coach.
» Wednesday marked the fourth straight game between Mercer and Furman.
Video Recap
Up Next
Mercer will face top-seeded Samford at 4 p.m. Thursday at Fluor Field in Greenville.
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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