Wednesday, May 22
Greenville, S.C.
12:50 p.m.
Mercer University
30-26
11
vs
2
Furman
25-30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
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
Team 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
cf/rf
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
5
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballC
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball3B
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballC/OF
/ BaseballPhoto 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Records Update
» #4 Mercer: 30-26
» #5 Furman: 25-30
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Pitchers of Record
» Win: Sawyer Gipson-Long (7-3)
» Loss: John Michael Bertrand (4-6)
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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.
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Video Recap
Up Next
Mercer will face top-seeded Samford at 4 p.m. Thursday at Fluor Field in Greenville.
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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 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.
Â
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.
Â
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.
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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.
Â
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.
Â
Records Update
» #4 Mercer: 30-26
» #5 Furman: 25-30
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Pitchers of Record
» Win: Sawyer Gipson-Long (7-3)
» Loss: John Michael Bertrand (4-6)
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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.
Â
Video Recap
Up Next
Mercer will face top-seeded Samford at 4 p.m. Thursday at Fluor Field in Greenville.
Â
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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