Friday, May 24
Greenville, S.C.
3:30 p.m.
Mercer University
31-27
9
vs
5
UNCG
34-20
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Mercer
1
0
4
0
2
0
1
0
1
9
11
0
UNCG
0
0
0
2
0
0
3
0
0
5
12
1
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hall, Tanner (8-5)
L: MAYHEW, Jake (3-2)
S: Spear, Nick (8)
Batting:
2B: Knight, Bill 1 ; Price, Collin 1 ; Ammons, Jordan 1
HR: Johnson, Kel 1 ; Crotty, Alex 1
RBI: Knight, Bill 1 ; Johnson, Kel 2 ; DiSpigna, Angelo 1 ; Crotty, Alex 1 ; Ammons, Jordan 1 ; Dockus, Kyle 2
SF: DiSpigna, Angelo 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Knight, Bill 1 ; Yeager, RJ 1 ; Johnson, Kel 2 ; Price, Collin 1 ; Crotty, Alex 1 ; Ammons, Jordan 1 ; Dockus, Kyle 1 ; Austin, Trevor 1
SB: Dockus, Kyle 1
HBP: Crotty, Alex 1
Batting:
2B: EMBLER, Austin 1
HR: BUDZIK, Zack 1 ; CAVENESS, Ryan 1
RBI: BUDZIK, Zack 1 ; EMBLER, Austin 1 ; MADOLE, Josh 1 ; CAVENESS, Ryan 2
Base Running:
RUNS: HARDISON, Greg 1 ; BUDZIK, Zack 1 ; EMBLER, Austin 1 ; KUCHMANER, Zach 1 ; CAVENESS, Ryan 1
CS: HARDISON, Greg 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball3B
/ BaseballC/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
Photo by: Todd Drexler
Mercer Stays Alive with 9-5 Win over UNCG
5/24/2019 8:04:00 PM | Baseball
Bears stave off elimination on Friday afternoon at #SoConBSB Championship
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Mercer slugged five extra-base hits, including a pair of home runs, to stave off elimination with a 9-5 win over third-seeded UNCG on Friday afternoon at the 2019 Southern Conference Baseball Championship, presented by Holston Gases.
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No. 4-seeded Mercer (31-27) totaled 11 hits to back a gritty performance on the mound by left-hander Tanner Hall (8-5), who kept the Bears' bullpen rested for the weekend with seven innings of work. Hall allowed five runs on 10 hits, but struck out four batters. Nick Spear set a school record with his 21st career save as he tossed a pair of scoreless innings in relief of Hall.
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The Bears will play the winner of No. 5 Furman and No. 6 ETSU at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Fluor Field.
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Mercer raced out to a five-run lead by the end of the third inning. The Bears' bats were hot early; Kel Johnson got things started with a home run over the Green Monster in the first before Mercer added four more runs in the third. Five consecutive hits – including a RBI double by Bill Knight – opened Mercer's half of the third and forced UNCG to make two pitching changes in the inning.
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Hall was strong through the first three innings on the mound. He ran into trouble for the first time in the fourth as the Spartans got a pair of runs back on four hits. Mercer's bats swiftly responded, however, as Jordan Ammons drove in Collin Price with a RBI double to right-center and Kyle Dockus plated Ammons with a RBI single in the top of the fifth.
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Mercer extended its lead to six runs, 8-2, when Dockus scored on a wild pitch in the seventh. UNCG made things interesting with a three-run home half of the seventh, using two home runs to cut Mercer's lead to 8-5. Spear was dominant on the mound in the eighth and ninth frames, working around two hits to hold the Spartans in check.
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Alex Crotty added an insurance run with a solo home run down the left-field line in the top of the ninth.
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Records Update
» #4 Mercer: 31-27
» #3 UNCG: 34-20
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Pitchers of Record
» Win: Tanner Hall (8-5)
» Save: Nick Spear (8)
» Loss: Jake Mayhew (3-2)
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Notables
» Mercer improved to 13-7 at the SoCon Championship.
» Friday was the first meeting between Mercer and UNCG at the SoCon Championship. The two teams split their four head-to-head contests this season.
» Nick Spear's record-setting save was the 21st of his career and eighth of the season.
» Alex Crotty's solo home run in the ninth inning was the first home run allowed by UNCG reliever Chad Sykes in 55.2 innings pitched this season. Sykes was the SoCon Pitcher of the Year.
» Kel Johnson's home run was his 22nd of the season. He is tied with Jacob Tanis (2010) and Jeremy Avery (1997) for the second most in a single season by a Mercer player.
» Johnson, Collin Price and Bill Knight had their second two-hit performances of the tournament. The three Bears are hitting .500, .417 and .400, respectively, at the tournament.
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Up Next
Mercer will face the winner of No. 5 Furman and No. 6 ETSU at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Fluor Field.
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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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No. 4-seeded Mercer (31-27) totaled 11 hits to back a gritty performance on the mound by left-hander Tanner Hall (8-5), who kept the Bears' bullpen rested for the weekend with seven innings of work. Hall allowed five runs on 10 hits, but struck out four batters. Nick Spear set a school record with his 21st career save as he tossed a pair of scoreless innings in relief of Hall.
Â
The Bears will play the winner of No. 5 Furman and No. 6 ETSU at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Fluor Field.
Â
Mercer raced out to a five-run lead by the end of the third inning. The Bears' bats were hot early; Kel Johnson got things started with a home run over the Green Monster in the first before Mercer added four more runs in the third. Five consecutive hits – including a RBI double by Bill Knight – opened Mercer's half of the third and forced UNCG to make two pitching changes in the inning.
Â
Hall was strong through the first three innings on the mound. He ran into trouble for the first time in the fourth as the Spartans got a pair of runs back on four hits. Mercer's bats swiftly responded, however, as Jordan Ammons drove in Collin Price with a RBI double to right-center and Kyle Dockus plated Ammons with a RBI single in the top of the fifth.
Â
Mercer extended its lead to six runs, 8-2, when Dockus scored on a wild pitch in the seventh. UNCG made things interesting with a three-run home half of the seventh, using two home runs to cut Mercer's lead to 8-5. Spear was dominant on the mound in the eighth and ninth frames, working around two hits to hold the Spartans in check.
Â
Alex Crotty added an insurance run with a solo home run down the left-field line in the top of the ninth.
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Records Update
» #4 Mercer: 31-27
» #3 UNCG: 34-20
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Pitchers of Record
» Win: Tanner Hall (8-5)
» Save: Nick Spear (8)
» Loss: Jake Mayhew (3-2)
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Notables
» Mercer improved to 13-7 at the SoCon Championship.
» Friday was the first meeting between Mercer and UNCG at the SoCon Championship. The two teams split their four head-to-head contests this season.
» Nick Spear's record-setting save was the 21st of his career and eighth of the season.
» Alex Crotty's solo home run in the ninth inning was the first home run allowed by UNCG reliever Chad Sykes in 55.2 innings pitched this season. Sykes was the SoCon Pitcher of the Year.
» Kel Johnson's home run was his 22nd of the season. He is tied with Jacob Tanis (2010) and Jeremy Avery (1997) for the second most in a single season by a Mercer player.
» Johnson, Collin Price and Bill Knight had their second two-hit performances of the tournament. The three Bears are hitting .500, .417 and .400, respectively, at the tournament.
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Up Next
Mercer will face the winner of No. 5 Furman and No. 6 ETSU at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Fluor Field.
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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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