Mercer University
34-27
Wofford
36-24
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gipson-Long, Sawyer (8-3)
L: Austin Higginbotham (9-4)
Batting:
2B: Johnson, Kel 1 ; Crotty, Alex 1 ; Ammons, Jordan 1 ; Dockus, Kyle 1
RBI: Yeager, RJ 1 ; Johnson, Kel 1 ; Price, Collin 1 ; DiSpigna, Angelo 1 ; Crotty, Alex 2 ; Ammons, Jordan 2 ; Dockus, Kyle 1 ; Austin, Trevor 1
SH: Knight, Bill 1 ; Yeager, RJ 1 ; DiSpigna, Angelo 1 ; Dockus, Kyle 1
SF: Yeager, RJ 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Knight, Bill 1 ; Johnson, Kel 2 ; Price, Collin 2 ; DiSpigna, Angelo 2 ; Crotty, Alex 1 ; Ammons, Jordan 1 ; Dockus, Kyle 1 ; Austin, Trevor 2
HBP: Knight, Bill 1 ; Crotty, Alex 1
Batting:
2B: Brett Rodriguez 1 ; John Dempsey 1 ; Andrew Orzel 2
HR: Andrew Orzel 1
RBI: Mike Brown 1 ; Brett Rodriguez 1 ; Lawson Hill 1 ; John Dempsey 2 ; Andrew Orzel 1 ; Josh Congdon 1
SH: Hudson Byorick 1 ; Lawson Hill 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mike Brown 2 ; Brett Rodriguez 1 ; Hudson Byorick 1 ; Ethan Cornelius 1 ; Andrew Orzel 2 ; Josh Congdon 1
HBP: Mike Brown 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Bears Force Winner-Take-All SoCon Title Game
5/26/2019 4:18:00 PM | Baseball
Mercer defeats Wofford, 12-8, in first game of SoCon Championship finals
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The fourth-seeded Bears (34-27) exploded for 12 runs on 14 hits to back a seven-inning start by Sawyer Gipson-Long, who worked off of three days of rest. First pitch of Sunday's second game is slated for 4:40 p.m. (ET) at Fluor Field.
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Mercer owned an 8-2 lead by the end of the third inning, largely thanks to a three-run first inning and four-run third. In the first, Angelo DiSpigna beat a defensive shift with a two-out, back-side single to plate Kel Johnson. Alex Crotty then followed DiSpigna with a two-run double. Two defensive errors by the Bears led to a pair of runs for the Terriers (36-24) in the bottom of the first.
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The Bears' first six batters reached base in the third inning as they extended their lead to six runs. DiSpigna laid down a sacrifice bunt that forced a throwing error by Wofford's Austin Higginbotham and allowed Johnson to score. Jordan Ammons ripped a two-run double into the right-center gap and Kyle Dockus added a RBI single up the middle in the inning as well. Higginbotham recorded just six outs against the Bears.
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Gipson-Long settled in after the defensive miscues behind him in the opening frame. The right-hander willed his way through seven innings, allowing Mercer's bullpen to stay rested for the second game of the day. He held Wofford to two runs over the first six innings before allowing a four-spot in the seventh. Scott Smith surrendered one run in the eighth in relief of Gipson-Long; he was replaced by Nick Spear, who closed the game out with the final five outs.
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Mercer plated four runs over the sixth and seventh innings. Two Wofford throwing errors aided the Bears in the sixth before RJ Yeager and Johnson tagged a sacrifice fly and a RBI single in the seventh.
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Records Update
» #4 Mercer: 34-27
» #2 Wofford: 36-24
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Pitchers of Record
» Win: Sawyer Gipson-Long (8-3)
» Loss: Austin Higginbotham (9-4)
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Notables
» Mercer is 16-7 all-time at the SoCon Championship.
» Sunday was the first time Mercer and Wofford met in the conference tournament. The Bears improved to 21-13 all-time against Wofford.
» The Bears had four doubles in the game.
» Alex Crotty's two-run double gave him a league-leading nine RBI at the SoCon Championship.
» Kyle Dockus, Trevor Austin and Kel Johnson had three-hit performances. Jordan Ammons (2-for-5) also had a multi-hit game.
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Up Next
Mercer and Wofford will play a winner-take-all title game at 4:40 p.m. Sunday 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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