Saturday, May 25
Greenville, S.C.
7:45 p.m.
Mercer University
33-27
4
vs
3
Samford
41-19
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Mercer
0
1
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
4
9
2
Samford
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
3
8
3
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kelley, Jackson (2-1)
L: Hamp Skinner (1-3)
S: Spear, Nick (9)
Batting:
2B: DiSpigna, Angelo 1 ; Ammons, Jordan 1
3B: Austin, Trevor 1
RBI: Knight, Bill 1 ; DiSpigna, Angelo 2 ; Ammons, Jordan 1
SH: Knight, Bill 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Knight, Bill 1 ; Price, Collin 1 ; DiSpigna, Angelo 1 ; Austin, Trevor 1
HBP: Price, Collin 1
Batting:
2B: Jordan Fucci 1
HR: Sonny DiChiara 1 ; Max Pinto 1
RBI: Sonny DiChiara 1 ; Ayrton Schafer 1 ; Max Pinto 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sonny DiChiara 1 ; Jordan Fucci 1 ; Max Pinto 1
SB: Taylor Garris 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
OF
/ BaseballIF
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball3B
/ Baseball
C/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
Photo by: Mitch Robinson
Kelley Pitches Bears into SoCon Title Game
5/26/2019 12:33:00 AM | Baseball
Mercer defeats top-seeded Samford, 4-3, in elimination game
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Freshman right-hander Jackson Kelley threw six innings in his first collegiate start and led Mercer past top-seeded Samford, 4-3, and into a title game berth at the 2019 Southern Conference Baseball Championship on Saturday.
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No. 4 Mercer (33-27) staved off elimination for the third time in two days and redeemed itself after an 11-0 loss to the Bulldogs (41-19) in the quarterfinal round on Thursday. The Bears will face second-seeded Wofford (36-23) in the finals at noon on Sunday. The Bears would need to beat Wofford twice to earn the SoCon's automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.
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Kelley, who entered the game with 14.2 innings pitched on the season and picked up the save in Mercer's first win on Saturday – an 11-7 win over No. 6 ETSU – scattered four hits and allowed just one run to the Bulldogs' offense. He struck out six batters and did not issue a walk. Nick Spear made his second relief appearance of the day and earned a three-inning save.
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Jordan Ammons plated the first run of the game in the top of the second with an opposite-field double, scoring Angelo DiSpigna, who had singled earlier in the frame. Mercer extended its lead to four runs in the fifth when Bill Knight singled home Trevor Austin and later scored alongside Collin Price on a two-run double by DiSpigna.
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Momentum shifted in Samford's favor when Sonny DiChiara hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh to get the Bulldogs on the board. The long ball effectively ended Kelley's night on the mound. Samford continued to make things interested with one run in both the eighth and ninth innings. With the tying run on third base in the bottom of the ninth, Spear enduced a groundout to second base to seal the victory.
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Records Update
» #4 Mercer: 33-27
» #1 Samford: 41-19
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Pitchers of Record
» Win: Jackson Kelley (2-1)
» Save: Nick Spear (9)
» Loss: Hamp Skinner (1-3)
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Notables
» Mercer has advanced to the SoCon Championship title game in four of five years as a league member.
» Mercer improved to 15-7 at the SoCon Championship.
» Saturday was the sixth time Mercer and Samford have meet in the SoCon Championship. It was just Mercer's second win over the Bulldogs in such games.
» The longest Kelley had previously pitched was two innings. He also set a career-high in strikeouts (6).
» Trevor Austin tallied hits in his first two at bats, extending a streak of six straight at bats with a hit dating back to Mercer's win over ETSU earlier in the game.
» Angelo DiSpigna's three-hit game gave him five hits for the day.
» Mercer reached the 500-strikeout mark for the third consecutive season.
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Up Next
Mercer will play No. 2 Wofford in the title game at noon on 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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No. 4 Mercer (33-27) staved off elimination for the third time in two days and redeemed itself after an 11-0 loss to the Bulldogs (41-19) in the quarterfinal round on Thursday. The Bears will face second-seeded Wofford (36-23) in the finals at noon on Sunday. The Bears would need to beat Wofford twice to earn the SoCon's automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.
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Kelley, who entered the game with 14.2 innings pitched on the season and picked up the save in Mercer's first win on Saturday – an 11-7 win over No. 6 ETSU – scattered four hits and allowed just one run to the Bulldogs' offense. He struck out six batters and did not issue a walk. Nick Spear made his second relief appearance of the day and earned a three-inning save.
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Jordan Ammons plated the first run of the game in the top of the second with an opposite-field double, scoring Angelo DiSpigna, who had singled earlier in the frame. Mercer extended its lead to four runs in the fifth when Bill Knight singled home Trevor Austin and later scored alongside Collin Price on a two-run double by DiSpigna.
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Momentum shifted in Samford's favor when Sonny DiChiara hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh to get the Bulldogs on the board. The long ball effectively ended Kelley's night on the mound. Samford continued to make things interested with one run in both the eighth and ninth innings. With the tying run on third base in the bottom of the ninth, Spear enduced a groundout to second base to seal the victory.
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Records Update
» #4 Mercer: 33-27
» #1 Samford: 41-19
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Pitchers of Record
» Win: Jackson Kelley (2-1)
» Save: Nick Spear (9)
» Loss: Hamp Skinner (1-3)
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Notables
» Mercer has advanced to the SoCon Championship title game in four of five years as a league member.
» Mercer improved to 15-7 at the SoCon Championship.
» Saturday was the sixth time Mercer and Samford have meet in the SoCon Championship. It was just Mercer's second win over the Bulldogs in such games.
» The longest Kelley had previously pitched was two innings. He also set a career-high in strikeouts (6).
» Trevor Austin tallied hits in his first two at bats, extending a streak of six straight at bats with a hit dating back to Mercer's win over ETSU earlier in the game.
» Angelo DiSpigna's three-hit game gave him five hits for the day.
» Mercer reached the 500-strikeout mark for the third consecutive season.
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Up Next
Mercer will play No. 2 Wofford in the title game at noon on 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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