Bears Complete Sweep at Florida A&M; Win 7-2

Wednesday, February 19

Tallahassee, Fla.

4 p.m.

Mercer University

5-0

Florida A&M

1-2

Mercer

Florida A&M

Photo by: Ben Murray

2/19/2020 8:46:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Mercer starts 5-0 for the second time in the last four years

By: Stephen Waldman

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Mercer baseball team completed the midweek sweep at Florida A&M with a convincing 7-2 victory on Wednesday evening at Moore-Kittles Field.

The Bears opened the scoring for the fourth time in five games this season as the visitors took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Colby Thomas took advantage of an errant throw by the third baseman to reach base. He used his speed to get into scoring position as the Valdosta, Ga., native stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch on consecutive pitches. Kyle Dockus came through with a two-out base knock as he punched a single through the right side that scored Thomas.

The Rattlers started with runners on the corners after consecutive hits by Jared Weber and LJ Bryant. The following hitter sent a slow dribbler toward first base when Angelo DiSpigna alertly fired a perfect strike to home plate to keep the game scoreless. Seyjuan Lawrence executed on a hit-and-run in the next at-bat, however, as Florida A&M tied the game at one apiece.

Josh Farmer locked in after the hit by Lawrence by striking out the two hitters to get out of the inning. The right-hander settled in after that as he retired the final 11 hitters he faced before exiting after 5.0 innings of work. The Bogart, Ga., native tossed four 1-2-3 innings on the night while striking out four hitters.

Mercer regained control of the game in the top of the fifth inning when the visiting side scratched a couple of runs across. Bill Knight started the rally with a one-out single before DiSpigna came laced a double to right field to put runners on second and third. Brandon Michie gave the Bears the lead back with an RBI groundout to first before Le Bassett put runners on the corners with a walk. RJ Yeager extended the Bears' advantage with an RBI single to left to make it a 3-1 game.

DiSpigna added to the lead in the seventh when he deposited an 0-1 pitch over the right field wall for his his second home run of the season.

FAMU scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to cut the Bears' lead down to 4-2, but Hunter Phillips came in relief and shut the door. The Warner Robins, Ga., native struck out the side in both the eighth and ninth innings to pick up his first save of the year.

The Bears offense never took its foot off the gas as they scored three insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Bassett made it a 5-2 game with a bases-loaded walk before Yeager laced a two-run single to left to put the game out of reach.

Player of the Game
Angelo DiSpigna continues to swing a hot bat as he recorded his fourth straight multi-hit game. The Lawrenceville, Ga., native went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, an intentional walk, three runs scored and an RBI in the game. He has recorded a hit in each of the team's first five games and put together back-to-back three-hit efforts.

Notables
» Mercer has scored the first run in four of its five games this season.
» The Bears start the season 5-0 for the second time in the last four years.
» Angelo DiSpigna recorded his team-leading sixth extra-base hit of the season with a double and a home run in the game.
» DiSpigna hit his second home run of the season and 15th of his career.
» DiSpigna produced back-to-back three-hit games and has recorded multiple hits in four straight games.
» Josh Farmer picked up his first collegiate victory with a strong five-inning performance on the bump.
» Farmer totaled a career-high four strikeouts in the game.
» RJ Yeager tallied his first multi-hit game of the season.
» DiSpigna, Brandon Michie and Colby Thomas have recorded a hit in each of Mercer's five games this year.
» Hunter Phillips struck out a game-high seven Rattlers in the game and now has 12 Ks in 4.1 innings of work.
» Phillips earned his first save in a Bears' uniform.

Pitchers of Record
» Win: Josh Farmer (1-0)
» Loss: Josh Barr (0-1)
» Save: Hunter Phillips (1)

Coach Gibson's Take
"I'm pleased with the way we played on Tuesday and Wednesday. I thought our pitching was outstanding from our starters to our bullpen. Offensively, our plan and approach at the plate was much better than the previous weekend. We had many two-out hits and two-strike hits, so I'm really pleased to pick up two quality road wins."

Records Update
» Mercer: 5-0
» Florida A&M: 1-2

Up Next
» Mercer: vs. Radford (4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21 at OrthoGeorgia Park)
» Florida A&M: at Florida (6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25 at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium)

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.