Bears Defeat West Virginia, 3-1, for 12th Win of 2020

Saturday, March 7

Macon, Ga.

2 p.m.

Mercer University

12-2

West Virginia

9-5

West Virginia

Mercer

Photo by: Mitch Robinson

Bears Defeat West Virginia, 3-1, for 12th Win of 2020

3/7/2020 6:10:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score @MercerBaseball

Jackson Kelley pitched 8.2 innings and lowered his ERA to 0.70

By: Kraig Doremus

MACON, Ga. – Coach Craig Gibson's Mercer Bears returned to their winning ways on Saturday afternoon with a 3-1 victory over the West Virginia Mountaineers at OrthoGeorgia Park.

Jackson Kelley was one out away from going the distance. The sophomore right hander tossed 8.2 innings and allowed just one unearned run on seven hits. The Marietta, Ga. native fanned five and did not allow a free pass. Five different Bears – led by Colby Thomas with two – recorded hits in the victory.

After Kelley retired the Mountaineers in order to start the game, Mercer quickly took the lead.

Thomas began the contest with a double to left field, and RJ Yeager walked with one out. With two down, Bill Knight was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Le Bassett's RBI walk made it a 1-0 game in Mercer's favor.

Mercer (12-2) would push its lead to 2-0 in the second inning. With two outs and Kyle Dockus on first, Angelo DiSpigna was ahead in the count, 3-1, and laced a double down the right field line. Dockus hustled around the base paths on the play to add a run to the home team's tally.

West Virginia (9-5) sliced into Mercer's lead in the top of the third. Victor Scott singled to begin the frame and moved to third on a throwing error that was a failed pickoff attempt. Scott scored on a groundout to put the Mountaineers on the board.

Mercer threatened in its half of the frame, putting runners on first and second, but a double play ended the inning.

Kelley allowed just one base runner over the next two frames. Mercer was unable to capitalize on a double to left center by Thomas in the fourth and left two runners stranded the following inning.

In the top of the sixth, Kelley was unphased when Tyler Doanes singled to left field and stole second. With Doanes in scoring position, a calm and collected Kelley struck out Kevin Brophy to end the frame.

Mercer left Thomas in scoring position to end the sixth, and after Kelley got out of a jam in the top of the seventh, the Bears pushed their lead back to two runs.

Yeager led off the bottom of the seventh. Facing a full count, the Lynn Haven, Fla. product smacked a single through the left side of the infield. With one down, he stole second, and later motored around the bases on Bassett's single to score.

Kelley retired the Mountaineers in order in the top of the eighth, but the Bears were unable to take advantage of back-to-back walks by Dockus and Thomas. The duo advanced 90 feet on a wild pitch but neither player scored.

It looked as if Kelley would go the distance, but Hunter Phillips entered with two outs and a runner on base in the ninth. He needed just one pitch to record the save and secure the Bears' 12^th win of the year.

Thomas went 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Bassett batted in two of Mercer's three runs and was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks.

West Virginia's Braden Zarbnisky battened in the lone run for the visitors.

Coach Gibson's Take
"It was a masterful performance by Jackson Kelley. When you're coming off a tough Friday night game you need someone to pick you up, and Jackson did it all for us tonight. We love his heart and the competitive spirit that he shows when he steps on the rubber. His pitching and skill level is unbelievable. He put us in a position to win the series against a great club. Le Bassett came through in some big moments. I've always told him he's a professional hitter, and he had a clutch hit for us today. You have to play good defense against West Virginia; I thought RJ Yeager was great in the field. They put pressure on opponents defensively, and we were up to the challenge."

Player of the Game
Jackson Kelley hurled 8.2 innings and allowed just one unearned run. He fanned five and did not issue a walk to any of the 33 batters he faced. With the impressive outing, Kelley improved to 3-1 on the season and lowed his ERA to a stellar 0.70.

Records Update
» Mercer: 12-2
» West Virginia: 9-5

Pitchers of Record
Win: Jackson Kelley (3-1)
Save: Hunter Phillips (3)
Loss: Ryan Berget (2-1)

Notables
» The victory was Mercer's fifth in program history over the Mountaineers
» Prior to today, the Bears' last win over a Power-5 school was a 6-2 triumph at Georgia Tech on March 21, 2018
» Kelley fanned five and did not issue a walk for the third time this season
» Today marks the second time that the Bears' pitching staff did not allow an earned run
» Kelley entered the weekend with the second lowest ERA in the Southern Conference and lowered his ERA to 0.70 following today's performance
» Thomas recorded his eighth multi-hit game. The freshman outfielder went 2-for-3 with a walk and run scored.
» Brandon Michie extended his hitting streak to 14 games
» The Bears were hit by three pitches today, which brings their season total to 26

Up Next
» Mercer: vs. West Virginia (1 p.m. Sunday, March 8 at OrthoGeorgia Park)
» West Virginia: At Mercer (1 p.m. Saturday, March 8 at OrthoGeorgia Park)

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