Bears Drop Two on Final Day of Troy Invitational

Sunday, February 21

Troy, Ala.

12:30 p.m. (ET)

Mercer University

2-3

Austin Peay

4-0

Austin Peay

Mercer

Photo by: Mitch Robinson

Bears Drop Two on Final Day of Troy Invitational

2/21/2021 10:38:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Danielle Castleberry went 3-for-6 in two games on Sunday

By: Stephen Waldman

TROY, Ala. – The Mercer softball team dropped a pair of contests on the final day of the Troy Invitational, falling to Austin Peay, 6-1, and Troy, 9-1, on Sunday.

Danielle Castleberry led the way for the Bears at the plate, going 3-for-6 over the two games. Micayla Rood went 2-for-2 with a walk in the first game, while Elisa Rosado collected both of Mercer's extra-base hits on the day with a double against Austin Peay and an RBI triple in the loss to Troy.

Game One: Austin Peay 6, Mercer 1
Austin Peay took an early lead in the top of the first as it scored two runs in the opening frame. The Governors duplicated that production in the second inning and took a four-run lead into the third.

Mercer's offense started to make some noise in the bottom of the fourth as Castleberry shot an 0-2 offering back up the middle for a two-out single. Rachel Baker followed with a single to left field that allowed Castleberry to advance to third base. Baker moved up to second on the play after the Gov's left fielder mishandled the ball. Austin Peay kept Mercer off the board, however, as a groundout to second base ended the threat. The designated visitors tacked on a two-run triple in the following frame to take a 6-0 lead.

The Bears' offense came to life in the bottom of the seventh that started with a pinch-hit single by Emily Barras and a hit by Rood to put runners on first and second. Rosado reached on a throwing error to load the bases with no outs for pinch hitter Kylie Helm who drove a sac fly to center that allowed Barras to cross the plate for Mercer's first run of the ballgame. The deficit was too much to overcome, however, as Austin Peay hung on for the win.

Game Two: Troy 9, Mercer 1 (6 Inn.)
Troy opened the scoring in the bottom of the first and stretched the advantage to four runs by the end of the second.

The Bears battled back in the top of the third and earned their first run of the game. Bree Comer shot the first pitch of the inning to the opposite field before scoring on an RBI triple from Rosado.

The two offenses went quiet after that point as pitching dominated the next two innings before the home team added some insurance runs in the fifth. Troy used a trio of extra-base hits from Ansley Finch, Ashlan Ard and Logan Calhoun to score three runs in the inning and take a 7-1 lead. Finch added a two-run single in the next inning to end the game.

Notables
» Rosado extended her hitting streak to six games.
» Rosado has recorded seven hits on the year, passing Castleberry for the team lead.
» Rosado documented two more extra-base hits and recorded four in the last three games.
» Barras notched the first base hit and run scored of her career.

Up Next
The Bears return to Sikes Field next weekend as they prepare to host the Black and Orange Challenge from Friday through Sunday.

Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Softball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerUSoftball (Twitter), /MUSoftball (Facebook) and @MercerUSoftball (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.