Bears Fall at No. 15 Georgia Tech

Wednesday, February 24

Atlanta, Ga.

1 p.m.

Mercer University

3-1

Georgia Tech

3-1

Mercer

Georgia Tech

2/24/2021 8:12:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Bears back in action on Friday at OrthoGeorgia Park

By: Travis Rae

ATLANTA, Ga. – The Mercer baseball team dropped its first game of the season in a 7-3 setback against No. 15 Georgia Tech at Mac Nease Park on Wednesday afternoon.

RJ Yeager led the team with a pair of base hits, while Brandon Michie recorded a two-run double. Bill Knight added an RBI two-bagger, while Angelo DiSpigna doubled and scored a run against the Yellow Jackets.

The Bears managed to get a runner on in the first inning as Yeager sliced a two-out single back up the box and into center field. Tommy Green had a solid first inning of work as he set down Georgia State's top three hitters in order.

The home team broke through in the bottom of the second, however, as a two-run single by Kevin Parada opened the scoring. Georgia Tech added two more runs in the inning that could have been a lot worse for Mercer had David Moore not buckled down with the bases loaded and recorded back-to-back strike outs to end the inning. Tech added an insurance run in the fifth inning with a solo home run from Stephen Reid to take a 5-0 lead.

The Bears threatened in the top of the sixth as Knight laced a double down the right field line and advanced to third on a wild pitch. With Collin Price at the plate, Jackson Finley had a pitch go to the backstop and Knight tried to score, however, he was thrown out by the catcher at the plate.

Mercer once again had a runner in scoring position in the seventh when DiSpigna lined a one-out double to center, but he would finish the inning stranded 180 feet from home.

Georgia Tech used a two-run home run from Parada to increase its lead in the bottom of the seventh.

Mercer pushed across its first run of the game in the top of the ninth that started with a one-out walk drawn by DiSpigna. Jackson Cherry was hit by a pitch two batters later, followed by a Colby Thomas walk to load the bases. Michie worked a full count before belting a two-run, ground-rule double that plated DiSpigna and Cherry to prevent the shutout. After Yeager was hit by a pitch, Knight walked to bring in Mercer's third run of the inning as Thomas scored on the free pass. The Bears' comeback bid fell short, however, as the Yellow Jackets recorded the final out to secure the 7-3 win.

Coach Gibson's Take
"I thought we played well and pitched well today. They happened to string a few hits together early and capitalize on those opportunities. We were really sound defensively today, and I think that shows we have a great defensive ball club. I'm really proud of Wesley Franklin who came in as a true freshman and pitched well.

"We just weren't ready for their velocity. You've got to tip your cap to them. We'd love to have another chance at them later in the year when our bats are a little more ready for the velocity. It wasn't a bad game, we just didn't come out on the right side of it."

Records Update
» Mercer: 3-1
» Georgia Tech: 3-1

Pitchers of Record
» Win: Joseph Mannelly (1-0)
» Loss: Tommy Green (0-1)
» Save: Luke Bartnicki (1)

Notables
» The Bears started the season with 28 shutout innings before giving up its first runs of the 2021 season.
» Luke Sutko pitched a career-high 3 innings out of the pen against No. 15 Georgia Tech. He struck out one and allowed five hits.
» The Bears struggled at the plate with runners on base against Georgia Tech. Mercer went 1-for-17 with runners on.
» Starting his 144th straight game, junior RJ Yaeger went 2-for-4. He was the only Mercer Bear with a multi-hit game.
» The Bears had five hits in the game in the game, three of which were doubles. Angelo DiSpigna, Bill Knight and Brandon Michie all had one double.
» The Bears left 11 runners stranded on base in the contest.

Up Next
» Mercer: vs. Southern Illinois (6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26 at OrthoGeorgia Park)
» Georgia Tech: at NC State (3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26 at Doak Field at Dail Park)

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.