Tuesday, March 16
Tallahassee, Fla.
4 p.m.
Mercer University
6-9
13
at
4
Florida A&M
3-13
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Mercer
0
3
1
2
1
1
4
1
0
13
19
0
Florida A&M
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
4
11
0
Photo by: Mitch Robinson
Mercer Defeats Florida A&M, 13-4
3/16/2021 10:13:00 PM | Baseball
The Bears jumped back in the win column on Tuesday night
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Mercer Bears' bats exploded for a season-high 19 hits, while scoring 13 runs in a 13-4 victory over Florida A&M on Tuesday at Moore-Kittle Field. The victory is Mercer's ninth straight win over the Rattlers.
A trio of Bears – Angelo DiSpigna, Brandon Michie and RJ Yeager – led the team with three hits apiece. Mercer had five extra base hits in the contest, led by Michie with two doubles. Jackson Cherry went two-for-four with a home run in the game.
Mercer's pitching staff allowed nine hits early in the contest, before slamming the door on the Rattlers. Jackson Kelley (2.1 innings pitched) and David Moore (1.0 innings pitched) did not allow a Florida A&M hit.
Florida A&M got the scoring going in the bottom of the first inning. With one out and two one, LJ Bryant singled to left-center putting runners on the corners. Grant Rowell came up and batted in one run, but that was all that FAMU managed in the frame
Mercer's bats came to life in the top of the second inning with four hits. The Orange & Black began the inning with a hit from Yeager and a walk by Garett Delano. After fly out moved the runners up, Cherry had an RBI ground out to tie the game. Trevor Austin followed with a single to right field scoring the second run, and the Bears' third run of the game via DiSpigna's RBI double.
The Rattlers got one back in the bottom of the second inning with an RBI groundout by Tucker Rayburn. Following Florida A&M's run, the Bears' pitching took over and only allowed three Rattler hits over the next six innings.
The Bears' bats started heating up in the top of the third. Mercer started the inning by adding a run on a Delano single. making it 4-2. An inning later, the lead grew to 6-2. DiSpigna led off with a walk and went to second on a passed ball before coming in to score on a Collin Price single. Later in the inning, Delano hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Price, giving the Bears a 6-2 lead.
Mercer scored at least one run in each of the following four innings. Bill Knight picked up an RBI in the fifth, while Delano had another RBI in the sixth. Mercer exploded for four runs in the seventh with Cherry's opposite field home run starting the scoring. With two outs, and runners on the corners, Michie hit a ground rule double to left field that scored one. Yeager followed with a two-run RBI single that extended the Bears' lead to 10, 12-2.
Kelley continued to keep the Rattlers off balance at the plate as he struck out the first two batters he faced. After a walk, Kelley got Evan Johnson to line out to Yeager at shortstop.
The lead grew to 13-2 in the top of the 8th inning. With two outs and two one, Trevor Rider drew a pinch-hit walk, loading the bases, and Blake Schmitt followed with an RBI walk making it 13-2.
The Rattlers continued to battle and scored two in the ninth but it was not enough as Mercer came away with a 13-4 victory.
Coach Gibson's Take
"This was a great job on the road as we came out ready to play. It was a total effort by the pitching staff to pick up the win. Tommy Green had a good outing for us to start the game. Defensively, we had a clean game against a good team in their home opener. I am proud of our hitters as they all had quality at-bats today. I can't say enough about Jackson Cherry. He is starting to settle in and get comfortable. I am excited to play again on Wednesday."
Records Update
» Mercer: 6-9
» Florida A&M: 3-13
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Josh Farmer (1-0)
» Loss: Josh Barr (0-2)
Notables
» Mercer's offense was clicking on the day as they scored in seven of the nine innings. The Bears scored a game-high four runs in the top of the fourth inning.
» Mercer's offense collected 19 hits in the game, which is a season-high.
» Mercer hit four doubles and now have 34 two-base hits on the season.
» For the second straight contest, Jackson Cherry hit a home run. This time he went to the opposite field.
» The Bears had a trio of players – Angelo DiSpigna, Brandon Michie and RJ Yeager – collect three hits,
» Josh Farmer and Jackson Kelley led the Bears with four strikeouts apiece in the win.
» Mercer improved to 2-0 on the season against Florida A&M.
Up Next
» Mercer: at Florida A&M (4 p.m. Wednesday, March 17 at Moore-Kittles Field)
» Florida A&M: vs. Mercer (4 p.m. Wednesday, March 17 at Moore-Kittles Field)
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.
A trio of Bears – Angelo DiSpigna, Brandon Michie and RJ Yeager – led the team with three hits apiece. Mercer had five extra base hits in the contest, led by Michie with two doubles. Jackson Cherry went two-for-four with a home run in the game.
Mercer's pitching staff allowed nine hits early in the contest, before slamming the door on the Rattlers. Jackson Kelley (2.1 innings pitched) and David Moore (1.0 innings pitched) did not allow a Florida A&M hit.
Florida A&M got the scoring going in the bottom of the first inning. With one out and two one, LJ Bryant singled to left-center putting runners on the corners. Grant Rowell came up and batted in one run, but that was all that FAMU managed in the frame
Mercer's bats came to life in the top of the second inning with four hits. The Orange & Black began the inning with a hit from Yeager and a walk by Garett Delano. After fly out moved the runners up, Cherry had an RBI ground out to tie the game. Trevor Austin followed with a single to right field scoring the second run, and the Bears' third run of the game via DiSpigna's RBI double.
The Rattlers got one back in the bottom of the second inning with an RBI groundout by Tucker Rayburn. Following Florida A&M's run, the Bears' pitching took over and only allowed three Rattler hits over the next six innings.
The Bears' bats started heating up in the top of the third. Mercer started the inning by adding a run on a Delano single. making it 4-2. An inning later, the lead grew to 6-2. DiSpigna led off with a walk and went to second on a passed ball before coming in to score on a Collin Price single. Later in the inning, Delano hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Price, giving the Bears a 6-2 lead.
Mercer scored at least one run in each of the following four innings. Bill Knight picked up an RBI in the fifth, while Delano had another RBI in the sixth. Mercer exploded for four runs in the seventh with Cherry's opposite field home run starting the scoring. With two outs, and runners on the corners, Michie hit a ground rule double to left field that scored one. Yeager followed with a two-run RBI single that extended the Bears' lead to 10, 12-2.
Kelley continued to keep the Rattlers off balance at the plate as he struck out the first two batters he faced. After a walk, Kelley got Evan Johnson to line out to Yeager at shortstop.
The lead grew to 13-2 in the top of the 8th inning. With two outs and two one, Trevor Rider drew a pinch-hit walk, loading the bases, and Blake Schmitt followed with an RBI walk making it 13-2.
The Rattlers continued to battle and scored two in the ninth but it was not enough as Mercer came away with a 13-4 victory.
Coach Gibson's Take
"This was a great job on the road as we came out ready to play. It was a total effort by the pitching staff to pick up the win. Tommy Green had a good outing for us to start the game. Defensively, we had a clean game against a good team in their home opener. I am proud of our hitters as they all had quality at-bats today. I can't say enough about Jackson Cherry. He is starting to settle in and get comfortable. I am excited to play again on Wednesday."
Records Update
» Mercer: 6-9
» Florida A&M: 3-13
Pitchers of Record
» Win: Josh Farmer (1-0)
» Loss: Josh Barr (0-2)
Notables
» Mercer's offense was clicking on the day as they scored in seven of the nine innings. The Bears scored a game-high four runs in the top of the fourth inning.
» Mercer's offense collected 19 hits in the game, which is a season-high.
» Mercer hit four doubles and now have 34 two-base hits on the season.
» For the second straight contest, Jackson Cherry hit a home run. This time he went to the opposite field.
» The Bears had a trio of players – Angelo DiSpigna, Brandon Michie and RJ Yeager – collect three hits,
» Josh Farmer and Jackson Kelley led the Bears with four strikeouts apiece in the win.
» Mercer improved to 2-0 on the season against Florida A&M.
Up Next
» Mercer: at Florida A&M (4 p.m. Wednesday, March 17 at Moore-Kittles Field)
» Florida A&M: vs. Mercer (4 p.m. Wednesday, March 17 at Moore-Kittles Field)
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.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Farmer, Josh (1-0)
L: Barr,Josh (0-2)
Batting:
2B: DiSpigna, Angelo 1 ; Michie, Brandon 2 ; Yeager, RJ 1
HR: Cherry, Jackson 1
RBI: Knight, Bill 1 ; DiSpigna, Angelo 1 ; Price, Collin 1 ; Schmitt, Blake 1 ; Michie, Brandon 1 ; Yeager, RJ 2 ; Delano, Garett 3 ; Cherry, Jackson 2 ; Austin, Trevor 1
SH: Yeager, RJ 1
SF: Delano, Garett 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Knight, Bill 1 ; DiSpigna, Angelo 2 ; Price, Collin 1 ; Michie, Brandon 2 ; Yeager, RJ 2 ; Delano, Garett 1 ; Thomas, Colby 1 ; Cherry, Jackson 2 ; Austin, Trevor 1
SB: Cherry, Jackson 1
CS: Delano, Garett 1
HBP: Knight, Bill 1
Batting:
2B: Bryant,LJ 1 ; Cooper,Tristen 1
3B: Pierini,Joseph 1
RBI: Rayburn,Tucker 1 ; Bryant,LJ 2 ; Rowaell,Grant 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rayburn,Tucker 1 ; Bohannon,Cirr-Nichol 1 ; Lawrence,Seyjuan 1 ; Cooper,Tristen 1
CS: Jenkins,Ethan 1
HBP: Bohannon,Cirr-Nichol 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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