Late Inning Heroics Lead Bears Past Panthers

Tuesday, March 23

Atlanta, Ga.

6 p.m.

Mercer University

11-9

Georgia State

5-17

Mercer

Georgia State

3/23/2021 9:32:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

With the win, Mercer has won sixth straight

By: Travis Rae

ATLANTA --Trailing 3-2 in the top of the ninth with two outs and the bases loaded, RJ Yeager came up big for the Bears. He cleared the bases, and the Bears went on to win their sixth straight game with a 5-3 victory over Georgia State.

Luke Sutko picked up the win for Mercer as he went two innings and struck out four. Collin Price led the Bears with three hits on the day. RJ Yeager followed with two hits and he drove in a game-high three runs for the Orange & Black.

Mercer looked to get on the board early in the game. With one out, Garett Delano picked up the first hit of the night on a double over the right fielders head. Delano advanced to third on a wild pitch. Colby Thomas came up and drew a walk, putting runners on the corners for Mercer. Jackson Cherry came to the plate and hit a sharp ground ball that Ashby Smith made a great play on to keep the game scoreless.

The Panthers were the first on the scoreboard on the night. With one out, Josh Smith singled on a slow roller to third base. Elian Merejo came up and struck out, but Smith advanced to second on a passed ball. Ashby Smith followed with a single to center field that plated the first run of the game.

Mercer did not trail for long as it tied the game up in the top of the third inning. With two outs, junior RJ Yeager came to the plate and hit a monster home run to left field, tying the game at 1-1. That would be all Mercer would get in the frame.

Mercer continued to show its power and took the lead in the top of the fourth inning. Price came up and faced the new Panther pitcher, Chad Treadway, and on the second pitch of the at bat, Price crushed the ball over the left field wall. The solo blast put the Bears ahead 2-1.

Josh Farmer retired the first two hitters in the bottom of the fourth before the Panther struck again. J. Smith hit a double to straight away center field that Bill Knight could not run down. Merejo followed with a single to right center for the second run of the day for Georgia State.

Georgia State looked to take the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Kyle Riesselmann led off with a single through the left side. Tanner Gallman followed with a sacrifice bunt moving Riesselmann into scoring position. Riesselmann continued to move up 90 feet as he stole third base. After Farmer got a Panther to pop out for the second out of the inning, Griffin Cheney singled that scored Riesselmann for the third run of the game for the Panthers.

Mercer's offense looked to get things going in the top of the eighth inning. With two outs, Brandon Michie drew a walk. Antonio Brown came into run for Michie. With a 1-2 count, Price singled through the right side putting runners on the corners. However, both runners would be left stranded on base.

Trailing by one, 3-2, the Bears came up to the plate in the top of the ninth needing one run to keep the game alive. After a strike out to lead off the inning, Thomas was hit by a pitch putting a runner on. The next hitter for Mercer struck out and the Orange & Black were down to the final out.

Pinch hitter Ryan Archibald stepped to the plate and drew a walk putting two on. Knight reached after being hit by a pitch, which loaded the bases for Yeager. Yeager followed with a single to right center, and a Georgia State fielding error allowed Mercer to clear the bases and take a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the frame.

Needing three outs, Luke Sutko came out for his second inning of work. The Panthers tallied a leadoff single before Sutko struck the next two batters out. Riesselmann came up and singled putting two on with two outs. With Ryan Glass at the plate, the Panthers stole second and third. With the tying run on second base, Sutko struck Glass out ending the game and giving the Bears a 5-3 victory.

Coach Gibson's Take
"What a great game on a tough day for us emotionally and mentally with what we dealt with today. We played with heavy hearts and it felt we had a guardian angel on our side tonight. I can't say enough about Josh Farmer. He was outstanding tonight. Wesley Franklin and Luke Sutko were outstanding coming out of the pen tonight. When we had the bases loaded and RJ Yeager up, we felt we had the perfect guy at the plate and when he came through that's what an upper classman does."

Records Update
» Mercer: 11-9
» Georgia State: 5-17

Pitchers of Record
» Win: Luke Sutko (2-0)
» Loss: Joseph Brandon (0-1)

Notables
» RJ Yeager came up clutch for the Bears as he put the Bears ahead in the top of the ninth inning.
» Collin Price led the Bears with three hits on the day. This was his third three-hit game of the season. He has now hit safely in 10 straight games.
» The Bears' relievers came out of the pen and pitched four scoreless innings. Wesley Franklin and Luke Sutko each pitched two innings and tallied four punch outs.
» Mercer had three extra-base hits on the day. Garett Delano had a double, while RJ Yeager and Price each hit a home run.
» Yeager led the team with three RBI in the game. This was his third straight multi-RBI game.

Up Next
» Mercer: vs. Wofford (6 p.m. Friday, March 26 at OrthoGeorgia Park)
» Georgia State: vs. Kennesaw State (5 p.m. Friday March 26 at GSU Baseball Complex)

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