Bears Defeat Samford; Win Series

Saturday, April 24

Birmingham, Ala.

12:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. CT)

Mercer University

23-16, 10-5

Samford

23-17, 13-5

Mercer

Samford

4/24/2021 4:35:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Mercer took the series over the SoCon Preseason favorites

By: Travis Rae

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Luke Sutko came out of the bullpen and pitched a season-high 4.2 innings, leading the Bears to a 5-4 victory over the Southern Conference Preseason favorite Samford Bulldogs on Saturday.

Not to be outdone by Sutko's performance, Angelo DiSpigna led the Bears at the plate with three hits and three RBI. The sophomore infielder belted two homers in the contest. Besides pitching a season-high, Sutko tallied seven punch outs in the win to lead Mercer to its second straight victory.

After a scoreless first inning, DiSpigna stepped up to the plate to leadoff the second inning for the Bears and worked the count to a full count before blasting a solo home run to right-center field, putting Mercer ahead 1-0.

The Bulldogs responded back in the bottom of the inning. Taylor Lobus got Tyler McManus to strikeout for the first out of the inning. Lobus was not as fortunate with the next three hitters as they all tallied hits. Ryan Crockett hit a home run to left center, and Kaden Dreier and Towns King following with back-to-back hits, moving Samford ahead, 2-1.

Leading off the fourth inning, DiSpigna watched the first pitch go by for a ball. On the next pitch, he hit his second home run of the game, this time down the right field line, tying the game at 2-2.

2️⃣-for-2️⃣ with 2️⃣ Bombs! Great start to the day @AngeloDiSpigna!#WinnersWin | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/wOpVQCJCW4
— Mercer Baseball (@MercerBaseball) April 24, 2021

Samford regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. A leadoff walk to McManus, Crockett reached on an error, putting two on with no outs. Dreier followed with a single through the left side, scoring one and putting the Bulldogs ahead, 3-2. After back-to-back outs, Garries singled up the middle to score one, and Samford was looking for a second. Center fielder Bill Knight had other ideas as he threw him out at the plate, but after four innings, Mercer trailed, 4-2.

The Orange & Black battled back in the top of the fifth. With one out, RJ Yeager singled, and Brandon Michie followed with one of his own, putting runners on the corners. The Bears' Delano tried a suicide squeeze, but Yeager was thrown out trying to score. DiSpigina followed with an RBI single to right field, cutting Samford's lead to one, and Mercer tied the game at four on a wild pitch.

With one out in the bottom of the fifth, the Bulldogs started putting pressure on the Bears 'pitching. A single and a walk put two on before Mercer went to the pen. Luke Sutko entered and walked the first batter he faced, loading the bases with one out. After the walk, Sutko locked in and struck out the next two hitters to end the inning.

Mercer regained the lead in the top of the sixth inning. With one out, David Burke doubled down the right field line, and Trevor Austin followed with a walk. After a Samford pitching change, Knight flew out for the second out of the frame. Yeager hit a clutch double down the left-field line, scoring Burke and putting the Bears back on top, 5-4.

.@rj_yeag1 doubles and the Bears take the lead!#WinnersWin | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/IYUJZ2Wo1x
— Mercer Baseball (@MercerBaseball) April 24, 2021

After the Bears took the lead, Sutko did not allow the Bulldogs to score for the remainder of the game. Over the final four innings of the tightly contested SoCon contest, Sutko was nearly unhittable as he only allowed two hits over the final three innings, while striking out seven.

In the bottom ninth, David singled off Sutko for the second hit off him. Following a sac bunt, which put the tying run on second base, Sutko locked in and got a huge strike out for the second out of the inning. With two out, Brooks Carlson stepped in, and Sutko forced him to ground out to end the game.

Hear from Coach Gibson

.@CraigGibson_MU talks about the series victory over Samford on Saturday#WinnersWin | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/fLGjeuvzS5
— Mercer Baseball (@MercerBaseball) April 24, 2021

Records Update
» Mercer: 23-16, 10-5 SoCon
» Samford: 23-17, 13-5 SoCon

Pitchers of Record
» Win: Luke Sutko (3-3)
» Loss: Hamp Skinner (3-1)

Notables
» For the fourth time this season, the Bears had a player hit multiple home runs in a contest. Angelo DiSpigna hit home runs in his first two at-bats on Saturday.
» DiSpigna has been smoking hot at the plate. He has hit a home run in five of the last seven games.
» Mercer took two-of-three to win the series over Samford.
» Luke Sutko pitched a season-high 4.2 innings on Saturday. His seven strikeouts were his most in 2021. » Over the three-game series, Mercer hit nine home runs. DiSpigna led the way with four homers.
» As a team, the Bears hit .291 against the Bulldogs.
» Mercer's pitching staff was outstanding on the weekend with an ERA of 3.81 over three games.

Up Next
» Mercer: at Kennesaw State (6 p.m., Wednesday, April 28 at Stillwell Baseball Stadium)
» Samford: at Wofford (4 p.m., Friday, April 30 at Russell C. King 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.