Bears Defeat Kennesaw State in a Slugfest

Wednesday, April 28

Kennesaw, Ga.

5 p.m.

Mercer University

24-16

Kennesaw State

24-12

Mercer

Kennesaw State

Photo by: Katie Linkner

4/28/2021 9:47:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Mercer defeats Kennesaw State 12-10

By: Travis Rae

KENNESAW, Ga. – The Mercer baseball team stretched its winning streak to three games on Wednesday night as they slugged their way past Kennesaw State, 12-10, at Stillwell Stadium.

The Bears had four home runs in the win and were led at the plate by Garett Delano who was 3-for-5. Bill Knight followed with two hits, one being a grand slam. Zach Turner came out of the pen and pitched 2.2 innings while striking out a team-high four batters.

With two outs in the first, Angelo DiSpigna had a 1-2 count and worked it to a full count. With a full count, DiSpigna drew a walk, putting a runner on. After taking a strike, Delano stepped up and crushed a home run down the left field line.

GONE! @Garett__Delano with a two-run bomb!#WinnersWin | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/0fRpOegX88
— Mercer Baseball (@MercerBaseball) April 28, 2021

The Bears grew their lead to 4-0 in the top of the second. With one out, Colby Thomas doubled to left center field. He came into score when Le Bassett hit a two-run opposite field home run to left field.

Kennesaw State answered back in the bottom of the second. With the bases loaded, Tyler Simon cleared them with a double down the right field line. After a fielder's choice and the first out of the inning, the Owls loaded the bases on back-to-back singles. They took the lead, 5-4, on a two-run single by Tyler Tolve. Alex Carballo followed with an RBI single, extending the Owls' lead to 6-4.

Mercer cut into the Owls advantage in the top of the fourth. Collin Price led off with a single to center field and went to second on a stolen base. On the stolen base, Price went to third on an Owls error. He came into score on a fielding error, and Mercer trailed by one, 6-5.

With one out in the top of the fifth, DiSpigna singled, putting a runner on base for Mercer. Following the second out of the inning, Brandon Miche came to the plate. He worked his count to 2-1 and on the next pitch hit a home run out to left center, putting the Bears ahead 7-6.

Mercer continued to add to their lead in the top of the fifth inning. Following Michie's home run, the Bears had back-to-back walks followed by a hit by pitch, which loaded the bases with two outs. Austin drew a bases loaded walk, extending the lead to 8-6. Bill Knight came up and smashed the first pitch he saw out of the park for a grand slam, growing the lead to 12-6.

Kiss that one goodbye! @Bill_Knight4 with the Grand Slam!#WinnersWin | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/v6pehnjw5Z
— Mercer Baseball (@MercerBaseball) April 28, 2021

Following the Bears' seven-run inning, the Owls slowly chipped away at the lead and scored four runs over the next three innings, trimming the Orange & Black's lead to just two, 12-10.

Luke Sutko came into close out the game in the bottom of the ninth with the Bears ahead by two. The Owls picked up single to start the inning. Following a fielder's choice, the tying run was on base after drawing a walk. After the walk, Sutko settled in and got a foul out and a ground out to end the game, giving the Bears a 12-10 win.

Hear from Coach Gibson

Head coach @CraigGibson_MU talks about the WIN over Kennesaw State #WinnersWin | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/06sWnEDYHr
— Mercer Baseball (@MercerBaseball) April 29, 2021

Records Update
» Mercer: 24-16
» Kennesaw State: 24-12

Pitchers of Record
» Win: Taylor Lobus (7-3)
» Loss: Andrew Grogan (3-2)
» Save: Luke Sutko (6)

Notables
» Mercer had four different players hit a home run in the game. Bill Knight, Garett Delano, Brandon Michie and Le Bassett all hit a bomb in the win.
» Besides hitting four bombs, the Bears picked up three doubles.
» The win for the Bears was their third straight.
» Mercer drew seven walks in the contest.
» Bill Knight led the team with four RBI in the victory. Mercer had four players with two or more RBI in the game.
» The Bears' pitching staff tallied nine Ks, led by Zach Turner who had four.

Up Next
» Mercer: vs. ETSU (6 p.m., Friday, April 30 at OrthoGeorgia Park)
» Kennesaw State: at Georgia Tech (6 p.m., Friday, April 30 at Mac Nease Baseball 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.

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Next Event

ETSU

W, 13-8

Apr 30 (Fri)

6 p.m.

Box Score Recap Preview Live stats Tickets

Full Schedule

Team Stats

Pitching:

W: Lobus, Taylor (7-3)

L: GROGAN, Andrew (3-2)

S: Sutko, Luke (6)

Mercer

Batting:

2B: Delano, Garett 2 ; Thomas, Colby 1

HR: Knight, Bill 1 ; Delano, Garett 1 ; Michie, Brandon 1 ; Bassett, Le 1

RBI: Knight, Bill 4 ; Delano, Garett 2 ; Michie, Brandon 2 ; Bassett, Le 2 ; Austin, Trevor 1

Base Running:

RUNS: Knight, Bill 1 ; DiSpigna, Angelo 2 ; Delano, Garett 1 ; Michie, Brandon 1 ; Price, Collin 2 ; Thomas, Colby 2 ; Bassett, Le 2 ; Austin, Trevor 1