Homers Highlight League-Opening Win

Friday, April 8

Macon, Ga.

6 P.M.

Mercer University

25-5, 0

The Citadel

17-11, 0

The Citadel

Mercer

Photo by: James Thomas

4/8/2022 10:01:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Mercer takes 8-2 win over The Citadel

MACON, Ga. – Mercer hit three home runs on its way to an 8-2 win over The Citadel in the Southern Conference opener Friday night at OrthoGeorgia Park.

The Bears (25-5, 1-0 SoCon) won their sixth consecutive game, and it marked the squad's sixth Friday night victory this spring.

William Mapes, Colby Thomas and Bill Knight all went deep for Mercer.

Mapes hit his first bomb in a Bears uniform in the second inning to put the hosts in front 3-0. Thomas belted his team-leading 13^th home run of the campaign in the fourth, extending the Mercer advantage to 7-2. Knight's solo shot in the seventh increased the lead to six runs.

The Bulldogs (17-11, 0-1 SoCon) were limited to six hits in the conference opener.

Josh Harlow (5-1) fanned nine in seven strong innings. The freshman righthander scattered five hits, two walks, a hit batter and two runs in his longest outing of the season.

Harlow struck out four of the first seven batters he faced in the game to set the tone. He also logged a strikeout in five of the seven innings he took the mound.

Garrett Sloan struck out a batter in a scoreless eighth, while Colton Cosper put up a zero in the ninth to close out the game.

COACH GIBSON'S THOUGHTS

Hear from @CraigGibson_MU after his team's dominant win to open up @SoConSports play#WinnersWin | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/PApRZrFYOk
— Mercer Baseball (@MercerBaseball) April 9, 2022

The Citadel managed a single run in both the third and fourth innings.

Cameron Reeves (2-3) was saddled with the loss after yielding seven runs on 11 hits in six stanzas.

The Bears racked up 12 hits in the contest.

Mapes and Trevor Austin had three hits apiece to pace the Mercer offensive attack. Knight and Thomas both had a pair of knocks.

The series will continue Saturday at 2 p.m.