Thursday, April 6
Macon, Ga.
6 p.m.
Mercer University
20-11
9
vs
2
CSUN
18-7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Cal State Northridge
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
7
3
Mercer
0
3
0
0
0
2
0
4
X
9
9
0
Bears Withstand Weather Delay to Beat CSUN, 9-2
4/6/2023 10:48:00 PM | Baseball
MACON, Ga. – After a late weather delay, the Mercer baseball program (20-11, 3-3) finished a 9-2 win over Cal State Northridge (18-7, 6-3) on Thursday night at OrthoGeorgia Park. Due to the threat of bad weather, Mercer and CSUN will play a doubleheader on Friday, April 7 beginning at 11 a.m. Both games will be seven innings in duration.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bears started strong defensively with a strikeout by Colton Cosper and the 29th double play of the season for Mercer. The scoring started in the bottom of the second with Carter Sanford's first home run of the season, scoring Trevor Austin. Carter Geier doubled down the right field line and was brought home on a fielder's choice off Jozsef Rohrbacher's plate appearance.
Cosper struck out two more in the third, retiring three-straight batters. In the bottom of the fourth, Bradley Frye reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to third on a throwing error on a failed pickoff attempt. He failed to score after getting tagged out at home on another Rohrbacher fielder's choice.
Mercer kept the Matadors scoreless with a tough catch against the outfield wall by Treyson Hughes and two more strikeouts for Cosper in the top of the sixth. The Bears increased the lead in the bottom of the sixth thanks to Bradley Frye. The sophomore singled to score Conner Todaro who pinch ran for Sanford. Frye then advanced to second on a hit batter, to third on a wild pitch, and home on a throwing error looking to compensate for the wild pitch.
Jaxon O'Neal entered in relief in the top of the seventh and struck out the side. With the bases loaded for CSUN in the top of the eighth, the game entered a lightning delay. After the 97-minute delay, Holton McGaha entered on the bump and retired the side with two strikeouts and a fly out.
The Mercer bats were hot after the weather delay as the Bears hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the eighth. Rohrbacher hit his third home run in as many games to score three more. Antonio Brown stepped up for his first plate appearance of the game and launched one towards Five Star Stadium on a full count.
CSUN ended the shutout in the top of the ninth with a leadoff home run by Kamau Neighbors. The Matadors added one more run on the night with an RBI double by Mason Le.
Cosper pitched another career night on the back of his Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week award. The left-hander struck out a career-high seven batters in six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks.
NOTES
B2 | Mercer 2, CSUN 0 Sanford homered to right center, scoring Austin.
B2 | Mercer 3, CSUN 0 Rohrbacher reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Geier.
B6 | Mercer 4, CSUN 0 Frye singled to right center, scoring Todaro.
B6 | Mercer 5, CSUN 0 Frye advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a throwing error.
B8 | Mercer 8, CSUN 0 Rohrbacher homered to right field, scoring Todaro and Frye.
B8 | Mercer 9, CSUN 0 A. Brown homered to left field.
T9 | Mercer 9, CSUN 1 Neighbors homered to left field.
T9 | Mercer 9, CSUN 2 Le doubled to left center, scoring Barraza.
UP NEXT: Due to the threat of bad weather, Mercer and CSUN will play a doubleheader on Friday, April 7 beginning at 11 a.m. Both games will be seven innings in duration.
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.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bears started strong defensively with a strikeout by Colton Cosper and the 29th double play of the season for Mercer. The scoring started in the bottom of the second with Carter Sanford's first home run of the season, scoring Trevor Austin. Carter Geier doubled down the right field line and was brought home on a fielder's choice off Jozsef Rohrbacher's plate appearance.
First home run energy🔥 @carter_sanford #GoodToGreat || #WinnersWin pic.twitter.com/CY2IhRXAjA
— Mercer Baseball (@MercerBaseball) April 6, 2023
Cosper struck out two more in the third, retiring three-straight batters. In the bottom of the fourth, Bradley Frye reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to third on a throwing error on a failed pickoff attempt. He failed to score after getting tagged out at home on another Rohrbacher fielder's choice.
Mercer kept the Matadors scoreless with a tough catch against the outfield wall by Treyson Hughes and two more strikeouts for Cosper in the top of the sixth. The Bears increased the lead in the bottom of the sixth thanks to Bradley Frye. The sophomore singled to score Conner Todaro who pinch ran for Sanford. Frye then advanced to second on a hit batter, to third on a wild pitch, and home on a throwing error looking to compensate for the wild pitch.
Jaxon O'Neal entered in relief in the top of the seventh and struck out the side. With the bases loaded for CSUN in the top of the eighth, the game entered a lightning delay. After the 97-minute delay, Holton McGaha entered on the bump and retired the side with two strikeouts and a fly out.
The Mercer bats were hot after the weather delay as the Bears hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the eighth. Rohrbacher hit his third home run in as many games to score three more. Antonio Brown stepped up for his first plate appearance of the game and launched one towards Five Star Stadium on a full count.
CSUN ended the shutout in the top of the ninth with a leadoff home run by Kamau Neighbors. The Matadors added one more run on the night with an RBI double by Mason Le.
Cosper pitched another career night on the back of his Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week award. The left-hander struck out a career-high seven batters in six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks.
NOTES
- Carter Sanford hit his first home run of the season.
- Antonio Brown hit his first home run of the season.
- All five of Jozsef Rohrbacher's home runs have been hit at OrthoGeorgia Park this season.
- Mercer turned two double plays on Thursday. Mercer ranks sixth in Division I in double plays.
B2 | Mercer 2, CSUN 0 Sanford homered to right center, scoring Austin.
B2 | Mercer 3, CSUN 0 Rohrbacher reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Geier.
B6 | Mercer 4, CSUN 0 Frye singled to right center, scoring Todaro.
B6 | Mercer 5, CSUN 0 Frye advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a throwing error.
B8 | Mercer 8, CSUN 0 Rohrbacher homered to right field, scoring Todaro and Frye.
B8 | Mercer 9, CSUN 0 A. Brown homered to left field.
T9 | Mercer 9, CSUN 1 Neighbors homered to left field.
T9 | Mercer 9, CSUN 2 Le doubled to left center, scoring Barraza.
UP NEXT: Due to the threat of bad weather, Mercer and CSUN will play a doubleheader on Friday, April 7 beginning at 11 a.m. Both games will be seven innings in duration.
FOLLOW THE BEARS:Getting back in the groove 😎
— Mercer Baseball (@MercerBaseball) April 7, 2023
🎙️ @carter_sanford #GoodToGreat || #WinnersWin pic.twitter.com/qI7MDXCd2s
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: Cosper, Colton (2-2)
L: Braun, Lucas (2-4)
Batting:
2B: Neighbors, Kamau 1 ; Le, Mason 1
HR: Neighbors, Kamau 1
RBI: Neighbors, Kamau 1 ; Le, Mason 1
SH: Barraza, Nathan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Neighbors, Kamau 1 ; Barraza, Nathan 1
HBP: Simons, Jakob 1
Batting:
2B: Geier, Carter 1
HR: Rohrbacher, Jozsef 1 ; Brown, Antonio 1 ; Sanford, Carter 1
RBI: Rohrbacher, Jozsef 4 ; Brown, Antonio 1 ; Sanford, Carter 2 ; Frye, Bradley 1
SH: Austin, Trevor 1 ; Geier, Carter 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Rohrbacher, Jozsef 1 ; Brown, Antonio 1 ; Austin, Trevor 1 ; Sanford, Carter 1 ; Todaro, Conner 2 ; Geier, Carter 1 ; Frye, Bradley 2
SB: Rohrbacher, Jozsef 1
CS: Hughes, Treyson 1
HBP: Rohrbacher, Jozsef 1 ; Sanford, Carter 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
4
AB
1
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
/ BaseballIF/OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
SS
/ Baseball
SS/2B
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballC/IF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
OF
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