Mercer University
32-22, 0
Samford University
31-22, 0
Comeback Falls Short Against Samford
5/19/2023 9:22:00 PM | Baseball
Mercer tied the game at 8-8 after trailing 7-0
HOW IT HAPPENED
Samford jumped ahead by three with two home runs in the first inning. Treyson Hughes continued his offensive streaks in the first inning by notching a hit in his 16th-straight game and extending his on-base streak to 20 games. The Bulldogs added another pair of home runs in the second and a solo shot in the third to increase the lead to seven.
The Bears turned the home run derby in their favor in the bottom of the third with a blast by Ty Dalley for his 17th of the season.
Whew, @TDalley11 🚀#GoodToGreat || #WinnersWin pic.twitter.com/UqIn85RI0T
— Mercer Baseball (@MercerBaseball) May 19, 2023
Mercer loaded the bases with a walk of Hughes, a single by Antonio Brown, and Jozsef Rohrbacher being hit, allowing a ground out by Eric Toth to score Hughes. Carter Sanford reached double figure home runs with a two-run homer, bringing the score line within three.
.@carter_sanford joins the 🔟 home run club with this long shot!#GoodToGreat || #WinnersWin pic.twitter.com/9urkqjUMBx
— Mercer Baseball (@MercerBaseball) May 19, 2023
Wesley Franklin recorded three scoreless innings on the bump and finished with five strikeouts in 5.2 innings. He also showed off his quick reflexes with a catch on a line drive up the middle.
Those reflexes🔥 Look what @sneezy_deezy found!#GoodToGreat || #WinnersWin pic.twitter.com/OZGhMuORi9
— Mercer Baseball (@MercerBaseball) May 19, 2023
The Bulldogs added another solo home run in the seventh, but the Bears fired back with three more home runs to tie the game, 8-8. Bradley Frye opened the bottom of the seventh with his second home run of the series.
Back-to-back nights with a homer for @BradleyFrye01 🥶#GoodToGreat || #WinnersWin pic.twitter.com/8eL2YLr8h5
— Mercer Baseball (@MercerBaseball) May 19, 2023
After A. Brown reached on another single, Rohrbacher logged two more runs with a shot to right center. This was his 18th home run of the season.
KEEP IT GOING @jozsefrohr ‼️#GoodToGreat || #WinnersWin pic.twitter.com/mtRyd9mGOZ
— Mercer Baseball (@MercerBaseball) May 19, 2023
Samford made a pitching change, but Toth tied the score with his 18th home run of the season to center field.
5TH HOME RUN OF THE NIGHT TO TIE IT BY NONE OTHER THAN @eric_toth19 🚨#GoodToGreat || #WinnersWin pic.twitter.com/0Ncv9TFLxc
— Mercer Baseball (@MercerBaseball) May 20, 2023
The momentum swung back to Samford as the Bulldogs hit two more home runs for four runs in the eighth. Mercer responded with a three-run eighth to keep the score within one.
Trevor Austin singled, advanced to second on a ground out, and stole second during Dalley's at-bat which resulted in a walk. Hughes hit a double off the left center wall to score Austin while Dalley stopped at third.
Add another to the run column! @HughesTreyson RBI Double #GoodToGreat || #WinnersWin pic.twitter.com/vv0h6ygW2b
— Mercer Baseball (@MercerBaseball) May 20, 2023
This forced another pitching change for Samford, but a single by A. Brown plated two more runs for the Bears. All three runs in the inning were scored with two outs on the board. Rohrbacher reached on a single next, but no more runs were pushed across in the inning.
WITHIN ONE! @antoniobrown_2 single scores @TDalley11 and @HughesTreyson #GoodToGreat || #WinnersWin pic.twitter.com/gavKSWcEpe
— Mercer Baseball (@MercerBaseball) May 20, 2023
Micah Takac struck out the final two batters in the top of the ninth to hold the Bulldogs scoreless in the frame. With two outs on the board, Jackson Cherry was hit by a pitch and replaced by pinch runner Conner Todaro. Frye singled to advance Todaro to third, and Frye stole second during Dalley's at-bat to put both runners in scoring position. A ball that barely stayed fair resulted in a ground out and a Samford win.
NOTES
- Ty Dalley hit his 17th home run of the season.
- Carter Sanford became the sixth player to hit double figure home runs this season with his 10th of the year.
- Bradley Frye hit his second home run of the weekend and third of the season.
- Jozsef Rohrbacher and Eric Toth each hit their 18th home runs of the season.
- Treyson Hughes is on a 16-game hitting streak and has reached base in 20-straight games.
- Rohrbacher has reached base in 16-straight games.
- Five home runs for Mercer tied a season high.
- 16 hits were just one shy of the season high for Mercer.
- The two teams combined for 13 home runs on the night.
T1 | Mercer 0, Samford 2 Anderson homered to left field, scoring Klein.
T1 | Mercer 0, Samford 3 Steele homered to right field.
T2 | Mercer 0, Samford 5 Rodriguez homered to center field, scoring Dreier.
T2 | Mercer 0, Samford 6 Bennett homered left center.
T3 | Mercer 0, Samford 7 Howe homered to right field.
B3 | Mercer 1, Samford 7 Dalley homered to right field.
B3 | Mercer 2, Samford 7 Toth grounded into double play, scoring Hughes.
B3 | Mercer 4, Samford 7 Sanford homered to right center, scoring A. Brown.
T7 | Mercer 4, Samford 8 Davis homered to right center.
B7 | Mercer 5, Samford 8 Frye homered down the right field line.
B7 | Mercer 7, Samford 8 Rohrbacher homered to right center, scoring A. Brown.
B7 | Mercer 8, Samford 8 Toth homered to center field.
T8 | Mercer 8, Samford 9 Anderson homered to center field.
T8 | Mercer 8, Samford 12 Rodriguez homered to right field, scoring Howe and Dreier.
B8 | Mercer 9, Samford 12 Hughes doubled to left center, scoring Austin.
B8 | Mercer 11, Samford 12 A. Brown singled to right field, scoring Dalley and Hughes.
UP NEXT: The final regular season game will be on Saturday, May 20 at 2 p.m. between Mercer and Samford at OrthoGeorgia Park.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Turner Thompson (3-3)
L: O'Neal, Jaxon (3-1)
S: Ben Petschke (13)
Batting:
2B: Stephen Klein 1 ; Garrett Howe 1
HR: Jayden Davis 1 ; John Anderson 2 ; Lucas Steele 1 ; Garrett Howe 1 ; Josh Rodriguez 2 ; Andrew Bennett 1
RBI: Jayden Davis 1 ; John Anderson 3 ; Lucas Steele 1 ; Garrett Howe 1 ; Josh Rodriguez 5 ; Andrew Bennett 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jayden Davis 1 ; Stephen Klein 1 ; John Anderson 2 ; Lucas Steele 1 ; Garrett Howe 2 ; Kaden Dreier 2 ; Josh Rodriguez 2 ; Andrew Bennett 1
HBP: Kaden Dreier 1
Batting:
2B: Hughes, Treyson 1 ; Cherry, Jackson 1
HR: Rohrbacher, Jozsef 1 ; Toth, Eric 1 ; Sanford, Carter 1 ; Frye, Bradley 1 ; Dalley, Ty 1
RBI: Hughes, Treyson 1 ; Brown, Antonio 2 ; Rohrbacher, Jozsef 2 ; Toth, Eric 1 ; Sanford, Carter 2 ; Frye, Bradley 1 ; Dalley, Ty 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hughes, Treyson 2 ; Brown, Antonio 2 ; Rohrbacher, Jozsef 1 ; Toth, Eric 1 ; Sanford, Carter 1 ; Austin, Trevor 1 ; Frye, Bradley 1 ; Dalley, Ty 2
SB: Austin, Trevor 1 ; Frye, Bradley 1
HBP: Rohrbacher, Jozsef 1 ; Cherry, Jackson 1
