Mercer University
19-16
Florida State
30-6
Big Fourth Inning Helps Bears Topple No. 8 Florida State
4/16/2024 9:56:00 PM | Baseball
The result marked Mercer's (19-16) second win in the last 32 outings with Florida State (30-6), and the first win for the Bears in Tallahassee, Fla., since a 4-3 win over the 'Noles on March 31, 1992. It was just the second home loss of the season for the Seminoles who had their five-game win streak snapped as well.
Mercer is now 12-4 all-time against Top 10 teams under head coach Craig Gibson. Tuesday night's win marked the first-such win for the Orange & Black since toppling No. 1 Florida in Gainesville on April 24, 2018.
Sophomore southpaw Jess Ackerman (4-2) struck out three and allowed just two hits in 1-2/3 innings of relief to pick up the win for the Bears, while junior lefty Colton Cosper notched his first save of the season with 2-1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Cosper inherited a bases-loaded jam with two outs in the seventh, but retired the next four Seminoles he faced in order.
Juniors Parker Lester (3-for-5, HR, 3 R) and Bradley Frye (3-for-4, 2 BB) both registered a pair of hits to lead the Bears, while Best (1-for-4) made his only hit of the game hurt the most. Ty Dalley walked twice and hit a 3-run double on a 1-for-4 night, while senior Antonio Brown singled twice and drew a pair of walks to key a 2-for-3 hitting line.
Florida State used consecutive run-scoring at-bats to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third, but the Bears erupted for seven of their own in the top of the fourth to take the lead for good. Mercer loaded the bases with its first three at-bats, and then took a 3-2 lead on Jackson Cherry's 2-run single three pitches later that chased FSU relief Hudson Rowan from the mound.
Mercer made it a 4-2 lead on Brandon Prince's RBI double, and then loaded the bases three batters later when the Seminoles opted to issue a 2-out intentional walk to Parker Lester. That set the table for Best's blast that sailed down the left field line and just inside the foul pole.
GRAND SLAM @noahbbest !! 💣
— Mercer Baseball (@MercerBaseball) April 16, 2024
T4 | MU: 8, FSU: 2#GoodToGreat | #WinnersWin pic.twitter.com/QOQHZRelsM
Florida State got a pair of 1-out singles and a bases-clearing triple to cut into its deficit in the seventh, then added a 2-out RBI single to pull to within four, 10-6. Mercer answered in the eighth, however, when it loaded the bases and set the table for a 3-run double from Dalley.
The Bears will be back in action again this weekend when they suit up to host Southern Conference rival Wofford (25-10, 6-3 SoCon) in a 3-game series at OrthoGeorgia Park. The squads will open the series with a 6 p.m. contest on Friday.3 RBI double @TDalley11 GO BEARS
— Mercer Baseball (@MercerBaseball) April 17, 2024
T8 | MU: 13, FSU: 6#GoodToGreat | #WinnersWin pic.twitter.com/J39pDqlVR7
Fans can get their tickets ahead of time and skip the line by visiting MercerBears.com/Tickets.
CC IS A DAAAWWG 😤@ColtonCosper SENDS THEM OUT SWINGING‼️ #GoodToGreat | #WinnersWin pic.twitter.com/jF5JaYDRt7
— Mercer Baseball (@MercerBaseball) April 17, 2024
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ackerman, Jess (4-2)
L: Hudson Rowan (0-1)
S: Cosper, Colton (1)
Batting:
2B: Prince, Brandon 1 ; Dalley, Ty 1 ; Todaro, Conner 1 ; Lester, Parker 1
HR: Lester, Parker 1 ; Best, Noah 1
RBI: Cherry, Jackson 2 ; Prince, Brandon 1 ; Dalley, Ty 3 ; Lester, Parker 1 ; Best, Noah 4 ; Sanford, Carter 1 ; Brown, Antonio 1
SF: Sanford, Carter 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cherry, Jackson 2 ; Prince, Brandon 2 ; Todaro, Conner 1 ; Lester, Parker 3 ; Best, Noah 1 ; Sanford, Carter 1 ; Frye, Bradley 1 ; Brown, Antonio 2
SB: Best, Noah 1
HBP: Prince, Brandon 1 ; Best, Noah 1 ; Sanford, Carter 1
Batting:
2B: Alex Lodise 1
3B: Cam Smith 1
HR: Daniel Cantu 1
RBI: Max Williams 1 ; Cam Smith 2 ; Jaime Ferrer 1 ; Daniel Cantu 1 ; Alex Lodise 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Max Williams 1 ; Cam Smith 1 ; Daniel Cantu 1 ; Drew Faurot 1 ; Alex Lodise 2
SB: Drew Faurot 1
HBP: Marco Dinges 1
