Bears Smack 15 Hits, Bullpen Comes Up Clutch To Take Series Over Kent State

Saturday, February 22

Macon, Ga.

2 p.m.

Mercer University

5-1

Kent State

1-4

Kent State

Mercer

Bears Smack 15 Hits, Bullpen Comes Up Clutch To Take Series Over Kent State

2/22/2025 6:01:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Donovan Schultz, donovan.schultz@live.mercer.edu

MACON – The Mercer offense led the charge with 15 hits and the bullpen came up clutch in the final innings to help the Bears defeat Kent State by a score of 7-6 at OrthoGeorgia Park on Saturday afternoon. The win was the fifth in a row for the Bears and clinched a second consecutive series win.

Bradley Frye (3-for-5), Ty Dalley (3-for-4) and Zack Thompson (3-for-4) all had three-hit performances, while Brant Baughcum (1-for-2) delivered a two-run homer to highlight a 3-RBI day in the batter's box. Jeb Johnson (2-0) picked up his second win in three games with 1 – 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen and Terry Busse locked down his second consecutive save with two huge ninth inning strikeouts. Eric Chalus (0-2) took the loss for the Golden Flashes.

Kent State jumped on Mercer starter Braydon Kersey in the top of the first inning, leading off the game with a single and a double to plate a run. In the home half, the Bears answered back with a sacrifice fly from Baughcum to score Ely Brown.

Kersey settled into a groove following the first inning, working scoreless frames in the second and third to keep the game tied. In the bottom of the third, Baughcum came up with another big swing, putting a home run over the wall in left field for his first home run as a Bear to give Mercer a 3-1 lead.

In what would become a pattern on the afternoon, Kent State answered in the top of the fourth with a solo home run to cut the Mercer lead to one. However, the Mercer offense was not to be outdone. Serving as the Bears' designated hitter for his first start of the season, Zach Thomas helped the Bears punch back with a leadoff double in the bottom of the fourth. After Drew Johnson moved Thomas to third with a sac bunt, Michael Graziano came through with his first RBI of the season on a single to push the lead back to two.

The scoring continued in the Flashes' half of the fifth, as an HBP set up a two-run home run to chase Kersey out of the ballgame. Johnson came out of the Mercer bullpen and promptly sat down the two batters he saw to turn things back over to his offense in the bottom of the inning.

The Bears took advantage of the opportunity with singles from Brown and Frye to start the inning, forcing a Kent State pitching change. Dalley welcomed the new Kent State pitcher by taking the first pitch he saw to left field for a double, scoring Brown and taking the lead back for the Bears. After Baughcum drew a walk, Parker Lester grounded into a double play that plated a run to make the score 6-4.

The Flashes threatened again in the top of the sixth with a leadoff single and an error to put runners at second and third with nobody out. However, Johnson delivered in a big spot once again for the Bears, getting a pop-up to second base for the first out before striking out the next two batters to escape the jam. In the bottom of the frame, the Bears pieced together three singles capped by an RBI knock from Frye to extend the lead to three.

The top of the seventh saw the Flashes mount yet another comeback, as three consecutive singles helped score a run and force a Mercer pitching change. The next at-bat ended in a strikeout for the second out of the inning, but a walk loaded the bases for the Flashes. After another pitching change and another walk scored a run, the Bears went to the 'pen for the third time in the inning. Freshman Collin Ewaldsen entered and induced a first pitch fly out to get out of the jam with the lead still intact.

Ewaldsen went back out for the eighth inning with the Bears clinging to a one run lead and delivered a huge shutdown inning, needing only six pitches to get his team back in the dugout. After the Bears stranded a leadoff double in the bottom of the eighth, Ewaldsen handed the ball off to Busse to try to close it out in the ninth.

Sticking with the theme of the game, the Flashes would not go down easily, starting the inning with a walk and a single to put runners on the corners with nobody out. With the game on the line, Kent State attempted a squeeze bunt to try to score the tying run. The ball was bunted back to Busse, who fielded it cleanly and executed a glove flip to Thompson behind the plate to cut down the runner at the plate for a huge first out. With runners now at first and second, Busse came through with two clutch strikeouts to finish it off and help the Bears take the series.

The Bears look for their sixth consecutive win and a series sweep tomorrow at 1 p.m. at OrthoGeorgia Park. Fans can get their tickets ahead of time and skip the line by visiting MercerBears.com/Tickets.