Bears Defeat Fifth-Ranked Florida State For Highest-Ranked Win Since 2018

Tuesday, March 18

Tallahassee, Fla.

6 p.m.

Mercer University

15-7

Florida State

18-2

Mercer

Florida State

Bears Defeat Fifth-Ranked Florida State For Highest-Ranked Win Since 2018

3/18/2025 11:14:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

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

MACON – The Mercer baseball team took a 6-0 lead through three innings and did not look back, taking down fifth-ranked Florida State for the second year in a row by a score of 9-3 on Tuesday night. The win was the highest-ranked victory for the Bears since defeating number one Florida in 2018.

Bradley Frye (3-for-4) and Brant Baughcum (1-for-1) homered to power the Bears at the plate, while Jeb Johnson (3-0) was outstanding on the mound, notching a career-high nine strikeouts to earn the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Entering the night hungry for an upset, the Bears pounced in their first at-bats of the game. After Drew Johnson drew a one-out walk, Frye stepped into the box and crushed a home run over the wall in right center field. The blast was his seventh of the season, the top mark on the team.

Johnson took the ball for the Bears in his first career start and was locked in from the jump, needing only ten pitches to retire the Seminoles in order in the first. In the top of the second, the offense went right back to work. Baughcum led off the inning with a hit by pitch before advancing to second on a sac bunt by Ely Brown. Cade Norton followed with a full count single, putting runners on the corners with one out. In his first game against his former team, Titan Kamaka delivered an RBI groundout to score Baughcum and push the lead to three.

Following another zero from Johnson in the second, the Bears continued to punish Seminole pitching in the top of the third. With one out, Ty Dalley roped a double off the wall in right field to put a man in scoring position. After a walk and a wild pitch put runners on first and third, Parker Lester executed a squeeze bunt to score Dalley for the Bears fourth run of the night. The Bears were not done, however. Baughcum stepped into the box with two outs in the inning and continued his torrid stretch at the plate, lining a home run over the left field fence, giving the Bears a 6-0 lead.

Now working with a comfortable lead, Johnson continued to mow down the Seminoles, striking out two in the third and three in the fourth to keep the high-powered Florida State lineup off the board. The right-hander worked another 1-2-3 inning in the fifth before the Bears offense took advantage of three free passes to add another run in the sixth.

Johnson was finally chased in the bottom of the sixth, giving up a three-run homer to cut the Mercer lead to four. For the night, Johnson tossed a career high 5 – 2/3 innings with a career-best nine strikeouts, allowing just three runs and three hits against a Seminole lineup that entered the night owning a .344 batting average.

The Bears got a run right back in the top of the seventh when Zach Thomas led off the inning with a double before coming around to score on a wild pitch. Needing nine more outs to clinch the win, Mercer turned to Friday night starter Colton Cosper for his second relief appearance in a row against Florida State. Despite surrendering a leadoff walk, Cosper induced two strikeouts and a groundout to post a zero.

Cosper gave way to closer Terry Busse in the eighth, who continued to dominate with a 1-2-3 inning. The Bears added an insurance run in the ninth, using a throwing error on an Ely Brown bunt single to push the lead to 9-3.

With the upset in sight, Busse slammed the door in the bottom of the ninth, striking out two to seal the win.

The Bears continue their road swing with a trip to Charleston, S.C. over the weekend to take on The Citadel to open SoCon play. First pitch on Friday is set for 6 p.m.