Bears Unable To Get Going In Loss To The Citadel

Saturday, March 22

Charleston, S.C.

3 p.m.

Mercer University

15-9, 0

The Citadel

13-11, 0

Mercer

The Citadel

Bears Unable To Get Going In Loss To The Citadel

3/22/2025 7:19:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

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

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Mercer baseball team was never able to get going on Saturday, falling to The Citadel by a score of 8-0.

Drew Johnson (3-for-4) had his first career three-hit day, while Titan Kamaka (2-for-5) and Bradley Frye (2-for-5) also had multi-hit performances. George Derrick Floyd (1-0) got the win for the Bulldogs, with Braydon Kersey (1-2) taking the loss for Mercer.

HOW IT HAPPENED

In the top of the first inning, it looked like the Bears might grab an early lead, loading up the bases with nobody out. However, Kamaka was thrown out at home trying to score on a fly out, giving the Bulldogs a double play before picking up a strikeout to escape the jam.

After a pair of scoreless frames from both sides, The Citadel got on the board first with a sac fly in the bottom of the second to make it 1-0.

The Bulldogs extended their lead in the bottom of the third, using a couple of Mercer errors to score twice and grab a three-run lead. In their next at-bats, The Citadel continued to take advantage of free bases, capitalizing on two walks to score twice more and push the lead to 5-0.

Kamaka provided the Bears' lone extra-base hit of the day in the top of the fifth, putting up a ground rule double with two outs. Johnson stepped in next and singled to put runners on the corners, but a pop up ended the threat.

In the bottom of the inning, the Bulldogs added another run on an RBI single, making the score 6-0. Lawson Cole took over on the mound for the Bears in the seventh and weathered the storm, needing only nine pitches to retire the side in order.

Johnson picked his third hit of the day in the top of the seventh, putting runners on first and second with two outs, but a groundout ended the inning. The Citadel continued to add to their lead in the seventh and eighth innings, putting up a run in each frame to make it 8-0. That score would prove to be the final, as the Bulldogs stranded two runners in the ninth to secure the win.

UP NEXT

The Bears and Bulldogs will wrap up the series tomorrow with a 1 p.m. first pitch from Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.