Bears Score Three Runs In Ninth Inning To Stun The Citadel

Sunday, March 23

Charleston, S.C.

1 p.m.

Mercer University

16-9, 0

The Citadel

13-12, 0

Mercer

The Citadel

Bears Score Three Runs In Ninth Inning To Stun The Citadel

3/23/2025 6:04:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

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

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Down 7-4 going into the eighth inning, the Mercer baseball team scored twice in the eighth and three times in the ninth to stun The Citadel on Sunday afternoon.

Drew Johnson (2-for-4) drove in three runs to cap a big weekend, while Ty Dalley (1-for-3) tied the game with a solo home run in the ninth and Zack Thompson (1-for-4) came through with a go-ahead 2-RBI double to take the lead. Ely Brown (4-for-4) had his first four-hit performance of the season and scored three runs. Terry Busse (1-0) tossed the final two innings and stranded the bases loaded in the ninth to get the win, while Anthony Hausner (1-2) took the loss for The Citadel.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Jackson Gaspard got the starting nod for the Bears and got off to a good start with two scoreless innings, with help from a diving 5-4-3 double play started by Brant Baughcum in the first.

In the top of the third, the Bears got the scoring started on an RBI single from Johnson, driving in Brown for a 1-0 lead. However, the Bulldogs answered with a big inning, putting up four runs to take the lead.

In the next at-bats for the Bears, Baughcum cut the lead to one with a moonshot two-run home run to left field, his fourth of the season. Just as they had the previous inning, The Citadel responded in the home half of the fourth, scoring three more runs to push the lead to 7-3.

Andrew Garnett entered on the mound for the Bears to collect the final out in the fourth and steadied the ship, working a clean inning in the fifth to keep the score at 7-3. The Bears got a run back in the top of the sixth, as a single from Zach Thomas and a double by Brown put runners on second and third for Titan Kamaka, who collected an RBI on a groundout.

In only his third appearance of the season, Garnett continued to keep the Bears in the game in the sixth and seventh, allowing only two singles to put up two more zeroes. On the day, Garnett tossed 3 – 1/3 innings of shutout baseball, striking out six with no walks and only three hits allowed.

The Mercer comeback began in the eighth inning when the Bears loaded the bases with two outs. With his team needing a clutch hit, Johnson delivered with a single through the right side to score Brown and Michael Graziano and cut the Bulldogs' lead to one. For the weekend, Johnson went 5-for-11 with three RBI and five walks while serving as the two-hole hitter in the Mercer lineup.

After Busse worked a scoreless frame in the bottom of the eighth, the Bears entered the ninth needing a rally. Leading off the inning, Dalley wasted no time, depositing the second pitch he saw over the right field fence for a game-tying home run. The Bears were not done yet, however. Singles from Lester and Brown put two on with two out for Thompson, who provided his biggest swing in a Mercer uniform with a two-run double into the right field gap, giving the Bears the lead at 9-7.

Needing three outs to secure the win, Busse ran into trouble in the bottom of the ninth when The Citadel loaded the bases with two outs. Facing a pinch-hitter, Busse was able to bear down and induce a ground ball to Lester at first, who flipped to the covering Busse to clinch the 9-7 win.

UP NEXT

The Bears return to OrthoGeorgia Park this week for four games, beginning on Wednesday for a midweek tilt with Georgia State at 6 p.m. The Bears welcome Western Carolina over the weekend for a key SoCon series, beginning on Friday. Fans can purchase tickets ahead of time at MercerBears.com/Tickets.