Bears Split Doubleheader, Take Second Consecutive SoCon Series

Saturday, April 5

Lexington, Va.

12 p.m.

Mercer University

20-12, 4-4

VMI

20-12, 4-4

Mercer

VMI

Bears Split Doubleheader, Take Second Consecutive SoCon Series

4/5/2025 8:11:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

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

LEXINGTON, Va. – After dropping game one of Saturday's doubleheader, the Mercer baseball team banged out 17 hits in game two to take the rubber match against VMI by a score of 13-4.

Brant Baughcum tallied six hits on the day, Titan Kamaka picked up five hits and five RBI, and Bradley Frye drove in five runs in game two to power the Bears at the plate. Jeb Johnson put in the longest start of the season for Mercer in game one, tossing eight innings, while Jess Ackerman (3-2) took the win in game two.

HOW IT HAPPENED

GAME 1

Following a blowout loss on Friday, VMI came out of the gates hot in game one of Saturday's doubleheader, putting up one run in the first, one in the second and two in the third to take a 4-0 lead. Johnson settled into his start in the fourth inning, striking out two to post his first zero of the day.

The Bears broke through in the fifth, using a two-out knock from Zack Thompson to get on the board. However, the Keydets answered in the sixth with a run of their own to reclaim a four-run lead.

Things got interesting in the top of the seventh when Kamaka blasted a line drive over the wall for a three-run home run to make the score 5-4. The home run was Kamaka's fifth of the season. The Bears continued to rally in the eighth, using a pair of two-out hits from Thompson and Kamaka to take their first lead of the game.

Now working with a lead, Johnson continued to mow down the Keydets in the eighth, putting an exclamation mark on his outing with two strikeouts. For the day, Johnson tossed eight innings with six strikeouts, allowing four earned runs.

In the top of the ninth, Mercer used two singles from Frye and Baughcum, along with a VMI error, to scratch across an insurance run to make the score 7-5.

However, VMI would not be denied, putting together a rally in the bottom of the ninth to secure a walk-off win, 8-7.

GAME 2

After starting slow in game one, Mercer jumped on VMI in the top of the first in game two, using an RBI double from Kamaka and a monster three-run homer from Frye to take a 4-0 lead before recording an out. The home run was Frye's 11th of the season, marking a new career-high.

VMI put up a run of their own in the second, but the Bears responded with another big inning in the top of the third. Drew Johnson drove in the first run of the inning with an RBI single to score Parker Lester, followed by an RBI single from Ely Brown to plate another run. Finally, Eli Stephens came across to score on a wild pitch to push the lead to 7-1.

The Keydets battled back in the home half of the third, using a three-run home run to cut the deficit to three. However, Mercer continued to swing hot bats in the fourth, scoring twice more on a single from Baughcum and a groundout by Johnson.

The Bears broke the game wide open in the fifth, putting up a four spot on RBI doubles from Dalley and Frye and a single from Baughcum to make the score 13-4. The double from Frye plated two runs, putting his weekend RBI total at 10.

The Mercer pitching staff took it from there, shutting down the Keydets the rest of the way. Ackerman wrapped up his outing by striking out the side in the fifth before giving way to Andrew Garnett, who worked 2 – 1/3 hitless innings out of the 'pen. Craig Kalkbrenner recorded the last two outs in the eighth before Collin Ewaldsen took over in the ninth, who struck out two to secure the 13-4 win.

On the weekend, the Mercer offense put up 42 runs on 51 hits, including eight home runs. The 42 runs were the most scored in a weekend by Mercer since their last visit to VMI in 2023.

UP NEXT

The Bears travel to Florida A&M on Tuesday before returning to OrthoGeorgia Park on Wednesday for an in-state battle with Georgia Southern. First pitch for Wendesday's game is scheduled for 6 p.m., while fans can purchase tickets at Mercerbears.com/tickets.