Friday, May 23
Greenville, S.C.
7:30 p.m.
Mercer University
34-24
8
vs
6
Wofford
33-27
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Wofford
0
1
1
0
2
0
0
2
0
6
8
0
Mercer
7
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
X
8
12
0
Cosper’s 140-Pitch Complete Game, 7-Run First Inning Lift Bears Over Wofford
5/24/2025 12:58:00 AM | Baseball
GREENVILLE, S.C.  –  With his team facing elimination, senior Colton Cosper turned in a performance for the ages, tossing a 140-pitch complete game to lead his team to an 8-6 victory over Wofford on Friday night. The Bears scored seven runs in the first inning and held on from there, advancing to take on The Citadel in another elimination game at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.Â
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Ely Brown (3-for-4) homered and drove in three runs, while Ty Dalley (2-for-5), Parker Lester (2-for-4) and Michael Graziano (2-for-4) all had multiple hits to lead the Bears offensively. Cosper (7-2) struck out seven to earn his 20th career win. The 140 pitches were a career-high, while the complete game was his second of the season and the fourth of his career. Dylan Rhadans (0-3) took the loss for Wofford.Â
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HOW IT HAPPENED
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After being limited to three runs in Thursday's tournament-opening loss, the Mercer offense wasted no time getting going in game two with a seven-run outburst in the bottom of the first inning. Brant Baughcum kick-started the rally, launching his eighth home run of the season over the monster in left field to put the Bears up 1-0. Following a ground out and a walk, Brown stepped in and crushed a 2-0 fastball into the night sky for a two-run home run to right field. The Bears continued to pour it on, as Lester took advantage of another walk by depositing a 2-0 pitch into the left center field gap for a double to make it 4-0. David Falloon was next to join the party, slapping a ground ball down the first base line to drive in Lester. The ninth batter to step to the plate in the inning, Michael Graziano delivered the next blow with a screaming double to left center, scoring Falloon and advancing to third on the throw. Finally, Graziano made it a seven-run frame by coming across on a wild pitch. The seven runs were the most scored by the Bears in an inning in the SoCon Tournament since putting up a nine-run fourth inning against The Citadel in 2016.Â
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Facing a big deficit, the Terriers chipped away in the following innings, scoring once in the second, once in the third, and twice in the fifth to cut it to 7-4. However, Cosper was able to bear down, as the left-hander retired the side in order in the sixth before putting up another zero in the seventh.
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With the offense having gone quiet since the opening frame, Frye used his speed to stir up a threat in the bottom of the seventh, reaching on a single before stealing second to put himself in scoring position with two outs. Working on a big night already, Brown delivered his third hit of the night with a line drive to right field to drive in Frye and cash in an important run.Â
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Wofford refused to go away quietly, using a two-run home run in the top of the eighth to make it an 8-6 ballgame. Mercer nearly got the runs back in the bottom of the inning, as the 20th double of the season for Dalley put runners on second and third. However, Wofford was able to escape the jam to keep it an 8-6 game going into the final inning.
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Having already thrown 122 pitches on the night, Cosper returned to the mound in the ninth looking to finish the game. After winning a 10-pitch battle to retire the leadoff hitter, Cosper induced a groundout before capping his legendary performance with a strikeout on pitch 140 to keep his team's season alive and secure an 8-6 win.Â
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UP NEXT
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With the win, Mercer advances to take on The Citadel in another elimination game at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Should the Bears win, they will play again immediately after to play for the right to advance to championship Sunday.Â
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Ely Brown (3-for-4) homered and drove in three runs, while Ty Dalley (2-for-5), Parker Lester (2-for-4) and Michael Graziano (2-for-4) all had multiple hits to lead the Bears offensively. Cosper (7-2) struck out seven to earn his 20th career win. The 140 pitches were a career-high, while the complete game was his second of the season and the fourth of his career. Dylan Rhadans (0-3) took the loss for Wofford.Â
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
Â
After being limited to three runs in Thursday's tournament-opening loss, the Mercer offense wasted no time getting going in game two with a seven-run outburst in the bottom of the first inning. Brant Baughcum kick-started the rally, launching his eighth home run of the season over the monster in left field to put the Bears up 1-0. Following a ground out and a walk, Brown stepped in and crushed a 2-0 fastball into the night sky for a two-run home run to right field. The Bears continued to pour it on, as Lester took advantage of another walk by depositing a 2-0 pitch into the left center field gap for a double to make it 4-0. David Falloon was next to join the party, slapping a ground ball down the first base line to drive in Lester. The ninth batter to step to the plate in the inning, Michael Graziano delivered the next blow with a screaming double to left center, scoring Falloon and advancing to third on the throw. Finally, Graziano made it a seven-run frame by coming across on a wild pitch. The seven runs were the most scored by the Bears in an inning in the SoCon Tournament since putting up a nine-run fourth inning against The Citadel in 2016.Â
Â
Facing a big deficit, the Terriers chipped away in the following innings, scoring once in the second, once in the third, and twice in the fifth to cut it to 7-4. However, Cosper was able to bear down, as the left-hander retired the side in order in the sixth before putting up another zero in the seventh.
Â
With the offense having gone quiet since the opening frame, Frye used his speed to stir up a threat in the bottom of the seventh, reaching on a single before stealing second to put himself in scoring position with two outs. Working on a big night already, Brown delivered his third hit of the night with a line drive to right field to drive in Frye and cash in an important run.Â
Â
Wofford refused to go away quietly, using a two-run home run in the top of the eighth to make it an 8-6 ballgame. Mercer nearly got the runs back in the bottom of the inning, as the 20th double of the season for Dalley put runners on second and third. However, Wofford was able to escape the jam to keep it an 8-6 game going into the final inning.
Â
Having already thrown 122 pitches on the night, Cosper returned to the mound in the ninth looking to finish the game. After winning a 10-pitch battle to retire the leadoff hitter, Cosper induced a groundout before capping his legendary performance with a strikeout on pitch 140 to keep his team's season alive and secure an 8-6 win.Â
Â
UP NEXT
Â
With the win, Mercer advances to take on The Citadel in another elimination game at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Should the Bears win, they will play again immediately after to play for the right to advance to championship Sunday.Â
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cosper, Colton (7-2)
L: Dylan Rhadans (0-3)
Batting:
HR: Tyler Hare 2
RBI: Ryan Wynn 1 ; Tyler Bak 2 ; Tyler Hare 3
SH: Cade Collins 1
SF: Ryan Wynn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Niko Brini 1 ; Ryan Wynn 1 ; Ben Timblin 1 ; Tyler Hare 2 ; Lucas Manning 1
HBP: Lucas Manning 1
Batting:
2B: Dalley, Ty 1 ; Lester, Parker 1 ; Graziano, Michael 1
HR: Baughcum, Brant 1 ; Brown, Ely 1
RBI: Baughcum, Brant 1 ; Brown, Ely 3 ; Lester, Parker 1 ; Falloon, David 1 ; Graziano, Michael 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Baughcum, Brant 1 ; Frye, Bradley 1 ; Kamaka, Titan 1 ; Brown, Ely 1 ; Thompson, Zack 1 ; Lester, Parker 1 ; Falloon, David 1 ; Graziano, Michael 1
SB: Frye, Bradley 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
3B
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballMercer Football Press Conference (Week 3 vs. Wofford)
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