Saturday, February 14
Macon, Ga.
2 p.m.
Mercer University
2-0
17
vs
5
Troy
0-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Troy
0
0
1
0
0
2
2
5
8
2
Mercer
1
2
4
0
0
10
17
16
0
Offenses Explode, Bears Split Doubleheader To Secure Opening Weekend Series Victory
2/14/2026 9:37:00 PM | Baseball
MACON – Today's doubleheader with the Troy Trojans (1-2) was a tale of two halves. The Mercer Bears' (2-1) offense erupted, and the pitching staff shut down the visiting Trojans in a 17-5 win in game one before dropping the nightcap.
Decisive Plays (Game 1):
Logan Shepherd got the party started immediately, crushing his first Mercer home run over the center field fence. Eli Stephens tripled the Bears' advantage with a two-run homer, his first of the season, the following inning. Mercer would plate four more runs in the home half of the third, headlined by a pair of RBI singles by Brant Baughcum and Michael Graziano. The Bears would blow the contest wide open in the sixth inning with a 10-spot. Both Shepherd and Stephens blasted their second home runs of the afternoon while Braydon Kersey picked up an RBI single, Baughcum ripped an RBI double and Titan Kamaka notched both an RBI single and a two-run double in the same inning.Â
Decisive Plays (Game 2):
The Trojans opened the scoring in the third inning with a two-run home run from Jimmy Janicki, an RBI triple by Sean Darnell and a Steven Meier RBI single. Troy would score two runs the following frame before Mercer got on the board courtesy of a Dylan LaPointe RBI hit-by-pitch. The Trojans would plate nine runs in the fifth headlined by home runs from Nico Azpilcueta and Meier. Troy would tally four more in the final two innings beforeÂ
Key Contributors (Game 1):
Logan Shepherd:Â 2-for-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, BB
Eli Stephens:Â 2-for-3, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, BB
Brant Baughcum:Â 3-for-4, double, 3 RBI, 2 R
Titan Kamaka:Â 2-for-4, double, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB
Miguel Hugas:Â 5.0 IP, W, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 K, 78 pitches
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Key Contributors (Game 2):
For Troy:
Aaron Piasecki: 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R, 3 BB
Jimmy Janicki: 3-for-5, HR, 5 RBI, 2 R
Steven Meier: 2-for-3, HR, 4 RBI, 3 R, BB
Noteworthy:
The Bears continue their homestand with a mid-week matchup against in-state rival Georgia State. Mercer is 89-58 against the Panthers with a 35-23 all-time home record against the former conference foe. Pitching matchups are yet to be announced. Live stats will be available at mercerbears.com. Tickets are available at http://mercerbears.com/tickets.
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Decisive Plays (Game 1):
Logan Shepherd got the party started immediately, crushing his first Mercer home run over the center field fence. Eli Stephens tripled the Bears' advantage with a two-run homer, his first of the season, the following inning. Mercer would plate four more runs in the home half of the third, headlined by a pair of RBI singles by Brant Baughcum and Michael Graziano. The Bears would blow the contest wide open in the sixth inning with a 10-spot. Both Shepherd and Stephens blasted their second home runs of the afternoon while Braydon Kersey picked up an RBI single, Baughcum ripped an RBI double and Titan Kamaka notched both an RBI single and a two-run double in the same inning.Â
Decisive Plays (Game 2):
The Trojans opened the scoring in the third inning with a two-run home run from Jimmy Janicki, an RBI triple by Sean Darnell and a Steven Meier RBI single. Troy would score two runs the following frame before Mercer got on the board courtesy of a Dylan LaPointe RBI hit-by-pitch. The Trojans would plate nine runs in the fifth headlined by home runs from Nico Azpilcueta and Meier. Troy would tally four more in the final two innings beforeÂ
Key Contributors (Game 1):
Logan Shepherd:Â 2-for-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, BB
Eli Stephens:Â 2-for-3, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, BB
Brant Baughcum:Â 3-for-4, double, 3 RBI, 2 R
Titan Kamaka:Â 2-for-4, double, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB
Miguel Hugas:Â 5.0 IP, W, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 K, 78 pitches
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Key Contributors (Game 2):
For Troy:
Aaron Piasecki: 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R, 3 BB
Jimmy Janicki: 3-for-5, HR, 5 RBI, 2 R
Steven Meier: 2-for-3, HR, 4 RBI, 3 R, BB
Noteworthy:
- Mercer's 17 runs in Game One were the most runs scored by the Bears since their 22-2 win over VMI (April 4, 2025).
- The Bears tallied 17 hits as a unit, a mark last reached on April 5, 2025, when Mercer beat VMI, 13-4.
- Logan Shepherd's lead-off home run in the opening game was the first lead-off blast by a Bear since Jackson Cherry at Florida A&M (April 10, 2024).
- Shepherd and Eli Stephens both mashed two home runs in Game One, tying for the lead on the season and marking the first time a Bear has hit two homers in a single game since Brant Baughcum against VMI (April 4, 2025).
- Miguel Hugas threw 5.0 dominant innings in his Mercer debut. The junior transfer earned his first win at the Division I level after limiting the Trojans to just one earned run off three hits in Game One.
- Mercer's 17-5 run-rule victory is the first time the Bears won a contest in seven innings since their 22-2 win over VMI (April 4, 2025)
The Bears continue their homestand with a mid-week matchup against in-state rival Georgia State. Mercer is 89-58 against the Panthers with a 35-23 all-time home record against the former conference foe. Pitching matchups are yet to be announced. Live stats will be available at mercerbears.com. Tickets are available at http://mercerbears.com/tickets.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hugas, Miguel (1-0)
L: Thigpen, Noah (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Nelson, Drew 1 ; Azpilcueta, Nico 1
RBI: Darnell, Sean 1 ; Azpilcueta, Nico 1 ; Janicki, Jimmy 1
SF: Darnell, Sean 1 ; Janicki, Jimmy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nelson, Drew 1 ; Pyne, Josh 1 ; Book, Nolan 1 ; Azpilcueta, Nico 1 ; Kuehl, Dillon 1
HBP: Janicki, Jimmy 1
Batting:
2B: Kamaka, Titan 1 ; LaPointe, Dylan 1 ; Baughcum, Brant 1
HR: Stephens, Eli 2 ; Shepherd, Logan 2
RBI: Stephens, Eli 4 ; Shepherd, Logan 3 ; Graziano, Michael 1 ; Kersey, Braydon 1 ; Kamaka, Titan 3 ; Baughcum, Brant 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Stephens, Eli 2 ; Shepherd, Logan 3 ; Graziano, Michael 1 ; Kersey, Braydon 1 ; Kamaka, Titan 2 ; Katz, Chris 1 ; LaPointe, Dylan 3 ; Baughcum, Brant 2 ; McEachron, Devyn 2
CS: Graziano, Michael 1
HBP: LaPointe, Dylan 3 ; Baughcum, Brant 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
3
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
4
lf/1b
AB
4
R
3
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
3B
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP/OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF/RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballC
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