Wayland, Bears Walk Off Georgia Southern

Wednesday, February 18

Macon, Ga.

6 p.m.

Mercer University

7-2

Georgia Southern

3-6

Georgia Southern

Mercer

2/18/2026 9:25:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

MACON – Junior Meredith Wayland's 2-out walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh solidified a solid outing from right-hander Katheryn Rearley as Mercer slipped by visiting Georgia Southern, 5-3, on Wednesday evening at Sikes Field.

The triumph helped the Bears (8-2) match their best 10-game start in school history, while also giving the Orange & Black its third-straight win over Georgia Southern. It is just the third three-game skid for the Eagles (3-7) in the 40-year history of the series, and the first since 2019.

Mercer previously posted 8-2 starts in and 2000 and 2018.

GAME SUMMARY
FINAL	Mercer 5, Georgia Southern 3
PITCHERS	WP: Katheryn Rearley (1-0) LP: Alana Barnard (0-4) Save: None
RECORDS	Records: Mercer 8-2 (0-0 SoCon); Georgia Southern 3-7 (0-0 SBC)

KEY INNINGS
BOT 5	Isabel Fernandez (error) and Meredith Wayland (single) both climbed aboard with two outs showing on the left field scoreboard, and Avery Barton gave the hosts their first lead of the night on a towering 3-run blast to centerfield.
TOP 6	Jaycee Bilbrey singled to lead off the sixth, but Katheryn Rearly sat down the next two Eagles in order to, seemingly, slam the door on a rally attempt. Delanie Thames gave the Eagles new life, however, four pitches later when she deposited a 2-strike offering over the wall in left field.
BOT 7	Daniella Monaco singled to the gap in left field to open the home half of the seventh, and moved into scoring position one pitch later on a sacrifice bunt from Mariyah Sanchez. GSU starter Alana Barnard got the second out of the frame on a swinging strikeout, but Meredith Wayland crushed a 2-ball offering to left field moments later.

MER LEADERS	GSU LEADERS
Meredith Wayland 2-3, HR, 2 RBI Avery Barton 1-3, HR, 3 RBI Olivia Lenzen 2-3 Katheryn Rearley CG, 2 ER, 4 K	Jaycee Bilbrey 3-4, R Delanie Thames 1-2, BB, HR, 2 RBI Braelyn Queen 2-3, HBP, RBI Kayla Christensen 1-4

UP NEXT
Mercer will venture away from Macon for the first time this weekend when it heads to Birmingham, Ala., for the UAB-hosted Green and Gold Classic. The Bears are scheduled for a trio of top 25 matchups at the 3-day, round-robin event including a pair of games against 25^th-ranked Ole Miss. The Orange & Black is also slated to battle top-ranked Tennessee on Saturday evening.

STAY CONNECTED
Follow Mercer Softball on Twitter and Instagram and "Like" Mercer Softball on Facebook.

SUPPORT THE BEARS
Fans can help support the Mercer athletics department by making a gift to the Mercer Athletic Foundation. To find out more information about the Mercer Athletic Foundation email *maf@mercer.edu*.