Mercer University
4-1
Columbia
0-1
Kersey’s First Powers Bears To Thrilling Comeback Victory
2/20/2026 10:37:00 PM | Baseball
Decisive Plays:
The first half of tonight's contest went heavily in the favor of the Lions. However, a two-run double by Logan Shepherd and a three-run blast (2) from Chris Katz in the bottom of the sixth brought the Bears within two in a blink of an eye. Eli Stephens brought Mercer's deficit to one with a sacrifice fly the following inning before the Bears' offense would explode for a seven-spot in the eighth. Shepherd, Katz and Dylan LaPointe all reached safely in the home half of the frame before Braydon Kersey launched his first collegiate home run to right center for a grand slam. A two-run double by Michael Graziano would keep the rally going before Shepherd brought the center fielder home on the following pitch. Reid Fagerstrom's third appearance of the season was crucial in turning the momentum around. The senior reliever took the mound in the fourth inning and put an end to the Lions' offensive success. Six more pitchers stepped on the bump for the Bears and posted zeroes with Caden Alvey picking up his first win of the season.
Key Contributors:
Braydon Kersey:Â 1-for-4, 4 RBI, Grand Slam
Chris Katz:Â 4-for-5, 3 RBI, HR, double
Logan Shepherd:Â 3-for-4, 3 RBI, double
Michael Graziano:Â 1-for-2, 2 RBI, 3 R
Noteworthy:
- The Bears were down 8-1 with no hits before they picked up their first hit of the night in the fifth. The following frame, Mercer would plate five runs headlined by Chris Katz' home run off the batter's eye.
- Braydon Kersey mashed his first collegiate home run over the fence in grand fashion. The sophomore two-way star blasted a go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the eighth.
- Mercer committed five errors in tonight's 14-8 victory over Columbia. This is the most errors the Bears have committed in a win since at least 2016.
- Dylan LaPointe was hit by a pitch for the seventh time already this season. The junior catcher is currently tied for the most hit by pitches across all Division I batters.
The Bears continue their weekend series against Columbia on Saturday, February 21 at OrthoGeorgia Park at 5:00 p.m. RHP Miguel Hugas (1-0, 1.80 ERA) is slated to take the mound for the Bears while RHP Tomas Lopez (0-0, -.--) is scheduled to take the mound for the Lions. Live stats will be available at mercerbears.com. Tickets are available at http://mercerbears.com/tickets.
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Alvey, Caden (1-0)
L: Huke, Ray (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Chadwell, Jimmy 1 ; Fishel, Ben 2
HR: Estabrook, Owen 1
RBI: Brewer, Jackson 1 ; Fellows, Cole 1 ; Estabrook, Owen 1 ; Snyder, Hunter 1 ; Temesvary, Anthony 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Brewer, Jackson 2 ; Chadwell, Jimmy 1 ; Fishel, Ben 1 ; Fellows, Cole 1 ; Estabrook, Owen 1 ; Snyder, Hunter 2
HBP: Brewer, Jackson 1
Batting:
2B: Shepherd, Logan 1 ; Graziano, Michael 1 ; Katz, Chris 1
HR: Kersey, Braydon 1 ; Katz, Chris 1
RBI: Stephens, Eli 1 ; Shepherd, Logan 3 ; Graziano, Michael 2 ; Kersey, Braydon 4 ; Katz, Chris 3
SF: Stephens, Eli 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Shepherd, Logan 2 ; Graziano, Michael 3 ; Kersey, Braydon 1 ; Rowland, Nathan 1 ; Kamaka, Titan 2 ; Katz, Chris 2 ; LaPointe, Dylan 1 ; Baughcum, Brant 1 ; Buffone, Ethan 1
CS: Johnson, Drew 1
HBP: LaPointe, Dylan 2
