Bears Finish Off Unblemished Weekend, Rout North Carolina A&T

Sunday, February 8

Macon, Ga.

12:30 p.m.

Mercer University

4-0

North Carolina A&T

2-2

North Carolina AT

Mercer

Bears Finish Off Unblemished Weekend, Rout North Carolina A&T

2/8/2026 4:41:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

MACON – Visiting North Carolina A&T used a costly error to take the lead on a 2-out rally in the top of the fourth, but unbeaten Mercer responded with 10-straight unanswered runs, including a walk-off grand slam from Mariyah Sanchez in the bottom of the sixth inning, to fuel an abbreviated 11-2 win over the Aggies on Sunday afternoon.

The Bears (5-0) are perfect through five games for the first time since the 2000 season, while the 5-win run through the Heart of Georgia Classic marked the first time since Feb. 23-24, 2018, that the Orange & Black has gone undefeated in a regular season tournament. The Aggies (2-3) finished off their trip to Middle Georgia with wins

Madison Starr (1-0) struck out four and yielded just two hits and a pair of unearned runs in her second career start for the Bears.

GAME SUMMARY
FINAL	Mercer 11 North Carolina A&T 2 (6 Innings)
PITCHERS	WP: Madison Starr (1-0) LP: Aaliyah Williams (1-1)
RECORDS	Mercer 5-0; North Carolina A&T 2-3

KEY INNINGS
TOP 4	North Carolina A&T used an early error and a pair of walks to load the bases with two outs showing, and then plated both the game-tying and go-ahead runs on Ava McCauley's 2-run single to the gap in left field.
BOT 4	Mercer answered adversity in a big way in the home half of the frame, scoring five runs on as many hits to take a lead it would not relinquish. Newcomer Rachel Sysum got the scoring started with a bases-loaded RBI single and Megan Loughren punched in the go-ahead run on an ensuing safety. Isabel Fernandez gave MU a 4-2 lead on a fielder's choice RBI, and Meredith Wayland finished off the damage with a towering home run to centerfield.

MU LEADERS	NCAT LEADERS
Mariyah Sanchez 1-2, GS, 4 RBI Daniella Monaco 2-4, R Meredith Wayland 1-3, HR, 2 RBI Madison Starr 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 K	Ava McCauley 1-1, BB, 2 RBI Roshell Williams 1-2

UP NEXT
Mercer is back at home again next weekend, Feb. 13-15, to play host to the MUSB Invitational I at Sikes Field. The Bears are scheduled for a pair of contests with both Iowa and Western Kentucky, as well as a single dip against Army.

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SUPPORT THE BEARS
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Next Event

Western Kentucky

Feb 13 (Fri)

3 p.m.

Live stats

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Full Schedule

Team Stats

North Carolina AT

Batting:

RBI: McCauley, Ava 2

Base Running:

RUNS: James, Jaden 1 ; Moss, Jamari 1

Mercer

Batting:

2B: Lenzen, Olivia 1 ; Taylor, Jessie 1 ; Raines, Cate 1

HR: Sanchez, Mariyah 1 ; Wayland, Meredith 1

RBI: Sanchez, Mariyah 4 ; Wayland, Meredith 2 ; Loughren, Megan 1 ; Sysum, Rachel 1 ; Taylor, Jessie 1 ; Fernandez, Isabel 1 ; Raines, Cate 1

SF: Taylor, Jessie 1

Base Running:

RUNS: Sanchez, Mariyah 1 ; Jones, Grace 1 ; Monaco, Daniella 1 ; Lenzen, Olivia 1 ; Wayland, Meredith 1 ; Barton, Avery 1 ; Bentley, Charlotte 2 ; Sysum, Rachel 1 ; Taylor, Jessie 1 ; Fernandez, Isabel 1