Mercer University
12-2
Alcorn State
2-11
Bears Bounce Back With Blowout Win Over Alcorn State
3/6/2026 10:45:00 PM | Baseball
Decisive Plays:
The bats got going early with an onslaught in the second inning. Devin McEachron plated the first run with an RBI single, Michael Graziano brought home another with an RBI double. An error by the Braves brought in another run and a Chris Katz double made it 4-0. Brant Baughcum cleared the bases with a two-run double, and Braydon Kersey blasted a home run 416 feet to double Mercer's advantage in a blink of an eye. Eli Stephens kept the action going with an RBI single and Graziano drew a walk with bases loaded to make it 10-0. Shepherd capped off the inning with an RBI single. Alcorn State gained a run back in the top of the third with an RBI single. Stephens and Katz blasted home runs in the bottom of the fourth to give the Bears a 14-1 advantage. Parker Dastou and Ethan Buffone each picked up their first collegiate RBI in the sixth inning. Alcorn State scored three runs in the final two frames to make it 16-4.
Notable Players:
Garrett Lambert:Â 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 9 SO, W, 73 pitches
Chris Katz:Â 2-for-3, 3 RBI, 2B, HR, 2 R, BB
Eli Stephens:Â 2-for-2, 2 RBI, HR, 3 BB, 3 R
Noteworthy:
- After setting a new career-high in strikeouts in his last outing against Penn, Garrett Lambert tied that mark with nine punch outs across four innings in Friday night's win over Alcorn State.
- The Bears set new season-highs with 11 runs and 12 hits in the second inning of Friday night's contest. Mercer's previous team high was 10 runs off nine hits in the bottom of the sixth inning against Troy on February 14.
- Mercer has record 10 or more runs five times already this season, a mark reached only seven times in 2025. The Bears have collected double-digit hits in nine of their first 14 games.Â
The Bears continue its three-game series with Alcorn State on Saturday, March 7 at OrthoGeorgia Park. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. RHP Miguel Hugas (3-0, 6.32 ERA) is slated to take the mound for Mercer and RHP Kayden Sutton (0-2, 7.71 ERA) is scheduled to toe the rubber for Alcorn State. Live stats will be available here. Tomorrow's game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lambert, Garrett (1-0)
L: Wingard, Jacob (0-3)
Batting:
2B: Jarrett, Julian 1 ; Patterson, Derek 1 ; Dunn, Christian 1
RBI: Patterson, Derek 1 ; Bennett, Jaylyn 1 ; Dunn, Christian 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Adams III, Rayfield 1 ; Jarrett, Julian 1 ; Hawk, Keatan 1 ; Dunn, Christian 1
SB: Adams III, Rayfield 1 ; Hawk, Keatan 1 ; Bennett, Jaylyn 1 ; Harris, Cooper 1
Batting:
2B: Kamaka, Titan 1 ; Baughcum, Brant 1 ; Graziano, Michael 1 ; Katz, Chris 1
HR: Stephens, Eli 1 ; Kersey, Braydon 1 ; Katz, Chris 1
RBI: Baughcum, Brant 2 ; Buffone, Ethan 1 ; McEachron, Devyn 1 ; Stephens, Eli 2 ; Shepherd, Logan 1 ; Dastou, Parker 1 ; Graziano, Michael 2 ; Kersey, Braydon 2 ; Katz, Chris 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Kamaka, Titan 1 ; LaPointe, Dylan 2 ; Baughcum, Brant 1 ; Buffone, Ethan 1 ; McEachron, Devyn 1 ; Stephens, Eli 3 ; Gegg, Greyson 1 ; Shepherd, Logan 1 ; Graziano, Michael 1 ; Kersey, Braydon 1 ; Huffman, Kaleb 1 ; Katz, Chris 2
HBP: Shepherd, Logan 1
