Mercer Powers Past Late Rally In Saturday Afternoon Victory

Saturday, March 7

Macon, Ga.

2 p.m.

Mercer University

13-2

Alcorn State

2-12

Alcorn State

Mercer

Mercer Powers Past Late Rally In Saturday Afternoon Victory

3/7/2026 6:08:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Rylee Bamberger, Rylee.m.bamberger@live.mercer.edu

MACON – Senior Jeb Johnson's 1.2 hitless innings extinguished Alcorn State's (2-12) sixth-inning rally and allowed the Mercer Bears (13-2) to capture an 8-5 win on Saturday evening at OrthoGeorgia Park.

Decisive Plays:
Mercer leaped to an early 3-0 lead due to a pair of singles by Eli Stephens and Dylan LaPointe along with the aid of a fielding error by the Braves. Chris Katz poked his fourth double of the season to bring home another run. Braydon Kersey launched his fourth home run of the season off the batter's eye to give the Bears a 5-0 lead in the fifth inning. Parker Dastou collected his second collegiate RBI with a base knock to left field later in the frame. Alcorn State plated five runs in the top half of the sixth before Johnson took the mound and made quick work of Rayfield Adams III and Jaylyn Bennett to end the Braves' rally. The Bears scored two runs in the bottom of the frame and two more in the eighth. Kersey retired the side in order and Mercer walked away with a 10-5 victory.

Notable Players:

Miguel Hugas: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, W, 72 NP
Chris Katz: 4-for-5, RBI, 2B, 2 R
Eli Stephens: 3-for-5, RBI, 2 R
Jeb Johnson: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 33 NP

Noteworthy:

Chris Katz picked up his second four-hit game of the season after going 4-for-5 with an RBI double in Saturday afternoon's win over Alcorn State. The senior outfielder now has eight multi-hit games since transferring to Macon ahead of the season.
Braydon Kersey mashed a homer in the fifth inning on Saturday against Alcorn State. Kersey's fourth blast of the season ties Eli Stephens for the third-most on the Bears and marked the second consecutive game that Kersey mashed a long ball.

Next Game:

The Bears conclude their three-game series with Alcorn State on Sunday, March 8 at OrthoGeorgia Park. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. RHP Kai Decker (0-1, 27.00 ERA) is slated to take the mound for Mercer and RHP Yoni Castro (0-0, 7.71 ERA) is scheduled to toe the rubber for Alcorn State. Live stats will be available here. Tomorrow's game will be broadcasted live on ESPN+.