Mercer University
14-2
Alcorn State
2-13
Offensive Onslaught Secures Sweep Over Alcorn State
3/8/2026 5:37:00 PM | Baseball
Decisive Plays:
Despite a rain delay that lasted just over an hour long, the Mercer Bears remained unfazed and captured the lead immediately in the opening frame. Kai Decker retired Alcorn State in order and picked up his first two strikeouts of the day in the top of the first before Braydon Kersey mashed a two-run home run (5) in the home half of the inning. Six more runs came in the bottom of the second with a pair of RBI singles by Parker Dastou and Eli Stephens, an RBI double by Kersey and a Brant Baughcum hit-by-pitch. After a long wait in the dugout, Decker stepped onto the mound ahead of the third and recorded three more strikeouts. The Bears tacked on another six runs in the third headlined by Stephens' fifth home run of the year, a three-run blast to right field. The Braves put two runs on the board in the top of the fourth before Mercer worked station-to-station and plated four of its own in the bottom half of the frame. The score would remain the same until the bottom of the sixth when the Bears would draw six walks, pick up two base knocks and two hit-by-pitches to plate seven more runs.
Notable Players:
Braydon Kersey:Â 2-for-3, HR, 2B, 5 RBI, 2 R
Eli Stephens:Â 2-for-3, HR, 4 RBI, R
Kai Decker:Â 3.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO, W, 59 NP
Jess Ackerman:Â 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO, 35 NP
Noteworthy:
- The Bears' 25 runs are the most scored in a single game since a 33-6 win over Holy Cross on March 3, 2018.
- Mercer drew 18 walks on Sunday afternoon against Alcorn State. The Bears' 18 walks are the most in a single game for Mercer since at least 2016.
- The Bears were plunked by seven pitches by Braves' pitchers. Seven hit batters is a mark last reached on March 4, 2018 against Holy Cross.
Next Game:
The Bears kick off a five-game road trip on Tuesday, March 10 with a Tuesday night tilt with the Georgia State Panthers (10-7). First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Pitching matchups are TBD. Live stats will be available here.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Decker, Kai (1-1)
L: Castro, Yoni (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Bennett, Jaylyn 1
RBI: Friedman, Asher 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Adams III, Rayfield 1 ; Bennett, Jaylyn 1
HBP: Adams III, Rayfield 1
Batting:
2B: Kersey, Braydon 1
HR: Stephens, Eli 1 ; Kersey, Braydon 1
RBI: Ewaldsen, Collin 2 ; Baughcum, Brant 2 ; Buffone, Ethan 1 ; Stephens, Eli 4 ; Perriello, Luca 2 ; Gegg, Greyson 1 ; Dastou, Parker 3 ; Kersey, Braydon 5 ; Huffman, Kaleb 1 ; Gonzalez, Gabe 2 ; Rowland, Nathan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ewaldsen, Collin 1 ; LaPointe, Dylan 1 ; Baughcum, Brant 3 ; Stephens, Eli 1 ; Perriello, Luca 2 ; Gegg, Greyson 2 ; Shepherd, Logan 1 ; Dastou, Parker 3 ; Graziano, Michael 2 ; Kersey, Braydon 2 ; Huffman, Kaleb 2 ; Gonzalez, Gabe 1 ; Rowland, Nathan 2 ; Katz, Chris 2
SB: Dastou, Parker 1 ; Graziano, Michael 1
HBP: LaPointe, Dylan 1 ; Baughcum, Brant 3 ; Perriello, Luca 1 ; Gegg, Greyson 1 ; Rowland, Nathan 1
