Bears Stunned In Saturday Night Loss

Saturday, April 11

Cullowhee, N.C.

3 p.m.

Mercer University

25-10, 0

Western Carolina

22-14, 0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Mercer	6	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	10	3
Western Carolina	5	6	0	3	0	2	1	0	X	17	17	0

4/11/2026 7:16:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

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

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Mercer Bears (25-10, 4-4 SoCon) fell for the second day in a row despite an exciting six-run first inning to Western Carolina (22-14, 5-3 SoCon) at Hennon Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Decisive Plays:

Michael Graziano came out the gate swinging and sent the first pitch of the ballgame over the left field fence for his fifth home run of the season. The Bears' offense patiently loaded the bases and Dylan LaPointe mashed his second career grand slam (first in a Mercer uniform) with two outs in the first inning. Braydon Kersey went back-to-back with the starting backstop for the Bears and mashed his 13th home run of the year that capped off the scoring in the opening frame. The Catamounts responded with five runs in the bottom half of the first headlined by a Wyatt Stanley home run and a Jaylen Jones triple. Logan Shepherd's two-run home run (13) gave Mercer an 8-5 lead heading into the bottom of the second before the Catamounts touched home six times in their half of the inning. Kersey's solo shot (14) in the third inning cut the Bears' deficit to two runs before Western Carolina scored six unanswered and stun Mercer 17-9.

Key Contributors:

Braydon Kersey: 3-for-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
Michael Graziano: 3-for-5, HR, 2B, RBI, 2 R (triple shy of the cycle)
Dylan LaPointe: 1-for-4, Grand Slam HR, 4 RBI

Next Game:

The Bears conclude their weekend series against Western Carolina on Sunday, April 12. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Pitching matchups are TBD. Live stats are available here. You can watch live with ESPN+.