Bears Stun Eagles With Ninth-Inning Rally

Wednesday, April 29

Macon, Ga.

6 p.m.

Mercer University

33-12

Georgia Southern

13-32

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Georgia Southern	2	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	3	9	15	0
Mercer	1	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	5	10	10	1

Eli Stephens Walk Off HR vs Georgia Southern

4/29/2026 11:48:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

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

MACON – Chris Katz and Eli Stephens sent OrthoGeorgia Park in a frenzy when the pair of outfielders went back-to-back with a game-tying grand slam and a walk-off home run to stun Georgia Southern (13-32, 5-16 Sun Belt) and extend the Mercer Bears' (33-12, 7-5 SoCon) win streak to eight games on Wednesday night.

Decisive Plays:

The Eagles scored first with a two-run home run in the top of the first inning. Brant Baughcum cut Mercer's deficit in half by drawing a walk with the bases loaded in the home half of the frame. Chris Katz pushed the Bears in front for the first time with a two-run double in the second inning. Georgia Southern plated four unanswered runs before Michael Graziano made it a 6-5 ballgame with a two-run single to left field in the sixth inning. A three spot in the top of the night provided a four-run advantage for the Eagles heading into the home half of the frame. Drew Johnson led the bottom of the inning off with a single before Graziano and Logan Shepherd drew a pair of walks to load the bases. Katz stepped into the box and launched the second pitch he saw over the scoreboard to tie the game with his second grand slam of the season. Eli Stephens capped off the night with a jaw-dropping walk-off home run (13) on the very next pitch.

Key Contributors:

Chris Katz: 2-for-4, 6 RBI, Grand Slam, 2B, R, BB
Eli Stephens: 2-for-5, RBI, HR, R
Michael Graziano: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB

Notables:

With Wednesday night's jaw-dropping win, the Mercer Bears have secured their second-most wins at home in a single season (26). With three home games remaining on their schedule, the Bears need a series win to tie the program record of 28 set in 1977.
Before tonight's win, the Bears were 0-10 on the season when trailing after eight innings. Mercer now has four walk-off wins and are 32-6 when scoring five or more runs.
The Bears finished the 2026 undefeated in midweek games at OrthoGeorgia Park. Mercer's three losses on weekdays came on the road against then No. 20 Florida State, UNC Greensboro and Kennesaw State.

Next Game:

The Bears hit the road again for a must-watch series against Samford (23-19, 8-4 SoCon) this weekend. First pitch for Friday, May 1 is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Pitching matchups are TBD. Live stats are available here. All games will be streamed on ESPN+.