Shepherd, Ackerman Push Bears Past Bucs In Series Opener

Thursday, May 14

Johnson City, Tenn.

5 p.m.

Mercer University

41-13, 13-6

East Tennessee State

30-20, 10-9

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Mercer	0	3	2	2	1	0	0	1	0	9	12	0
ETSU	0	0	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	7	10	1

Shepherd, Ackerman Push Bears Past Bucs In Series Opener

5/14/2026 8:56:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

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

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – In a back-and-forth battle that had 16 total runs and 22 hits, the Mercer Bears (41-13, 13-5 SoCon) outlasted the East Tennessee State Bucs (30-20, 10-9 SoCon) on Thursday night at Thomas Stadium.

Decisive Plays:

Braydon Kersey struck first in Thursday night's shootout with an RBI double off the left-field wall in the second inning. Ethan Buffone doubled the Bears' lead with an RBI single and an ETSU fielding error plated another Mercer run. Eli Stephens mashed a two-run home run (20) to right field in the top of the third. Nate Conner responded with a two-run home run of his own in the home half of the frame. Logan Shepherd gave the Bears a 7-2 lead in the top of the fourth with a two-run double (13). The Bucs plated five runs off three singles in the bottom of the fourth inning to erase the deficit. Reid Fagerstrom took the mound in the fourth and ended ETSU's rally with a strikeout. Buffone pushed Mercer back in front the following frame with his second RBI single of the night. Fagerstrom maintained Mercer's momentum by striking out the side in the home half of the fifth. Shepherd gave the Bears an insurance run with a solo home run (18) in the top of the eighth. Jess Ackerman entered the game in the sixth inning and proceeded to hurl four shutout innings with a season-high nine strikeouts to notch his second save on the year.

Notables:

Mercer inches closer to tying a program-best 43 wins (2013) with a 9-7 win over ETSU on Thursday night. The Bears have 41 wins on the season and have only surpassed the 40-win mark three times in their 155-year history.
Eli Stephens' third-inning blast was his 20th home run of the season. Stephens joins Braydon Kersey as the only two Bears with 20+ homers on the year. The pair of sophomores became the first Mercer teammates to blast 20+ home runs in the same season since Jacob Tanis and John Moreland in 2010. The Bears have never had three or more players reach 20 home runs in the same season but currently have Chris Katz and Logan Shepherd knocking on the door with 18 apiece.
Jess Ackerman earned his second save of the season by tossing four shutout innings with a season-high nine strikeouts. The senior southpaw has a 37-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio with only two earned runs allowed over his last eight outings. Ackerman leads the Bears with a 3.26 ERA.

Key Contributors:

Logan Shepherd: 3-for-5, 3 RBI, HR, 2B, R
Ethan Buffone: 2-for-4, 2 RBI
Reid Fagerstrom: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, W, 32 NP
Jess Ackerman: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO, SV, 68 NP

Next Game:

The Bears continue their three-game series against ETSU on Friday, May 15. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. RHP Miguel Hugas (9-2, 5.58 ERA) will start for Mercer and is opposed by RHP Michael Harpster (6-2, 3.68 ERA) who will start for the Bucs. Live stats are available here. All games will be streamed on ESPN+.