Thursday, May 21
Greenville, S.C.
9 a.m.
Mercer University
43-14
2
vs
9
The Citadel
33-24
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Citadel | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 1 |
| Mercer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 3 |
Late Home Runs Keep Championship Hopes Alive As Mercer Splits Thursday’s Games At SoCon Tournament
5/21/2026 10:41:00 PM | Baseball
GREENVILLE, S.C. – With the No.1 seeded Mercer Bears (44-14, 15-6 SoCon) facing the brink of elimination, Kaleb Huffman delivered a game-tying, pinch-hit, two-run home run and Chris Katz legged out a go-ahead, inside-the-park home run to keep the Bears' SoCon Championship hopes alive at Fluor Field on Thursday evening.
Decisive Plays (Game 1):
Both starting pitchers set the tone for Thursday morning's game early. Garrett Lambert struck out three batters in the top of the first. Tripp Brown allowed the first two Bears to reach safely before retiring the next three in order to maintain a scoreless first inning. The score remained locked at zero until The Citadel broke the deadlock with an RBI double by Michael Gibson in the top of the third inning. Lambert racked up eight more strikeouts and held the Bulldogs to just one run through 5.2 innings of work. Andrew Garnett answered Mercer's call to the bullpen in the top of the sixth and hurled 2.2 innings and held The Citadel to just one earned run off one hit. The Bulldogs capitalized off a couple of defensive mistakes by the Bears and scored seven runs in the top of the ninth. Chris Katz and Titan Kamaka each launched solo home runs over the green monster in left field before Michael Gibson earned his ninth save on the year.
Key Contributors (Game 1):
Garrett Lambert:Â 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 10 SO, 112 NP
Andrew Garnett:Â 2.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 46 NP
Decisive Plays (Game 2):
Mercer claimed an early 2-0 lead after Eli Stephens drove in a run with a groundout and Brant Baughcum doubled the advantage with an RBI double. Wofford claimed its first lead of the night with a three-run single by Niko Brini in the top of the second. The Bears loaded the bases and Chris Katz came home when Baughcum grounded into a double play in the bottom of the third. Braydon Kersey mashed a double off the wall to bring home Stephens and re-capture the lead in the following at-bat. The Terriers scored four runs in the next three innings before Stephens ripped a two-run single through the infield to make it a 7-6 ballgame. Tanner Hardin extended Wofford's lead to two runs with an RBI single in the top of the seventh. Kaleb Huffman's name was called and the senior delivered a pinch-hit, two-run home run (2) to tie the game in the home half of the frame. Katz mashed a ball off the right field fence and race around the bases for a go-ahead, inside-the-park home run (22) in the bottom of the eighth. Kersey took the mound in the top of the ninth and struck out two Terriers to earn his sixth save of the season.
Key Contributors (Game 2):
Chris Katz:Â 2-for-2, RBI, HR, 3 R, 2 BB
Kaleb Huffman:Â 1-for-1, 2 RBI, HR, R
Eli Stephens:Â 2-for-5, 3 RBI, R
Next Game:
The Bears are set for a re-match with No. 5 The Citadel on Friday, May 22. First pitch is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. Pitching matchups are TBD. If Mercer wins, the teams will compete in a win-or-go-home contest with a trip to the SoCon Championship Final on the line. First pitch for that game will be approximately 4:00 p.m.
Â
Decisive Plays (Game 1):
Both starting pitchers set the tone for Thursday morning's game early. Garrett Lambert struck out three batters in the top of the first. Tripp Brown allowed the first two Bears to reach safely before retiring the next three in order to maintain a scoreless first inning. The score remained locked at zero until The Citadel broke the deadlock with an RBI double by Michael Gibson in the top of the third inning. Lambert racked up eight more strikeouts and held the Bulldogs to just one run through 5.2 innings of work. Andrew Garnett answered Mercer's call to the bullpen in the top of the sixth and hurled 2.2 innings and held The Citadel to just one earned run off one hit. The Bulldogs capitalized off a couple of defensive mistakes by the Bears and scored seven runs in the top of the ninth. Chris Katz and Titan Kamaka each launched solo home runs over the green monster in left field before Michael Gibson earned his ninth save on the year.
Key Contributors (Game 1):
Garrett Lambert:Â 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 10 SO, 112 NP
Andrew Garnett:Â 2.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 46 NP
Decisive Plays (Game 2):
Mercer claimed an early 2-0 lead after Eli Stephens drove in a run with a groundout and Brant Baughcum doubled the advantage with an RBI double. Wofford claimed its first lead of the night with a three-run single by Niko Brini in the top of the second. The Bears loaded the bases and Chris Katz came home when Baughcum grounded into a double play in the bottom of the third. Braydon Kersey mashed a double off the wall to bring home Stephens and re-capture the lead in the following at-bat. The Terriers scored four runs in the next three innings before Stephens ripped a two-run single through the infield to make it a 7-6 ballgame. Tanner Hardin extended Wofford's lead to two runs with an RBI single in the top of the seventh. Kaleb Huffman's name was called and the senior delivered a pinch-hit, two-run home run (2) to tie the game in the home half of the frame. Katz mashed a ball off the right field fence and race around the bases for a go-ahead, inside-the-park home run (22) in the bottom of the eighth. Kersey took the mound in the top of the ninth and struck out two Terriers to earn his sixth save of the season.
Key Contributors (Game 2):
Chris Katz:Â 2-for-2, RBI, HR, 3 R, 2 BB
Kaleb Huffman:Â 1-for-1, 2 RBI, HR, R
Eli Stephens:Â 2-for-5, 3 RBI, R
Next Game:
The Bears are set for a re-match with No. 5 The Citadel on Friday, May 22. First pitch is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. Pitching matchups are TBD. If Mercer wins, the teams will compete in a win-or-go-home contest with a trip to the SoCon Championship Final on the line. First pitch for that game will be approximately 4:00 p.m.
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Brown, Trip (3-3)
L: Lambert, Garrett (5-1)
S: Gibson, Michael (9)
Batting:
2B: Anderson, TJ 1 ; Gibson, Michael 2
HR: Hunt, Zach 1
RBI: Daniels, Phillips 2 ; Gibson, Michael 2 ; Hunt, Zach 2 ; Williams, Jayden 1
SH: Patel, Aryan 1 ; Dansky, Sam 1 ; Stratis, Christian 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Patel, Aryan 1 ; Daniels, Phillips 1 ; Lively, Matthew 1 ; Anderson, TJ 1 ; Dansky, Sam 1 ; Gibson, Michael 2 ; Hunt, Zach 1 ; Williams, Jayden 1
SB: Patel, Aryan 1 ; Dansky, Sam 1 ; Gibson, Michael 1
HBP: Patel, Aryan 1 ; Daniels, Phillips 1 ; Dansky, Sam 1
Batting:
2B: Kersey, Braydon 1
HR: Kamaka, Titan 1 ; Katz, Chris 1
RBI: Kamaka, Titan 1 ; Katz, Chris 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kamaka, Titan 1 ; Katz, Chris 1
HBP: Katz, Chris 1
Players Mentioned
3B
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
1B/OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF/RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ BaseballMercer Vs VMI Game 3 Baseball Melt 5 10
Sunday, May 10
Mercer v. VMI | Baseball Highlight Reel: 5/9/26
Saturday, May 09
Mercer v. VMI | Baseball Highlight Reel: 5/8/26
Saturday, May 09
Mercer Women's Lacrosse 2026 | vs. High Point | Big South Championship | Full Game Highlights
Sunday, May 03
