Saturday's Baseball Roundup

Bucs score two in the eighth to claim series win at Mercer, 5-4
The ETSU baseball team battled back from a late deficit with two runs in the eighth to defeat Mercer by a score of 5-4 on Saturday afternoon. It was ETSU's, who is now 27-11 and 8-4 in SoCon play, first series win in Macon since 2009. A day after hitting a school record eight home runs on Friday, the Bucs launched two more home runs on Saturday. Lenny Montesano connected for his seventh of the season, while Jamie Palmese squared one up for his 13th of his sophomore campaign. Those two homers bring ETSU's season total to 91, which is just two shy of tying the single season program record of 93 set by the 2010 Buccaneers.

ETSU Uses Late Rally To Take Down Mercer
ETSU scored two runs in the eighth inning to take the lead and held on from there, defeating Mercer by a score of 5-4 to take the series on Saturday at OrthoGeorgia Park. Drew Johnson (1-for-3) hit a two-run homer, while Ely Brown (1-for-5) and Titan Kamaka (2-for-3) each drove in a run to lead the Bears at the plate. Brady Frederick (4-1) got the win in relief for ETSU, while Terry Busse (2-1) took the loss for Mercer. 

Bulldogs Use Long Ball To Take Series From VMI
The Samford University baseball team belted eight home runs on its way to a 16-4, seven-inning win in the final game of a three-game series at VMI Saturday afternoon at Gray-Minor Stadium. With the win, Samford improved its record to 22-17 overall and 8-4 in Southern Conference play. VMI fell to 25-16 overall and 5-7 in SoCon play. Samford won the series from VMI, two games to one. Jeffrey Ince turned in an incredible performance, going 4-for-5 with three home runs, a double and five RBI. Jackson Harris went 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double and three RBI. Parker McDonald went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and three RBI. Angelo Prieto went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI. Gus Gandy went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and two RBI.

Keydets overpowered by Bulldogs’ offense in rubber match
VMI Baseball faltered in the series finale to Samford Saturday afternoon at Lamore Field at Gray-Minor Stadium. The Keydets (25-16, 5-7 SoCon) could not stop the Bulldogs' explosive offense, falling 16-4 in seven innings to close out the series.

Wofford Baseball Falls in Series Finale at Western Carolina
The Wofford baseball team fell behind early and could not mount a comeback Saturday afternoon at Hennon Stadium, dropping the series finale 15-5 to Western Carolina. The Terriers move to 24-17 (3-9 SoCon) as the Catamounts improve to 19-20 (4-8 SoCon). Kenny Michaels (3-3) suffered the loss as the starter for Wofford, giving up four runs (three earned) in 2.0 innings. Three relievers came out of the bullpen, including Sheldon Egger making his first relief outing of the season.

Late Rally Sends USC Upstate Past UNCG Baseball
The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) baseball team dropped the rubber match of a three-game non-conference weekend set 18-13 against the USC Upstate Spartans on Saturday afternoon at Harley Park. UNCG, which led 11-2 after two and a half innings, surrendered 16 unanswered runs before scoring twice in the ninth inning. USC Upstate scored the eventual game-winning run during an eight-run bottom of the eighth.