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Day two roundup of SoCon Baseball Championship
Top four seeds remain
Wofford 6, UNCG 3
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Wofford notched three runs on three hits in the sixth, two runs on three hits in the seventh, and one run on two hits in the eighth to earn a 6-3 victory over No. 5 seed UNCG on Friday, at the Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field.
The Spartans took the first lead in the contest, securing a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth, before the Terriers exploded in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Wofford (41-14-1) advances to play the winner between No. 2 Mercer and No. 3 Samford on Saturday at noon, while UNCG faces No. 6 seed Western Carolina later this afternoon at 4 p.m.
The contest remained scoreless until the top of the fifth, when Pres Cavenaugh had a hard-hit line drive to second base, driving in lead-off batter Bradley Bott, who started off the inning with a single up the middle, to hand the Spartans a one-run lead.
Wofford answered with three runs in the next inning, with the Terriers’ Nolen Hester opening the frame with a double to left center, followed by a Lawson Hill single to left field that saw the graduate catcher advance to second on the throw, while Hester advanced to third. John Dempsey evened the score and handed Wofford their first run of the contest, hitting a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in Hester and advance Hill to third.
Junior third baseman Ryan Galanie knocked a triple into right field in the next at-bat, his fifth of the 2022 campaign, giving the Terriers their first lead of the game. Galanie scored on a wild pitch later in the inning, helping Wofford conclude the frame with a two-run lead.
The Terriers continued to dominate at the plate, scoring two additional runs in the seventh, with Brice Martinez singling to right field to score Trey Yunger and Hill singling through the left side to drive in Martinez. They added one final run in the eighth, with Zeb Roos laying down a sacrifice bunt to third to score Shane Lussier, extending the Wofford lead to 6-1.
The Spartans looked to make a comeback in the ninth, with UNCG adding two runs in the top of the frame on a Kennedy Jones two-run home run over the center field fence that cut the Spartans deficit to 6-3. However, the two runs were not enough, as Wofford went on to claim the 6-3 victory.
Hester and Hill both went 2-for-4 with one run scored, with Hester adding one double and Hill adding one RBI in the win. Galanie went 1-for-4 with one run, one RBI and one double, while Brennen Dorighi, Jack Renwick, Yunger and Martinez added one hit each.
UNCG’s Cavenaugh was 2-for-5 with one RBI to pace the Spartans, while Greg Hardison went 2-for-4 with one double in the loss.
Wofford’s Matthew Marchal started for the Terriers and improved to 7-2 with the win, as he allowed one run on six hits and recorded six strikeouts in six innings of action. Luke Stephens threw one inning for Wofford, striking out three, while Dalton Rhadans closed out the contest, allowing two runs on three hits and recording one strikeout in the final two innings.
Jared Mathewson (5-6) took the loss for the Spartans. He was charged with four runs on four hits in six innings pitched. Hunter Shuey entered the contest in the bottom of the seventh inning, allowing two runs on five hits in his two innings pitched.
Samford 13, Mercer 10
GREENVILLE, S.C. — In a contest that saw seven home runs between the two opponents, Samford registered 19 hits, including three home runs, and totaled 10 RBIs as No. 3 seed clinched a 13-10 win over No. 2 seed Mercer on Friday, at the Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field.
Samford (28-27) advances to face top-seeded Wofford on Saturday at noon, while Mercer (39-17) faces No. 8 seed The Citadel later tonight.
In the back-and-forth contest, the Bears got on the board first, scoring one run in the bottom of the first inning after Bill Knight laced a long ball over the left field fence to give Mercer a 1-0 lead entering the second inning.
Samford answered with two runs on three hits in the top of the frame, with Will David and Kaden Dreier, who kicked off the inning with back-to-back singles through the right side, crossing home plate after a throwing error and fielding error to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 advantage before Mercer evened the score in the bottom of the frame after William Mapes hit a line-drive double to left center, driving in Trevor Austin to make it a 2-2 contest.
The Bulldogs added two more runs on one hit in the top of the third, with David reaching first on a fielding error before Maurice Hampton knocked a two-run long ball to left center, giving Samford a 4-2 lead.
Mercer then answered with three runs on two hits in the bottom of the frame, taking a 5-4 lead after Angelo DiSpigna laced a home run to right center, scoring Bill Knight and Collin Price, who doubled to right field and drew a walk, respectively, in their plate appearances.
Scoring then halted until the fifth inning, with Samford scoring five runs on seven hits to lift the Bulldogs to a 9-5 advantage. After David opened the inning with a single to right center, Kaden Drier sailed a two-run home run 389 feet over the Green Monster to score Drier and give Samford a 6-5 lead. With two outs, Samford’s Garrett Staton and Garrett Howe both singled to left field before Towns King and Colton Ledbetter both laced singles up the middle, driving in Staton and Howe for the 8-5 lead. Stephen Klein closed the inning with a single to shortstop, batting in King for the four-run advantage.
Treyson Hughes hit a double to left center in the bottom of the frame before DiSpigna knocked his second home run of the contest, sailing a 429-foot homer over the left field wall to record his second home run of the contest, and 10th of the 2022 campaign, cutting the Bears’ deficit to 9-7.
Samford placed two runners on base in the first two at-bats of the sixth inning, with the Bulldogs taking advantage of a Drier single to left field and a Hampton single to the pitcher before Staton crushed a home run over the left center field fence, extending Samford’s lead to 12-7.
The Bears attempted a comeback in the bottom of the frame, scoring three runs on two hits to cut the deficit to 12-10. After Antonio Brown drew a walk and Jozsef Rohrbacher singled up the middle, Bill Knight recorded his second home run of the contest.
After both teams went scoreless in the seventh inning, Samford added one more run in the top of the eighth, with Howe and King opening the frame with back-to-back hits before Ledbetter hit an RBI groundout to second base, giving the Bulldogs a 13-10 lead to seal the win.
Drier finished 4-for-6 with three runs, two RBIs and one home run to lead Samford at the plate. Staton and King both went 3-for-5, with Staton scoring two runs, driving in three batters, drawing one walk and recording one homerun. David and Hampton both went 2-for-5 in the victory.
DiSpigna was 4-for-5 with two runs scored, five RBIs and two home runs to pace the Bears, while Knight finished with three hits and Rohrbacher and Mapes finished with two each.
Samford’s Michael Ross improved to 7-1 with the win, as he allowed seven runs on seven hits and recorded eight strikeouts in five innings of action. Carson Hobbs closed for the Bulldogs, allowing three runs on five hits, and tallying five strikeouts in four innings pitched to register his 10th save of the season.
Wesley Franklin (3-3) took the loss for the Bears. He allowed four runs on four hits in four innings pitched. Five other Bears took the mound in the contest, allowing nine runs on 15 hits in five innings.
UNCG 9, Western Carolina 7
GREENVILLE, S.C. — UNCG tallied four runs on five hits in the second inning and recorded five runs on three hits and one error in the fifth to secure a 9-7 victory over No. 6 seed Western Carolina on Friday, at the Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Flour Field.
The Catamounts took the first lead in the contest, securing a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, before the Spartans exploded in the bottom of the frame and again in the fifth inning, scoring nine runs in the two innings to hold a 9-2 advantage entering the sixth inning. UNCG (30-28) advances to play the winner between No. 2 Mercer and No. 8 The Citadel on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Western Carolina’s Seth Graves helped the Catamounts get on the board first, with the senior outfielder hitting a double to right field to drive in Zach Ketterman, who singled to the pitcher in his at-bat, giving Western Carolina a one-run lead.
UNCG answered with four runs in the bottom of the frame, with Dallas Callahan starting off the inning with a double to left center and GC Jarman followed that up with a walk before Zack Budzik singled through the left side, driving in Garman to even the score 1-1. Brandon Bott grounded into a double play, with Jarman crossing home plate for the 2-1 lead before Kennedy Jones crushed a 436-foot homer over the center field wall, extending the Spartans lead to 3-1. UNCG didn’t stop there, as Hogan Windish followed Jones’ homer with a single to center field before Pres Cavenaugh doubled to right center to hand UNCG a 4-1 lead.
The score remained the same until the fifth inning, when Western Carolina’s Tom Brosnahan hit a sacrifice fly to left field, driving in Nate Stocum to cut the deficit to 4-2.
The Spartan’s momentum and dominance at the plate continued in the bottom of the frame, with UNCG taking advantage of an error, a single to left field and a walk before Zack Budzik drew a walk with the bases loaded to score Greg Hardison and extend the lead to 5-2.
With two outs in the fifth, Windish hit a single through the left side, scoring Jarman and Callahan to make the score 7-2. Cavenaugh helped the Spartans score the next two runs as the sophomore outfielder singled to center field, driving in Budzik, before he and Windish executed a double steal to score Windish from third and give UNCG a seven-run lead.
Western Carolina attempted a comeback in the top of the seventh and eighth, scoring one run on one hit in the seventh and scoring four runs on four hits in the eighth to cut the Catamount deficit down by two runs. Zach Ketterman laced a home run over the right center field fence in the first at-bat of the seventh, making it a 9-3 contest before Will Prater kicked off the eighth inning with a single up the middle followed by a Pascanel Ferreras line-drive single to right field, cutting the deficit to 9-4.
Bryson Parks was hit by a pitch in the next at-bat before Zach Ketterman knocked a three-run homer to right field to bring the Catamounts within two runs of the Spartans. However, the four runs were not enough, as UNCG went on to claim the victory.
UNCG’s Cavenaugh went 3-for-4 with one run scored and one RBI, while Windish and Hardison both went 2-for-4, with Windish scoring two runs and driving in two and Hardison drawing a walk. Five Spartans registered two hits or more in the contest.
Western Carolina’s Ketterman was 3-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs scored to pace the Catamounts, while Prater went 3-for-5 with one double and one run scored in the loss.
Junior right-handed pitcher Austin Koehn started for the Spartans and improved to 3-2 with the win, as he allowed seven runs on nine hits and recorded four strikeouts in 7.2 innings of action. Jake Wolf threw 0.1 innings for UNCG, allowing one hit and one walk and striking out one, while Hunter Shuey closed out the contest, allowing no runs in the final inning to collect the save.
Tristen Campbell (3-2) took the loss for the Catamounts. He was charged with four runs on five hits in 1.2 innings pitched. Cole Beverlin, Zebby Matthews and Jacob Corn also took the mound for Western Carolina in the contest, with Matthews and Corn both pitching three innings for the Catamounts and Beverlin tossing less than one inning.
Mercer 2, The Citadel 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Mercer scored two runs in the bottom of the first and held No. 8 seed The Citadel to only one run in the contest to secure a 2-1 victory over the Bulldogs on Friday, at the Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Flour Field.
Mercer (40-17) advances to face No. 4 seed UNCG on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., with the winner scheduled to face the loser between No. 1 seed Wofford and No. 3 seed Samford on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Bears grabbed the early lead in the contest, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning as Treyson Hughes and Collin Price hit a single and drew a walk, respectively, before David Burke knocked a line-drive single to center field, scoring Hughes and Price to help Mercer jump out in front with a 2-0 lead.
The Citadel cut the deficit to 2-1 in the top of the second inning, with Wells Sykes hitting a single into left field and Garrett Dill and Dylan Costa both drawing consecutive walks, loading the bases with two outs in the inning. In the next at-bat, junior Luke Montenery was hit by a pitch, allowing Sykes to cross home plate for the Bulldogs’ only run of the contest.
Both teams remained scoreless in the next seven innings, with Mercer tallying two more hits and The Citadel recording three in the remainder of the game. The Bears left five runners on base, while the Bulldogs left four.
Burke and Hughes both finished 1-for-3 to lead the Bears, with Burke registering two RBIs and Hughes scoring one run and drawing one walk in the win. Price went 1-for-2 with one run scored, while William Mapes went 1-for-4 at the plate.
Travis Lott and Dill both went 1-for-3 to pace The Citadel, while Tilo Skole and Sykes both went 1-for-4.
Mercer’s Jackson Kelley improved to 7-0 with the win, as he allowed no runs on three hits and recorded seven strikeouts in 7.1 innings of action. Josh Harlow started for the Bears, allowing only one run on one hit and tallying three strikeouts in 1.2 innings pitched.
Ben Hutchins (4-4) took the loss for the Bulldogs. He was charged with two runs on four hits and tallied 10 strikeouts in seven innings pitched. Fisher Paulsen and Conner Cummiskey also made appearances on the mound for the Bulldogs, with Paulsen allowing one walk and Cummiskey recording one strikeout in their combined one inning pitched.
May 25 (Wednesday)
Game 1: #8 The Citadel 3, #5 ETSU 1
Game 2: #6 Western Carolina 4, #7 VMI 1
Game 3: #4 UNCG 7, #8 The Citadel 6
Game 4: #3 Samford 22, #6 Western Carolina 3
May 27 (Friday)
Game 5: #1 Wofford 6, #4 UNCG 3
Game 6: #3 Samford 13, #2 Mercer 10
Game 7: #4 UNCG 9, #6 Western Carolina 7
Game 8: #2 Mercer 2, #8 The Citadel 1
May 28 (Saturday)
Game 9: #1 Wofford vs. #3 Samford 12 p.m.
Game 10: #4 UNCG vs. #2 Mercer 3:30 p.m.
Game 11: Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 9 7 p.m.
May 29 (Sunday)
Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11 12 p.m.
Game 13: Game 12 winner vs. Game 12 loser^ 40 minutes after Game 12
^ if necessary
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Wofford notched three runs on three hits in the sixth, two runs on three hits in the seventh, and one run on two hits in the eighth to earn a 6-3 victory over No. 5 seed UNCG on Friday, at the Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field.
The Spartans took the first lead in the contest, securing a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth, before the Terriers exploded in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Wofford (41-14-1) advances to play the winner between No. 2 Mercer and No. 3 Samford on Saturday at noon, while UNCG faces No. 6 seed Western Carolina later this afternoon at 4 p.m.
The contest remained scoreless until the top of the fifth, when Pres Cavenaugh had a hard-hit line drive to second base, driving in lead-off batter Bradley Bott, who started off the inning with a single up the middle, to hand the Spartans a one-run lead.
Wofford answered with three runs in the next inning, with the Terriers’ Nolen Hester opening the frame with a double to left center, followed by a Lawson Hill single to left field that saw the graduate catcher advance to second on the throw, while Hester advanced to third. John Dempsey evened the score and handed Wofford their first run of the contest, hitting a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in Hester and advance Hill to third.
Junior third baseman Ryan Galanie knocked a triple into right field in the next at-bat, his fifth of the 2022 campaign, giving the Terriers their first lead of the game. Galanie scored on a wild pitch later in the inning, helping Wofford conclude the frame with a two-run lead.
The Terriers continued to dominate at the plate, scoring two additional runs in the seventh, with Brice Martinez singling to right field to score Trey Yunger and Hill singling through the left side to drive in Martinez. They added one final run in the eighth, with Zeb Roos laying down a sacrifice bunt to third to score Shane Lussier, extending the Wofford lead to 6-1.
The Spartans looked to make a comeback in the ninth, with UNCG adding two runs in the top of the frame on a Kennedy Jones two-run home run over the center field fence that cut the Spartans deficit to 6-3. However, the two runs were not enough, as Wofford went on to claim the 6-3 victory.
Hester and Hill both went 2-for-4 with one run scored, with Hester adding one double and Hill adding one RBI in the win. Galanie went 1-for-4 with one run, one RBI and one double, while Brennen Dorighi, Jack Renwick, Yunger and Martinez added one hit each.
UNCG’s Cavenaugh was 2-for-5 with one RBI to pace the Spartans, while Greg Hardison went 2-for-4 with one double in the loss.
Wofford’s Matthew Marchal started for the Terriers and improved to 7-2 with the win, as he allowed one run on six hits and recorded six strikeouts in six innings of action. Luke Stephens threw one inning for Wofford, striking out three, while Dalton Rhadans closed out the contest, allowing two runs on three hits and recording one strikeout in the final two innings.
Jared Mathewson (5-6) took the loss for the Spartans. He was charged with four runs on four hits in six innings pitched. Hunter Shuey entered the contest in the bottom of the seventh inning, allowing two runs on five hits in his two innings pitched.
Samford 13, Mercer 10
GREENVILLE, S.C. — In a contest that saw seven home runs between the two opponents, Samford registered 19 hits, including three home runs, and totaled 10 RBIs as No. 3 seed clinched a 13-10 win over No. 2 seed Mercer on Friday, at the Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field.
Samford (28-27) advances to face top-seeded Wofford on Saturday at noon, while Mercer (39-17) faces No. 8 seed The Citadel later tonight.
In the back-and-forth contest, the Bears got on the board first, scoring one run in the bottom of the first inning after Bill Knight laced a long ball over the left field fence to give Mercer a 1-0 lead entering the second inning.
Samford answered with two runs on three hits in the top of the frame, with Will David and Kaden Dreier, who kicked off the inning with back-to-back singles through the right side, crossing home plate after a throwing error and fielding error to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 advantage before Mercer evened the score in the bottom of the frame after William Mapes hit a line-drive double to left center, driving in Trevor Austin to make it a 2-2 contest.
The Bulldogs added two more runs on one hit in the top of the third, with David reaching first on a fielding error before Maurice Hampton knocked a two-run long ball to left center, giving Samford a 4-2 lead.
Mercer then answered with three runs on two hits in the bottom of the frame, taking a 5-4 lead after Angelo DiSpigna laced a home run to right center, scoring Bill Knight and Collin Price, who doubled to right field and drew a walk, respectively, in their plate appearances.
Scoring then halted until the fifth inning, with Samford scoring five runs on seven hits to lift the Bulldogs to a 9-5 advantage. After David opened the inning with a single to right center, Kaden Drier sailed a two-run home run 389 feet over the Green Monster to score Drier and give Samford a 6-5 lead. With two outs, Samford’s Garrett Staton and Garrett Howe both singled to left field before Towns King and Colton Ledbetter both laced singles up the middle, driving in Staton and Howe for the 8-5 lead. Stephen Klein closed the inning with a single to shortstop, batting in King for the four-run advantage.
Treyson Hughes hit a double to left center in the bottom of the frame before DiSpigna knocked his second home run of the contest, sailing a 429-foot homer over the left field wall to record his second home run of the contest, and 10th of the 2022 campaign, cutting the Bears’ deficit to 9-7.
Samford placed two runners on base in the first two at-bats of the sixth inning, with the Bulldogs taking advantage of a Drier single to left field and a Hampton single to the pitcher before Staton crushed a home run over the left center field fence, extending Samford’s lead to 12-7.
The Bears attempted a comeback in the bottom of the frame, scoring three runs on two hits to cut the deficit to 12-10. After Antonio Brown drew a walk and Jozsef Rohrbacher singled up the middle, Bill Knight recorded his second home run of the contest.
After both teams went scoreless in the seventh inning, Samford added one more run in the top of the eighth, with Howe and King opening the frame with back-to-back hits before Ledbetter hit an RBI groundout to second base, giving the Bulldogs a 13-10 lead to seal the win.
Drier finished 4-for-6 with three runs, two RBIs and one home run to lead Samford at the plate. Staton and King both went 3-for-5, with Staton scoring two runs, driving in three batters, drawing one walk and recording one homerun. David and Hampton both went 2-for-5 in the victory.
DiSpigna was 4-for-5 with two runs scored, five RBIs and two home runs to pace the Bears, while Knight finished with three hits and Rohrbacher and Mapes finished with two each.
Samford’s Michael Ross improved to 7-1 with the win, as he allowed seven runs on seven hits and recorded eight strikeouts in five innings of action. Carson Hobbs closed for the Bulldogs, allowing three runs on five hits, and tallying five strikeouts in four innings pitched to register his 10th save of the season.
Wesley Franklin (3-3) took the loss for the Bears. He allowed four runs on four hits in four innings pitched. Five other Bears took the mound in the contest, allowing nine runs on 15 hits in five innings.
UNCG 9, Western Carolina 7
GREENVILLE, S.C. — UNCG tallied four runs on five hits in the second inning and recorded five runs on three hits and one error in the fifth to secure a 9-7 victory over No. 6 seed Western Carolina on Friday, at the Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Flour Field.
The Catamounts took the first lead in the contest, securing a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, before the Spartans exploded in the bottom of the frame and again in the fifth inning, scoring nine runs in the two innings to hold a 9-2 advantage entering the sixth inning. UNCG (30-28) advances to play the winner between No. 2 Mercer and No. 8 The Citadel on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Western Carolina’s Seth Graves helped the Catamounts get on the board first, with the senior outfielder hitting a double to right field to drive in Zach Ketterman, who singled to the pitcher in his at-bat, giving Western Carolina a one-run lead.
UNCG answered with four runs in the bottom of the frame, with Dallas Callahan starting off the inning with a double to left center and GC Jarman followed that up with a walk before Zack Budzik singled through the left side, driving in Garman to even the score 1-1. Brandon Bott grounded into a double play, with Jarman crossing home plate for the 2-1 lead before Kennedy Jones crushed a 436-foot homer over the center field wall, extending the Spartans lead to 3-1. UNCG didn’t stop there, as Hogan Windish followed Jones’ homer with a single to center field before Pres Cavenaugh doubled to right center to hand UNCG a 4-1 lead.
The score remained the same until the fifth inning, when Western Carolina’s Tom Brosnahan hit a sacrifice fly to left field, driving in Nate Stocum to cut the deficit to 4-2.
The Spartan’s momentum and dominance at the plate continued in the bottom of the frame, with UNCG taking advantage of an error, a single to left field and a walk before Zack Budzik drew a walk with the bases loaded to score Greg Hardison and extend the lead to 5-2.
With two outs in the fifth, Windish hit a single through the left side, scoring Jarman and Callahan to make the score 7-2. Cavenaugh helped the Spartans score the next two runs as the sophomore outfielder singled to center field, driving in Budzik, before he and Windish executed a double steal to score Windish from third and give UNCG a seven-run lead.
Western Carolina attempted a comeback in the top of the seventh and eighth, scoring one run on one hit in the seventh and scoring four runs on four hits in the eighth to cut the Catamount deficit down by two runs. Zach Ketterman laced a home run over the right center field fence in the first at-bat of the seventh, making it a 9-3 contest before Will Prater kicked off the eighth inning with a single up the middle followed by a Pascanel Ferreras line-drive single to right field, cutting the deficit to 9-4.
Bryson Parks was hit by a pitch in the next at-bat before Zach Ketterman knocked a three-run homer to right field to bring the Catamounts within two runs of the Spartans. However, the four runs were not enough, as UNCG went on to claim the victory.
UNCG’s Cavenaugh went 3-for-4 with one run scored and one RBI, while Windish and Hardison both went 2-for-4, with Windish scoring two runs and driving in two and Hardison drawing a walk. Five Spartans registered two hits or more in the contest.
Western Carolina’s Ketterman was 3-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs scored to pace the Catamounts, while Prater went 3-for-5 with one double and one run scored in the loss.
Junior right-handed pitcher Austin Koehn started for the Spartans and improved to 3-2 with the win, as he allowed seven runs on nine hits and recorded four strikeouts in 7.2 innings of action. Jake Wolf threw 0.1 innings for UNCG, allowing one hit and one walk and striking out one, while Hunter Shuey closed out the contest, allowing no runs in the final inning to collect the save.
Tristen Campbell (3-2) took the loss for the Catamounts. He was charged with four runs on five hits in 1.2 innings pitched. Cole Beverlin, Zebby Matthews and Jacob Corn also took the mound for Western Carolina in the contest, with Matthews and Corn both pitching three innings for the Catamounts and Beverlin tossing less than one inning.
Mercer 2, The Citadel 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Mercer scored two runs in the bottom of the first and held No. 8 seed The Citadel to only one run in the contest to secure a 2-1 victory over the Bulldogs on Friday, at the Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Flour Field.
Mercer (40-17) advances to face No. 4 seed UNCG on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., with the winner scheduled to face the loser between No. 1 seed Wofford and No. 3 seed Samford on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Bears grabbed the early lead in the contest, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning as Treyson Hughes and Collin Price hit a single and drew a walk, respectively, before David Burke knocked a line-drive single to center field, scoring Hughes and Price to help Mercer jump out in front with a 2-0 lead.
The Citadel cut the deficit to 2-1 in the top of the second inning, with Wells Sykes hitting a single into left field and Garrett Dill and Dylan Costa both drawing consecutive walks, loading the bases with two outs in the inning. In the next at-bat, junior Luke Montenery was hit by a pitch, allowing Sykes to cross home plate for the Bulldogs’ only run of the contest.
Both teams remained scoreless in the next seven innings, with Mercer tallying two more hits and The Citadel recording three in the remainder of the game. The Bears left five runners on base, while the Bulldogs left four.
Burke and Hughes both finished 1-for-3 to lead the Bears, with Burke registering two RBIs and Hughes scoring one run and drawing one walk in the win. Price went 1-for-2 with one run scored, while William Mapes went 1-for-4 at the plate.
Travis Lott and Dill both went 1-for-3 to pace The Citadel, while Tilo Skole and Sykes both went 1-for-4.
Mercer’s Jackson Kelley improved to 7-0 with the win, as he allowed no runs on three hits and recorded seven strikeouts in 7.1 innings of action. Josh Harlow started for the Bears, allowing only one run on one hit and tallying three strikeouts in 1.2 innings pitched.
Ben Hutchins (4-4) took the loss for the Bulldogs. He was charged with two runs on four hits and tallied 10 strikeouts in seven innings pitched. Fisher Paulsen and Conner Cummiskey also made appearances on the mound for the Bulldogs, with Paulsen allowing one walk and Cummiskey recording one strikeout in their combined one inning pitched.
May 25 (Wednesday)
Game 1: #8 The Citadel 3, #5 ETSU 1
Game 2: #6 Western Carolina 4, #7 VMI 1
Game 3: #4 UNCG 7, #8 The Citadel 6
Game 4: #3 Samford 22, #6 Western Carolina 3
May 27 (Friday)
Game 5: #1 Wofford 6, #4 UNCG 3
Game 6: #3 Samford 13, #2 Mercer 10
Game 7: #4 UNCG 9, #6 Western Carolina 7
Game 8: #2 Mercer 2, #8 The Citadel 1
May 28 (Saturday)
Game 9: #1 Wofford vs. #3 Samford 12 p.m.
Game 10: #4 UNCG vs. #2 Mercer 3:30 p.m.
Game 11: Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 9 7 p.m.
May 29 (Sunday)
Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11 12 p.m.
Game 13: Game 12 winner vs. Game 12 loser^ 40 minutes after Game 12
^ if necessary
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