Mercer downs WCU to advance to SoCon title game

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Top-seeded Mercer will get a chance to defend its 2015 Southern Conference title, as the Bears rallied past No. 2 seed Western Carolina on Saturday, 9-8, to advance to the title game of the SoCon Baseball Championship at Fluor Field.

The Bears (38-21) remain unbeaten in SoCon tournament action all-time at 7-0 and advance to Sunday’s title game, which will air live on ESPN3 at 1 p.m. The Catamounts (27-29) drop into the losers’ bracket and will take on either No. 4 seed Furman or No. 6 seed Samford later Saturday evening. The Paladins and Bulldogs meet at 4:15 in an elimination contest.

Mercer scored six runs in the final two innings to overcome a late four-run deficit. After putting up four runs in the eighth to tie the contest at 7, the Bears scored twice in the ninth to take the win. Blaise Lezynski put Mercer ahead for the first time on the day with a two-out single to right to score SoCon Player of the Year Kyle Lewis from third, and Jackson Ware followed with an RBI triple for what would prove to be a crucial insurance run.

The Catamounts didn’t go down without a fight, getting consecutive one-out singles and a wild pitch to put runners at second and third in the bottom of the ninth. Kramer Ferrell followed with a fielder’s choice that scored Matt Smith, but Bears shortstop Matt Meeder alertly went to third to nail trail runner Danny Bermudez, giving WCU a runner on first with two down instead of a runner in scoring position.

Mercer reliever Austin Lord did the rest, striking out Caleb Robinson looking to end the contest.

The ninth-inning dramatics capped an entertaining final three innings of play. The Catamounts got a two-run double from Smith and an RBI single from Ferrell to make it 7-3 in the seventh, but Mercer answered with a 4-spot the following inning. After consecutive walks to Lewis and Charlie Madden to lead off the inning, Ryan Hagan crushed a three-run homer to left on the first pitch he saw.

After a strikeout, Meeder capped a run of three straight hits with an RBI single to tie the game, and Trey Truitt was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. The Bears ran themselves out of a bigger inning, however, as Danny Edgeworth flew out to right and WCU right-fielder Bryce Bowman gunned down pinch-runner Conrad Cornell at the plate for an inning-ending double play with Lewis – who hit his 20th homer of the season, a three-run shot, in the top of the fifth – standing in the on-deck circle.

The Catamounts led 4-0 early after Smith’s RBI double in the first and Ferrell’s two-run single in the third. Garrett Brown also scored on a wild pitch in the third.

Ware and Meeder led the Bears with two hits each, while Lewis and Hagan had three RBIs each. Lewis scored three times.

Smith had a game-high three hits and three RBIs, while Ferrell finished 2-for-5 with four RBIs. Brett Pope scored three times for the Catamounts.

Lord (5-1) picked up the win after pitching the final two innings, allowing one run on two hits. Dylan Biumi (3-2) was saddled with the loss after allowing a pair of unearned runs on two hits in 1 2/3 innings of work.

May 24 (Tuesday)
SoCon Championship (SDN)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 1: #8 The Citadel 3, #9 VMI 2 (10 innings)

May 25 (Wednesday)
SoCon Championship (SDN)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 2: #4 Furman 3, #5 ETSU 0
Game 3: #1 Mercer 13, #8 The Citadel 1 (7 innings)
Game 4: #2 Western Carolina 10, #7 Wofford 9
Game 5: #6 Samford 8, #3 UNCG 5

May 26 (Thursday)
SoCon Championship (SDN)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 6: #5 ETSU 4, #8 The Citadel 2
Game 7: #3 UNCG 9, #7 Wofford 6
Game 8: #1 Mercer 6, #4 Furman 1
Game 9: #2 Western Carolina 14, #6 Samford 4

May 27 (Friday)
SoCon Championship (SDN)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 10: #6 Samford 12, #5 ETSU 11 (10 innings)
Game 11: #4 Furman 15, #3 UNCG 10

May 28 (Saturday)
SoCon Championship (SDN)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 12: #1 Mercer 9, #2 Western Carolina 8
Game 13: #6 Samford vs. #4 Furman 4:15 p.m.
Game 14: Winner Game 13 vs. #2 Western Carolina 7 p.m.

May 29 (Sunday)
SoCon Championship (ESPN3)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 15: #1 Mercer vs. Winner Game 14 1 p.m.
^Game 16: Winner Game 15 vs. Loser Game 15 60 minutes after Game 15

^ if necessary

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