Saturday's Baseball Roundup

Bears Split Doubleheader, Take Series Over Western Carolina
Despite dropping game one of Saturday's doubleheader, the Mercer baseball team used a 10-run outburst in the third inning of game two to take the series over Western Carolina. The Bears took an early lead in the first game of the day, using a leadoff single from Titan Kamaka, a sac bunt and a single from Bradley Frye to scratch across a run in the bottom of the first. However, the Catamounts answered back in the top of the second with two runs to jump on top. In game two of the afternoon, Jess Ackerman took the ball with a chance to help the Bears get their first conference series win of the season. Ackerman was up for the challenge, striking out five in the first two innings to get the Bears off to a strong start. Ackerman was helped by Dalley in the bottom of the first, as the left-handed slugger teed off on the first pitch he saw for his fourth home run of the week and 11th of the season to give the Bears a 1-0 lead. 

UNCG Baseball Hangs on to Ensure Weekend Series Win at VMI
The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) baseball team won 13-12 over the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) Keydets in The Southern Conference (SoCon) action on Saturday afternoon at Lamore Field at Gray-Minor Stadium. The Keydets got on the board first in the bottom of the opening frame when Boston Torres singled to right to score Owen Prince from third. Ayden Schnarrs then doubled off the wall in left-center to score a pair, which made it 3-0 VMI after one inning.

Wofford Baseball Takes First SoCon Series with 7-0 Win at The Citadel
The Wofford baseball team deposited seven runs over the first five innings at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park Saturday afternoon, and the Terrier pitching tandem of Cullen Condon and Michael Sills kept The Citadel scoreless in Wofford's 7-0 triumph. The Terriers improve to 20-8 (2-0 SoCon) as the Bulldogs drop to 14-14 (2-3 SoCon). Wofford only needed two arms to notch the shutout with Cullen Condon (1-0) hurling the first 7.0 frames as the starter, marking a new career high for the freshman.

Bucs sweep a doubleheader at USC Upstate
The ETSU baseball team swept a doubleheader on the road at USC Upstate on Saturday by scores of 15-9 and 7-3. The pair of victories by ETSU on Saturday boosts its overall record to 21-6 this season, which matches its best start since 2019. After scoring 14 runs in the opening game of the series on Friday, the Buccaneer offense continued to swing it well in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader. ETSU collected 15 hits, slugged six home runs and worked 10 walks against the Upstate pitching staff on its way to a 15-9 win. With the series knotted at a game a piece, the Bucs turned in their best pitching performance of the weekend in game three. ETSU scored seven runs in support of starter Michael Harpster. That proved to be more than enough run support as Harpster turned in one of his best starts of the season tossing 6.2 innings with three runs allowed on five hits and matching a career-high eight strikeouts. After Harpster left the game, Derek McCarley came in and threw 2.2 shutout innings with three strikeouts to finish off the 7-3 win for ETSU.

VMI loses offensive slugfest against UNCG
VMI Baseball issued a late comeback but came up short in a loss to UNC Greensboro on Saturday at Lamore Field at Gray-Minor Stadium. The Keydets (16-11, 2-3 SoCon) drop their second-straight Southern Conference bout to the Spartans in a game that featured a combined 25 runs scored with 29 hits and six home runs.

Samford Baseball Falls In 10 Innings To Creighton
The Samford baseball team dropped an 11-8 decision in 10 innings in the second game of a three-game series with Creighton Saturday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field. With the loss, Samford fell to 13-14 on the season. Creighton improved to 16-6 with the win. Samford was led at the plate by Cade Carr, going 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI. Parker McDonald went 2-for-5 with a home run and one RBI. Jake Souders and Trey Higgins also homered in the loss for Samford. John Malone (1-1) pitched 3.0 innings in relief, giving up three runs on five hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford.

The Citadel's Hausner Records Three-Hit Day Against Wofford
Anthony Hausner led the Bulldogs in hits, going 3-for-4 at the plate. His third career three-hit day. Phillips Daniels drew his team-leading 18th walk of the season. Rhyder Poppell recorded his first stolen base of his career. Yates Bland threw 4.2 scoreless innings in relief, striking out four on three hits. George Derrick Floyd (1-1) recorded the loss for The Citadel after throwing 4.1 innings, allowing 11 hits with seven earned runs. Cullen Condon (1-0) posted the win for the Terriers, throwing 7.0 scoreless innings, allowing just five hits.