box score
ATLANTA, Ga. – The Mercer baseball squad bounced back from an disappointing loss on Tuesday, but came up short of the upset at No. 17 Georgia Tech. The Bears out-hit the Yellow Jackets 15 to nine, but fell 7-6 at Russ Chandler Stadium.
Looking to break a 12-game losing streak against the GT, the Bears jumped on the board in their first at-bat.
Matt Crawford led off with a single to left field. Crawford stole second and was plated on a two-out single to left by
Mike Armstrong.
John Moreland followed with an RBI single to the action-filled left field and gave Mercer the early 2-0 lead.
The Yellow Jackets got one run on the board off one hit in the bottom of the second frame. Derek Dietrich received a free pass and scored off a double to deep left center field by Thomas Nichols.
Georgia Tech took the lead off a two-run home run by Charlie Blackmon in the bottom of the third, then added one run on two hits in the fourth. Back-to-back hits by Jeff Rowland and Jay Dantzler, allowed Rowland to cross the plate and increase the Yellow Jackets’ lead to 4-2.
Mercer evened the score on three hits in the top of the fifth.
John Dortch started the rally with a solo-shot to deep center field.
Tyler Brown followed with a stand-up double down the left field line. Armstrong scored Brown with a single up the middle.
Tony Plagman gave the Yellow Jackets the 5-4 lead in the fifth inning, with his fifth home run of the season over the center field wall.
A two-RBI stand-up triple by Dortch off the base of the left center wall put the Bears back on top, 6-5, in the eighth inning.
GT regained its final lead of the night off a two-out single by Blackmon in the eighth, scoring two Yellow Jackets and giving the Ramblinwreck the 7-6 victory.
Boone Webster took the loss for the Bears, throwing one inning in relief.
David Harden threw the first five innings, scattering six hits and striking out two.
Brad Rulon picked up his third win of the year, in one inning of relief. Brandon Cumpton got the start for the Yellow Jackets, allowing nine hits and four earned runs in five innings from the hill.
Dortch was a double shy of the cycle, going three-for-five with three RBI. Armstrong added three hits and two RBI for the Bears.
“Our guys certainly showed what kind of character and pride they had tonight,” commented coach
Craig Gibson. “To fall hard on Tuesday and show such great energy against a top-25 team the next night makes it tough to come out on the losing end.”
Mercer returns to Atlantic Sun action with a three game series at A-Sun newcomer Florida Gulf Coast this weekend. A doubleheader is set for Saturday, March 22 with a single game to follow on Sunday, March 23. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. on both days.