For the third straight game, late-game heroics gave Mercer a win.
Danny Edgeworth’s single to right field to pushed the Bears to a 4-3 10-inning victory Friday over Hartford.
The Bears (5-0) only had one hit through the first five innings and trailed 3-2 before Trey Truitt’s solo home run tied the game in the sixth. Neither team failed to score over the next three innings, setting the stage for Edgeworth’s heroics.
Mercer scored four runs in the eighth to win last Sunday over Eastern Shore then used a Matt Meeder walkoff single in the ninth on Tuesday to beat Georgia.
Hartford (0-1) stranded the bases loaded in the ninth before going three-up, three-down in the 10th.
Nick Spear collected his third consecutive win in three consecutive appearances on the mound. On Friday, Spear retired all three batters he faced in the 10th, the final two by strikeouts.
“This was a really good Hartford team that played well," Mercer head coach Craig GIbson said. "I knew they would be good because they are well-coached.
"We strung a couple hits together, won a big moment, Danny came up and got the big knock for us. Our pitching was outstanding (Friday).
"(Ryan) Askew was good and the guys we went with after him – Burks, Vann, Broom and Spear – were really good."
Georgia College offense stymied at Flagler
Winners of four straight, the Georgia College bats ran into a buzzsaw Friday night going up against Michael Miaocco, who led Flagler to a 4-2 win in Peach Belt Conference baseball.
Miaocco was 3-0 with a sub-2.00 ERA heading into the contest, and allow two earned runs with eight strikeouts in seven innings.
Flagler (10-3, 1-0) scored first with a run off a sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the second inning. Georgia College (7-3, 0-1) fought right back tallying a pair of runs off a two-RBI double by junior Brandon Purcell giving the Bobcats a 2-1 lead until the Saints tied it in the bottom of the fifth.
Flagler took advantage of a Bobcat error in the bottom half of the seventh for the go-ahead run.
Junior Charlie Hecht started on the hill for Georgia College and had a solid outing, with six solid innings, one earned run and five strikeouts.
Leftfielder Nate Schmal had the team’s only multi-hit effort with two singles in four trips.
The teams play at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Mercer tops Marist in softball
Mercer snapped a four-game losing streak and opened the Black & Orange Challenge with a 6-3 win Friday over Marist at Sikes Field.
The Bears raced out to a 5-0 lead after four innings and held on late to improve to 5-6 overall and 3-3 at home.
Stella Preston limited Marist (2-3) to only one hit over the final 2.1 innings and earned the save after replacing starter Megan Bilgri in the fifth. Bilgri improved to 2-0.
Quirisa Mauga knocked a two-run double to left-center field in the bottom of the first to score Taylor Miller and Megan Lane, both of whom reached on singles in the two previous at-bats.
The Bears add three runs in the third and fourth frames thanks to a RBI-groundout by Maxine Rodriguez and smart base running decisions by Shaila Warren and Meghan Rud.
Marist rallied in the top of the fifth, but Preston ended the threat with her lone strikeout of the game and was nearly unhittable afterward. Lane added an insurance run in the sixth with a solo home run to right field.
Mercer plays Fort Wayne at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Georgia College splits in softball
The Georgia College softball team took the first game of a doubleheader from Carson-Newman 6-2 before falling in the nightcap 5-2 Friday night.
The doubleheader was held at Young Harris College, rescheduled from a rainout in Milledgeville last week.
In game one, the Bobcats (5-8) got a strong start from sophomore Kayla Price and took advantage of Eagles (12-4) miscues for the win.
The Bobcats got all six runs in the third on three hits and two costly Carson-Newman errors. After a pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases with one out, the first error plated three Bobcat runs. Faith Flanders followed with an RBI single, and then another error and an RBI groundout capped the scoring.
Price evened her record at 2-2 with the complete-game effort, scattering nine hits for just two runs while fanning four. Centerfielder Danielle Bernstein (Cumming) was 2-for-3 with a run.
In game two, the Eagles posted three in the third and two more in the sixth to take a 5-0 lead.
Flanders responded in the bottom half with a two-run shot to right-center, her first this season, breaking up a no-hitter from Carson-Newman pitcher Lacie Rinus.
In the seventh, the Bobcats were able to put two on, bringing the tying run to the plate, but were unable to complete the rally.
Sophomore righty Brooke Taylor was the hard-luck loser (1-2) in game two, allowing four earned runs over 5.1 innings.
Georgia College faces Brevard at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
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