Mercer holds on to nip The Citadel
Conard Broom struck out four batters in two innings, but none were timelier than his final one.
The freshman reliever secured Mercer’s 8-7 victory Thursday over The Citadel, after a full-count strikeout with men on second and third in the top of the ninth.
The Bears (29-17, 13-6 Southern Conference) jumped out to an early 8-3 lead after a pair of three-run home runs. All of Mercer’s eight runs came in the bottom of the second – five – and in the bottom of the fourth — three. The Bears registered only two hits in the final four innings.
After scores in the fifth and sixth, The Citadel (15-31, 5-11) cut Mercer’s lead to one in the top of the eighth after Clay Martin’s double brought in two runs.
A double, intentional walk and wild pitch put runners on second and third with one out for the Bulldogs before Broom retired the final two batters.
THREE WHO MATTERED
Trey Truitt: The sophomore outfielder recorded five RBI on 2-of-5 hitting, including the three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning for Mercer.
Danny Edgeworth: The Mercer junior’s three-run home run highlighted the five-run bottom of the second. He finished 3-of-5 from the plate with three RBI.
Martin: A home run on the second pitch of the game and a timely two-RBI double in the top of the eighth led Martin to a 3-of-5 performance from the plate for the Bulldogs.
TURNING POINT
With two outs in the bottom of the second, the top of the lineup came through for the Bears. Mercer scored five runs after Truitt drove one up the middle for a two-RBI single and Edgeworth blasted one over the right field wall for a three-run shot.
OBSERVATIONS
Sloppy in the field: The Citadel recorded five errors.
Strong at the top: The top of the lineup did the heaving lifting for the Bears, as Truitt, Edgeworth and Lewis combined for all six of the team’s hits.
Scoring off the long ball: Mercer scored six of its runs off the two three-run home runs by Truitt and Edgeworth.
WORTH MENTIONING
Bombs away: The Bears hit two home runs, increasing their nation-leading total to 70. Mercer already has more home runs this season than last season (69) in 12 fewer games. Since 2011, the Bears lead the nation with 382 home runs, 48 more than second-place Samford.
Rain, rain go away: Steady rain came down during the third and part of the fourth inning, but play was not suspended.
Riding solo: The Citadel launched three solo home runs. Entering the game, the Bulldogs had only 19 home runs in 45 games, 49 fewer than Mercer as a team and only four more than Kyle Lewis alone.
THEY SAID IT
Mercer head coach Craig Gibson on pitching holding off The Citadel at end: “I thought we had a good start … (I’m) really proud of (Taylor) Lobus, too, to give use a couple of innings. Broom has been good for us, so we just felt like we had a chance with him.”
Gibson on using many pitchers at end: “We were just trying to match up … Just matching up, and hopefully we can get something in our favor. We got a big strikeout. It ended up working for us (Thursday).”
Gibson on second game: “(Friday) we have to probably beat their No. 1 pitcher, so he’s on complete, full rest this week. He’s a battler. He was tough last year against us. We’ve got our hands full.”
Truitt on hitting performance: “Just put a bat on the ball. I got in the cage (Wednesday) night and put in some work, and that’s what happens when you put in work. It pays off.”
Truitt on hitting woes late: “We got complacent towards the end … We tried to battle back. We still hit the ball hard — just hit it to people and didn’t get any lucky breaks. Broom came through in the end, did his job and got us a win.”
This story was originally published May 5, 2016 at 10:59 PM with the headline "Mercer holds on to nip The Citadel."