Huge second inning lifts Mercer over The Citadel

Three Citadel fielders watched as a pop fly dropped in center field. And that’s all the Bulldogs could do in the second inning — watch — as Mercer’s baseball team poured in eight runs in the second inning to open an early lead it never relinquished in its 11-4 victory Friday.

The Bulldogs registered three hits and scored three runs in the first inning but went scoreless for the following five innings before scoring again in the sixth. Mercer’s bats cooled off after the explosion in the second as it scored only two more runs — once in the fifth and one in the eighth.

Mercer improves to 30-17 overall and 14-6 in Southern Conference play.

Three who mattered

Jackson Ware: On top of two diving catches in left field, Ware was 2-of-2 with two RBI. He was also walked twice and scored once.

Ryan Hagan: The junior finished 2-of-5 from the plate with two RBI and one run.

Charlie Madden: The junior finished 1-of-3 but led the team with four RBI after his three-run home run in the second.

Observations

Scoring in spurts: Mercer has scored five or more runs in one inning 14 times this season.

Settling in on the mound: Ryan Askew threw two wild pitches and gave up three hits and three runs in the first inning, but the junior pitcher rebounded. Askew allowed only three more hits and no runs in his remaining five innings of work.

Worth mentioning

Hitting as a team: No Mercer player had more than two hits, but every batter except two registered at least one of the Bears’ 10 total hits.

Dominating the weekend series: By winning the first two games of the series, Mercer has now won 10 of its 12 weekend series this season.

What’s next?

Mercer has a day off before playing the third game of the series against The Citadel at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

This story was originally published May 6, 2016 at 9:15 PM with the headline "Huge second inning lifts Mercer over The Citadel."