SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On Sunday afternoon, the Wofford College baseball team dropped both games of a doubleheader against Mercer at Russell C. King Field. The Bears led 4-0 after the second inning in game one, but the Terriers battled back and took a 6-4 lead in the fifth inning. Mercer tied the game in the seventh and scored in the top of the ninth for the 7-6 win. In the second game, Wofford scored three runs in the first inning, but the Bears tied the game in the fourth at three. Mercer scored three runs in the sixth to take a lead, but the Terriers cut the lead to 8-7 in the seventh. The Bears added three runs in the eighth for the final 11-7 margin.
                    
Wofford is 26-27 on the season and 11-10 in the Southern Conference. Mercer is 38-12 overall and 17-4 in league play, as they clinched the regular season title with the two Sunday wins. The Terriers were led by Mack Nathanson with five hits and five RBIs on the day, which included a home run and three doubles. Brett Hash and McClain Bradley added three hits each. Max McDougald and Reed Massey each had home runs.
 
In the first game, the Bears led off with a walk and followed with three straight singles for a 2-0 lead. A wild pitch made it 3-0 and Mercer left one runner on base to end the top of the first inning. McClain Bradley walked with one out in the bottom of the first, but was stranded at third base. With two out in the top of the second, Ryan Hagan hit a solo home run for a 4-0 advantage.
 
Wofford left one runner on base to end the second inning after a walk and Mercer was retired in order in the top of the third frame. Alex Malsch led off the bottom of the third with a single, but was picked off. McClain Bradley reached on an infield single and moved to third on a stolen base and throwing error. An infield single by Brett Hash scored Bradley to cut the lead to 4-1. The Bears added a double with two outs in the top of the fourth, but left the runner on third base. Mack Nathanson opened the bottom of the fourth with a double and with one out Max McDougald cleared the fence in left field to make it a 4-3 game. It was his second home run of the season.
 
The Bears had a single with two outs in the top of the fifth inning, but were unable to advance the runner. Kody Ruedisili walked to start the bottom of the fifth and McClain Bradley singled to give Wofford runners on the corners. Brett Hash singled to drive in Ruedisili and the game was tied at 4-4. A sacrifice bunt had runners in scoring position with one out. Singles by Mack Nathanson and Reed Massey drove in a runs for a 6-4 lead before a double play ended the fifth inning.
 
After Mercer was retired in order in the top of the sixth inning, Cody Miller led off the bottom half with a single. Kody Ruedisili walked with one out and with two outs an intentional walk to Brett Hash loaded the bases. A strikeout ended the sixth inning with all three runners stranded. Mercer had a runner reach on a walk with one out in the top of the seventh. A home run by Ryan Hagan, his second on the game, tied the game at 6 at the seventh inning stretch. Wofford was retired in order in the bottom of the seventh.
 
In the top of the eighth inning, the Bears led off with a single. The runner was stranded at third base to end the top half. Wofford had two outs in the bottom of the eighth when Kody Ruedisili hit a double. He stole third base and McClain Bradley drew a walk. An intentional walk to Brett Hash loaded the bases, but a strikeout left three runners stranded. With two outs in the top of the ninth, the Bears had a single and the runner stole second. A single by Alex Hanson drove in the runner for a 7-6 lead. The Terriers were retired in order in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.
 
Spencer Kulman started for the Terriers and threw seven innings with six runs allowed on seven hits. He struck out four and walked a pair. Reece Maniscalco (1-1) went the final two innings with one run allowed on three hits.
 
Mercer starter Austin Cox went four innings with six runs scored on seven hits, along with four strikeouts and three walks. Robert Broom (8-1) threw five innings and did not allow a run on four hits. He walked four and struck out three batters.
 
In the second game, the Bears were retired in order in the top of the first. Kody Ruedisili led off the bottom half with a single. After McClain Bradley hit into a fielder's choice, Brett Hash walked and they moved into scoring position on a double steal. A sacrifice fly by Carson Waln plated a run. Mack Nathanson then cleared the fence in left field for a 3-0 advantage. It was his 12^th home run of the season. The Bears got one run back in the top of the second on a solo home run by Matt Meeder.
 
A single by Max McDougald opened the bottom of the second and with one out Brett Rodriguez walked. A double play ended the second inning. The Bears had a single with two outs in the top of the third, but the runner was unable to advance. The Terriers left two runners on base in the bottom of the third after a pair of walks. In the top of the fourth, Mercer added a run on a solo homer by Danny Edgeworth to cut the lead to 3-2. After a double, a fielding error with two outs plated a run and the game was tied at 3.
 
With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Brett Rodriguez singled and moved to third on a stolen base and error. Kody Ruedisili walked, but a ground out ended the fourth with two runners stranded. The Bears led off the fifth with a single and left the runner on third base. Wofford was retired in order to end the fifth inning. In the top of the sixth, the Bears had two singles. With two outs, a double by Conrad Cornell drove in two runs to give Mercer a 5-3 lead. A single added another run as the Bears took a 6-3 advantage in the middle of the sixth.
 
Reed Massey hit a solo home run out to left field to lead off the sixth inning. It was his sixth homer of the season and cut the lead to 6-4. With two outs, Brett Rodriguez doubled and stole third before a strikeout ended the inning. A single started the seventh inning for the Bears and with the runner on third an infield single made it 7-4. After another single, there were two outs when an RBI single gave the Bears an 8-4 advantage.
 
McClain Bradley and Brett Hash singled to start the bottom of the seventh. A single by Carson Waln loaded the bases and a double to left center by Mack Nathanson drove in two runs for an 8-6 score. With one out, a ground out by Max McDougald made it an 8-7 game at the end of the frame. The Bears had the bases loaded with one out after a pair of singles and a hit by pitch in the top of the eighth. A fielding error scored one run and a bases loaded walk added a run. A sacrifice fly gave the Bears an 11-7 lead before a fly ball ended the top half. Wofford left one runner on base in the bottom of the eighth and Mercer was retired in order in the top of the ninth. The Terriers had a double by Mack Nathanson in the bottom of the ninth before a strikeout ended the game.
 
Senior John Caskey started for the Terriers and threw one pitch. Austin Higginbotham (5-5) went 5.2 innings and allowed six runs on eight hits while striking out seven. Merritt Huber gave up one hit in a third of an inning. Chris Sheehan gave up two runs on four hits in an inning. Matt Ellmyer went a third of an inning with three runs allowed on two hits. Jordon Accetta did not allow a hit in two-thirds of an inning. Jake Hershman worked a clean ninth inning with a strikeout.
 
Kevin Coulter (5-2) started for the Bears and worked five innings with four runs allowed on five hits, along with two strikeouts. Zach Graveno threw an inning with three runs scored on five hits and two strikeouts. Nick Spear earned his eighth save of the season by going three innings with one hit and six strikeouts.
 
Prior to the start of the first game, Wofford honored the eleven seniors on the team playing in their final games at Russell C. King Field. The group includes Jordon Accetta, John Caskey, Brett Hash, Merritt Huber, Spencer Kulman, Elliott Lance, Dylan May, Quintin Pile, Kody Ruedisili, Chris Sheehan and Carson Waln.
 
After taking the week off for exams, the regular season will end next weekend at The Citadel. The opening game of the series will be on Thursday at 4:00 p.m. at Riley Park.