SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The game entered the ninth inning tied 6-6, but the Mercer Bears plated four runs in the top of the frame to claim a 10-6 series-opening win Friday night over the Wofford baseball team at Russell C. King Field. The Terriers fall to 34-15 (9-7 SoCon) with the result, and the Bears improve to 29-20 (11-5 SoCon).
The contest was delayed almost two hours before starting due to inclement weather in the area.
Coulson Buchanan started for Wofford, tossing 6.0 innings with four runs allowed on four hits. He walked two and struck out nine, one shy of his career best.
Lucas Mahlstedt (5-2) suffered the loss after pitching the final 3.0 innings in relief. He surrendered six runs on seven hits with a pair of punchouts.
Mercer reliever Ryan Lobus (5-3) earned the win after pitching the final 2.0 innings. He went scoreless and hitless in his outing.
Wofford tallied nine total hits in the contest, with
Cameron Gill recording three to lead the way.
Marshall Toole and
Trey Yunger each tallied two base knocks. Toole drove home a run, and Yunger recorded three RBI to top the Terriers.
David Wiley and
Jack Renwick each recorded an RBI as well.
Renwick put down a pair of sacrifice bunts in the contest to lift his season total to 23, which makes him the new single-season record holder for sacrifice hits in Southern Conference history. He tops Mercer's Jackson Ware, who laid down 22 in the 2017 campaign.
Mercer opened the scoring quickly with a solo homer in the top of the first for a 1-0 lead.
But Wofford wasted no time responding thanks to a
Trey Yunger RBI single up the middle, tying the contest at 1-1.
The Bears would add a solo home run in the second and a two-run blast in the fourth to regain the lead at 4-1.
But in the fifth, the Terriers plated to two to pull within a run. Yunger struck again, roping a double down the left field line to score
Ryan Galanie and
David Wiley, pulling Wofford within 4-3.
Wofford hit a rhythm in the sixth, scoring three runs to pull in front. Wiley's RBI single began the scoring by tying the game. With runners on the corners,
Jack Renwick dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt to score a run, pushing Wofford ahead.
Marshall Toole's bunt single then tacked on another run to make the score 6-4.
But a two-RBI single by the Bears in the seventh evened the score once more at 6-6.
The game remained tied after both teams went scoreless in the eighth, so the contest rolled into the ninth. That was when Mercer found its rally, loading the bases before a grand slam delivered what proved to be the decisive blow. Wofford was held off the board in the bottom of the frame as Mercer claimed a 10-6 win in game one.
The squads meet again tomorrow afternoon at Russell C. King Field for game two of the series. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m. with the Terriers looking to even the series.
