GREENVILLE, S.C. –The Wofford baseball team ended their season at the Southern Conference tournament in a heartbreaking 9-8 loss against No. 1 seeded Mercer at Fluor Field on Thursday afternoon. The Terriers end their 2026 campaign with a 34-22 record. The Bears (44-14) had two runs in the first inning, but Wofford answered with three runs to take the lead in the second inning. In a back-to-forth contest, the Terriers had a 7-4 lead in the middle of the sixth inning. The Bears came back with five runs in the final two innings to secure the 9-8 comeback win.
Cullen Condon made the start for the Terriers, pitching six innings. Condon gave up seven hits and four earned runs while striking out seven batters.
Austin Laughlin followed in relief, pitching the last three innings. Laughlin allowed three runs on two hits with three strikeouts.
Niko Brini led the Terriers with one run on three hits with three RBI.
Logan Tribble followed with one hit and three RBI and
Cade Collins had three runs on two hits.
Lucas Manning,
Raul Feliz and
Tanner Hardin each had one run on two hits, with Hardin and Manning each having one RBI.
The Terriers opened the game with a single by
Niko Brini with one out and a walk to
Logan Tribble, but both were stranded. The Bears opened their half of the first with a walk and a double. A ground out and a double brought in two runs for a 2-0 lead. The Terriers answered in the second inning with a leadoff single by
Raul Feliz and
Hunter Herndon was hit by a pitch. With two outs,
Cade Collins walked to load the bases. On a full count,
Niko Brini hit a single deep to center field to clear the bases to give Wofford their first lead 3-2. Â A quick three up, three down inning followed for
Cullen Condon to retire the Bears.
The Terriers left one on base in the top of the third before Mercer came back to score two runs to regain the lead at 4-3. Â In the top of the fourth,
Tanner Hardin led off with a single to get the bats going. With one out,
Cade Collins doubled to put Wofford in scoring position with runners on second and third. With two outs,
Niko Brini reached first on a throwing error and he stole second.
Logan Tribble doubled deep down the right field line to drive in Collins and Brini for a 5-4 lead.
Cullen Condon and the Terriers' defense held off Mercer in the bottom of the fourth.
Lucas Manning led off the fifth with a solo home run out to right field to extend the lead to 6-4. The Terriers kept the scoring momentum going into the sixth with a leadoff single by
Cade Collins.
Niko Brini doubled to put two runners on base. A sacrifice fly by
Logan Tribble brought in Collins to make it a 7-4 game. The Bears itching for runs, started their half of the sixth inning with a hit to center field. With two outs and the bases loaded, a two-RBI single by Mercer cut the lead to 7-6 going into the seventh.
Raul Feliz leadoff the seventh inning with a double. A sacrifice bunt by
Hunter Herndon advanced Feliz to third. An RBI single by
Tanner Hardin pushed the lead 8-6. After the stretch, the Bears had a two-run home run deep to right field to tie the ball game 8-8. A quick 1-2-3 inning followed for the Terriers in the top of the eighth. With one out in the bottom of the eighth, Chris Katz hit a ball deep to the left field corner for an inside the park home run to take a 9-8 lead. A strikeout and a ground out retired the Bears. In the top of the ninth inning, the Terriers had a single to right field by
Lucas Manning with one out. Pinch hitter
Andrew Mannelly walked with two outs, but a ground out would leave both runners stranded, ending the Terriers' season.
Quick Hits:
- Starting Lineup: Cade Collins (3B), Niko Brini (CF), Logan Tribble (LF), Ben Timblin (RF), Lucas Manning (C), Raul Feliz (DH), Hunter Herndon (1B), Tanner Hardin (2B), Brady Gold (SS), and Cullen Condon (SP).
- Logan Tribble ends his career at Wofford with a .345 batting average. Tribble ends the season with 50 runs on 80 hits with 49 RBI.
- Niko Brini ends his career at Wofford with a .328 batting average. In his two season Wofford, he scored 99 runs on 126 hits with 82 RBI. Brini led the Southern Conference in triples with seven this season. He will leave with 13 career triples, the third most in program history.
- Ben Timblin ends his sophomore campaign with 53 runs on 57 hits, including eight doubles, six triples and 16 home runs, with 64 RBI to his resume. He sits tied for the sixth most home runs hit in a single season, tied for the third most triples in a single season, and tied for the eighth most RBIs in a single season.
To keep up with the Wofford baseball team for summer league progress, minor league updates, and more, follow us on X, Facebook and Instagram at @WoffordBaseball.
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