MACON – Charleston Southern clinched the weekend series over Mercer on Saturday afternoon behind a 9-6 road victory.
Lew Rice and
AJ Martin each had two-run home runs in the contest while Martin finished the day with four RBIs to lead the squad in the category.
Once again, Mercer was the squad to get out to an early lead. The Bears had an RBI single in the second and the third innings that gave them an early 2-0 lead.
Charleston Southern's Rice had a two-run homer over the right field fence in the top of the fifth, bringing the score level. Mercer responded quickly by having an RBI double in the bottom half of the frame restore their lead at 3-2.
The Buccaneers did not lie down, tallying a four-spot in the sixth. The action started with a two-run home run by Martin, putting them ahead.
Blake Edgmon and
Kain Collins had back-to-back RBI singles that padded the lead and put them up 6-3. Mercer had a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth to cut into their first deficit of the day.
The CSU offense continued to pour it on late in the ballgame.
Gavin Bogdanchik had an RBI single to left center in the eighth and Martin had a two RBI double in the top of the ninth, stretching the lead to 9-4. The runs proved to be needed as the Mercer offense found life in the bottom of the ninth, drawing it to as close as 9-6.
Brad Grindlinger earned the starting nod for the Bucs and pitched the first inning and did not allow a run to score.
Joel Rodriguez and
Parks Ledwell were the first two out of the bullpen, being tasked with the next 2.0 each and allowing a pair of runs to score.
Tyler Henshaw threw a shutout for his 2.1 innings, allowing a hit, a walk and a hit batter.
Ryan DuSang and Krause split the final parts 1.2 of the game to seal the victory.
At the plate, Charleston Southern placed 17 baserunners with 12 hits, three walks and two hit by pitches. Collins, Martin, Bogdanchik and Edgmon each had two hits to lead the team. Martin had a team-high four RBIs while McAskie and Rice tied for the team lead in runs scored with two.
The Buccaneers and Bears will travel to Charleston for the series finale with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. on Sunday at Nielsen Field @ CSU Ballpark.
