GREENVILLE, S.C.. -- Eric Nyquist survived a shaky start and used ample run support to help Mercer overcome a four-run deficit on the way to a 9-5 victory over Furman in the opening game of a Southern Conference baseball series Friday evening at Latham Stadium.

The win was the sixth straight for Mercer (17-11, 4-0 SoCon) while Furman (11-13, 1-3 SoCon) dropped its fourth consecutive outing.  The two teams play again Saturday at 4:00 p.m.

Nyquist, the SoCon's reigning pitcher of the week, yielded a pair of runs in the first inning and two more in the second as Mercer fell behind 4-0 before rallying against Paladin starting pitcher Matt Solter.

Charlie Maddon's two-out, three-run home run to left center field in the third inning began the Bears' comeback, which continued an inning later when Mercer combined a hit with three walks and a wild pitch to plate two more runs to take a 5-4 lead.

Howard Joe led off the sixth inning with a solo home run to left field off Solter to make it 6-4.

Furman cut to 6-5 with a run in the sixth after Ryan Morse led off with a single and Landon Kay followed with a double into the left field corner.  Pinch hitter Carter Grote's RBI grounder drove home Morse, but Kay was left stranded at third following a groundout and strikeout.

Jackson Ware's two-out, two-run double down the left field line in the seventh off Paladin reliever Matthew Quarles scored Matt Meeder and Devin Bonin to extend the Bears' lead to 8-5, and Mercer tacked on the game's final run in the eight with a Bonin RBI single.

Mercer collected 11 hits, including two each by Kyle Lewis, Danny Edgeworth, Devin Brown, Joe, and Ware.  Lewis also walked twice and scored a pair of runs for Mercer, which registered six walks, four of which scored.

Making only the second start of his career at first base, senior Ryan Morse continued to swing a hot bat, going 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run.  His RBI double in the first inning gave Furman a 2-0 lead, and the Paladins made it 4-0 in the second on Chris Ohmstede's two-run double into left center field.

Solter (0-2) retired the first two batters he faced in the third before yielding back-to-back singles to Lewis and Edgeworth, who later scored on Madden's three-run clout.  The Paladin senior right-hander was charged with six runs allowed on seven hits over five innings.  He walked four and fanned three.

Nyquist (4-1) earned the win after yielding a season high five runs on seven hits over six innings.  He issued one walk and struck out six.

Furman junior second baseman Jordan Simpson, who had hit .556 (20x36, 3 HR, 11 RBI) over the last 10 games, was scratched from Friday's lineup due to illness.