GREENVILLE, S.C.. -- Grant Schuermann pitched seven effective innings and Furman rallied from two runs down to beat Mercer, 8-4, in Southern Conference baseball action Sunday afternoon at Latham Stadium.

With the win Furman (12-14, 2-4 SoCon) avoided the series sweep, halted a five-game losing skid, and handed Mercer (18-12, 5-1 SoCon) its first loss in eight games and first SoCon defeat since the Bears joined the league this year.

Schuermann (2-0), a freshman left-hander from Cincinnati, Ohio, making his first weekend start, gave up a run in the first inning and a three-run home in the fourth before retiring 11 of the final 12 batters he faced.  He yielded seven hits and did not walk a batter while striking out four in earning the victory.

The Paladins answered Mercer's run in the top of the first with two in their first at bat on Griffin Davis' two-run home run to left field, the first of his career, to take a 2-1 lead.

Mercer's Kyle Lewis led off the fourth with a double and Charlie Madden followed with a infield single to set the table for Howard Joe, who golfed a low inside pitch from Schuermann over the left field fence to give the Bears a 4-2 advantage.

The Paladins began their comeback in the fifth against Mercer starting pitcher Ryan Askew.  Sky Overton led off with his second double of the game, and Jake Jones followed with a single. Askew then hit Griffin Davis to load the bases.  Following a pitching change, reliever Mitchell Wade's wild pitch allowed Overton to score, and Jordan Simpson's line drive two -run single into right center field completed the three-run frame and gave Furman a 5-4 lead.

The Paladins took control in the sixth, getting an RBI single from Jake Jones and a two-out, two-run Chris Ohmstede single that scored Jones and Overton to make it 8-4.

Matters got a little dicey in the ninth after Charlie Madden led off with a single and Furman reliever Elliott Warford issued a pair of walks to load the bases before recovering to induce a game ending double play grounder off the bat Devin Bonin.

Furman banged out nine hits in the contest, including two each by Overton, who scored three runs, and Jake Jones, who went 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.  Davis, Ohmstede, and Simpson each registered two RBI, combining to account for six of the Paladins' eight runs.

Led by Lewis and Madden's two-hit performances, Mercer had eight hits but only two safeties over the final five innings.

Askew (3-3) was charged with the loss after giving up five runs on five hits over four innings.

Furman returns to action on Tuesday when travels to Clemson for a 6:00 p.m. game.

Hunter Reid, Furman Sports Information