Greenville, S.C. – Mercer's offense exploded in the bottom of the fourth inning in both games to propel the Bears to a 3-1, 6-1 doubleheader sweep of Furman on Saturday at Sikes Field in Macon, Ga.
The sweep improved the Bears to 17-19 overall and 6-2 in Southern Conference play while Furman slipped to 18-20 overall and 3-5 in the league.
Game 1: Mercer 3, Furman 1
Mercer posted three runs in the bottom of the fourth and Grace Taylor tossed a complete game to lead the Bears to a 3-1 victory in game one.
After three scoreless frames, the Bears batted around in the fourth inning to take control of the game. Avery Barton was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Kaddisy Moore followed with a two-run blast to center field to open the scoring. A base on balls, single and fielder's choice loaded the bases before Alyssa Woods upped the margin to 3-0 with an RBI single.
Hannah Poole got Furman on the board in the top of the sixth inning with a solo home run to left-center field, her third of the season. In the seventh inning,
Ainsley Yoshizumi was plunked by a pitch and
Hana Hashioka delivered a single, but Taylor retired the next two batters to end the threat.
Taylor earned the victory in the circle to improve to 7-8. She scattered five hits and allowed only one run over seven innings while striking out three Paladins and issuing one walk.
Furman starter
Sierra Tufts absorbed the loss for the Paladins to drop to 8-6. The righthander gave up three runs on four hits over six innings. She walked two and struck out two batters.
Ashlee Lykins went 2-for-3 at the plate and was hit by a pitch to reach base three times. Emma Dorval reached on a walk and single for the Bears while Moore went 1-for-2 with two RBIs.
Game 2: Mercer 6, Furman 1
Mercer tallied two runs in the first and added four more in the bottom of the fourth to cruise to a 6-1 win in game two.
The first five Mercer batters reached base in the bottom of the first as the Bears jumped out to the lead with a pair of runs. Woods reached base on a leadoff single and Jenessa Plummer reached on an error before Tori Hedgecock and Moore registered back-to-back RBI singles.
Furman answered in the top of the fourth with a solo home run from
Kiley Perry, but the Bears responded with four runs in the bottom of the frame. A bunt single, error, and fielder's choice loaded the bases ahead of Hedgecock's towering grand slam to center field that extended the Mercer lead to 6-1.
Hannah Pitts (4-5) limited Furman to one run on four hits over seven innings to up her record to 4-5 in the circle. She walked four batters but notched six strikeouts on the afternoon.
Woods, Hedgecock, and Moore each contributed two hits in game two while Hedgecock knocked in five runs.
Lauralee Scott (7-3) took the loss for the Paladins allowing six runs, four earned, on eight hits over six innings.
Perry delivered her sixth homer of the season and also drew a base on balls. Lykins reached base five times during the doubleheader and has now reached safely in 34 of her last 35 games.
The weekend series between the Paladins and Bears concludes with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Sikes Field. Sunday's series finale will be streamed live on ESPN+.
