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Furman University

Sydney McGuirk
Jeremy Fleming 2025
4
Furman FUR 9-32, 3-9 SoCon
5
Winner Mercer MERCER 17-23, 5-7 SoCon
Furman FUR
9-32, 3-9 SoCon
4
Final
5
Mercer MERCER
17-23, 5-7 SoCon
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Furman FUR 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 4 5 2
Mercer MERCER 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 2 3

W: Grace McKillop (6-3) L: Hill, Gwen (0-2)

Game Recap: Softball | | By: Jordan Caskey

Mercer Rallies To Edge Paladins In Series Finale, 5-4

Furman Takes Two-Of-Three Versus The Bears

Macon, Ga. – Mercer scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to rally past Furman, 5-4, in the finale of a three-game Southern Conference softball series Sunday afternoon at Sikes Field.
 
Trailing 4-2 entering the bottom of the seventh, Megan Loughren was plunked by the first pitch of the inning to break a streak of 16 straight batters retired by Paladin starter Gwen Hill. After a flyout, pinch hitter Ashlyn Ullman drew a four-pitch walk and Meredith Wayland reached on an infield single to load the bases. A passed ball allowed Loughren to score and trim the lead to 4-3 before Jessie Taylor worked a walk to reload the bases. Reliever Kristyn Embler came into the game and fanned Ella Morris for the second out of the inning, but Avery Barton's potential game-ending grounder was bobbled and thrown away allowing the tying and winning runs to score for the Bears.
 
Mercer (17-23, 5-7 SoCon) reliever Grace McKillop (6-3) picked up the win after throwing three innings of one-hit ball. Hill (0-2) suffered the loss for the Paladins. She was charged with five runs, just three earned, on two hits over 6.1 innings. The freshman walked four batters and struck out three.
 
Furman grabbed the lead in the top of the first when Kate Stoltzfus reached on a leadoff single, stole second base and scored on Embler's grounder. Mercer answered in the bottom of the frame as Grace Jones followed a four-pitch walk with a line drive homer over the right field fence to give the Bears a 2-1 advantage.
 
The Paladins looked to be in control when Sydney McGuirk and Stoltzfus each delivered two-out RBI singles in the top of the fourth to give Furman the lead and Embler swiped two bases before racing home on an error to double the Paladin advantage the following inning.
 
Stoltzfus went 3-for-4 at the plate to lead the Paladin offense, but Furman stranded nine runners in the series finale.
 
Furman (9-32, 3-9 SoCon) opens a five-game homestand on Tuesday afternoon when it hosts Charleston Southern for a doubleheader at Pepsi Stadium. First pitch of game one is slated for 3 p.m. and both games will be streamed live on ESPN+ with live statistics available through StatBroadcast at FurmanPaladins.com.
 
Minuteman Press is the Official Sponsor of Furman Athletics press releases. 
 
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