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Box score (PDF)MACON, Ga. – Chesny Young went 3-for-4 with five RBIs to lead the Mercer University baseball team to a 12-4 victory over Northern Kentucky University at Claude Smith Field in Atlantic Sun Conference action on Thursday evening.
Young showed why he was selected as the Atlantic Sun's preseason player of the year as he finished a triple shy of completing the cycle to lead Mercer, which improved to 29-10 overall and 12-4 in the conference.
Sasha LaGarde and Michael Massi each scored three times, while LaGarde, Charlie Madden and Kyle Lewis collected the other three hits for the Bears, who used a six-run seventh inning to break the game open and cruise to the win.
Cody Kuzniczci helped NKU get on the scoreboard in the second inning when he singled to center field and advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Josh Myers drew a two-out walk before an RBI single by
Kyle Colletta brought Kuzniczci home for the early 1-0 Norse lead.
David Head then stepped to the plate and sent the first Brandon Barker pitch he saw into the gap in left center, and Myers and Colletta scored to stretch the Norse advantage to 3-0.
NKU added a run to its total in the next frame, sparked by a lead-off double to left field by
Cole Bauml. He went to third on a passed ball, and
Logan Spurlin was walked. A sacrifice fly by
Jordan Procyshen allowed Bauml to come home as NKU took a 4-0 lead.
LaGarde and Massi each drew one-out walks in the bottom of the third to bring Young to the plate. Young then sent a 3-1
Wendell Wright pitch over the right-field wall to cut Mercer deficit to 4-3.
After the Norse stranded two base runners in the top of the fourth inning, the Bears struck again in the bottom of the frame. A two-out double by Lewis started things off for Mercer, and LaGarde and Massi once again drew walks for the second straight inning, loading the bases and spelling the end of the day for Wright.
A single by Young to right field scored Lewis and LaGarde, giving the Bears a 5-4 lead. On the next play,
Zac Asman bobbled the ball as he was fielding it, which allowed Nick Backlund to reach base and Massi to score for a 6-4 Mercer advantage.
The bottom of the seventh inning saw two NKU pitching changes during the Bears' breakout inning. Mercer scored the frame's six runs on five walks, a hit batter and just two hits for the final margin of the game.
Head collected a hit and drove in two runs to lead NKU, which fell to 11-23 on the year and 5-8 in the Atlantic Sun, and Colletta went 1-for-3 with one run scored and one RBI. Spurlin's third inning walk extended his on-base streak to 34 games, dating back to last season, but he saw his hitting streak snapped at 16 games.
Dimitri Kourtis (3-0) earned the victory for the Bears, having pitched three scoreless innings of relief. He recorded three strikeouts and did not give up a hit.
The NKU pitching staff collected 10 strikeouts and walked 12 batters on the night. Wright struck out three batters as
Evan Korson recorded four strikeouts and
Alex Bolia collected three as well for the Norse.
Mercer now holds a 4-0 advantage in the all-time series after completing a three-game sweep last season at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex.
NKU and Mercer continue the current three-game series on Friday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m., while Saturday's finale is slated for a 2 p.m. start time. Links to live stats and John Asalon's audio broadcast will be available at nkunorse.com.
