Game 1 box score (XML) |
Game 1 box score (PDF)Game 2 box score (XML) |
Game 2 box score (PDF)MACON, Ga. – Kyle Lewis went 4-for-4 with four runs scored and three runs batted in for the Mercer University baseball team as the Bears swept Northern Kentucky University in an Atlantic Sun Conference doubleheader on Saturday at Claude Smith Field.
Lewis added a double and home run and was walked twice for Mercer, which improved to 31-10 overall and 14-4 in the Atlantic Sun. Chesny Young continued his hot hitting against NKU as he finished the day 5-for-6 from the plate. Young added two runs and three RBIs and drew four walks for the Bears, who ended the day with a 28-12 margin in hits, while Michael Massi went 6-for-9 with six RBIs, three runs and two doubles.
In the opener, NKU took a two-run lead after the top of the first inning, courtesy of a
Jordan Procyshen home run over the right-field wall. Procyshen's team-leading eighth homer of the season also allowed
Cole Bauml, who singled to reach base earlier in the inning, to score for a 2-0 Norse lead.
A Young single followed a Massi double to cut the Mercer deficit in half in the bottom of the frame before
Logan Spurlin's two-out home run over the right-field wall in the third inning regained a two-run (3-1) advantage for NKU.
The Bears answered with four consecutive hits in the bottom of the inning, capped by an RBI single by Derrick Workman, to tie the game at 3-all. Massi gave Mercer the lead for good in the fourth inning when he singled up the middle to score Lewis and give the Bears a 4-3 advantage.
Mercer added three runs in the fifth and one more in each of its last three innings for the final margin of Game 1.
Grant Papelian (4-2) went six innings for the Bears and only allowed three runs on six hits. He struck out three batters and only walked one.
The nightcap saw the Bears striking for three runs in the bottom of the third, highlighted by back-to-back RBI hits by Nick Backlund and Workman.
NKU fought back in the fourth, however. Spurlin singled up the middle to lead off the inning, and he went to third on
David Head's two-out double to center field. Both Spurlin and Head scored when
Dominic Faron sent the first pitch he saw through the right side to cut the Norse deficit to 3-2.
The Bears' offense then answered with a home run by Lewis to take a 4-2 lead after four full innings. Mercer kept the pressure on the Norse pitching staff, as the Bears scored three runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth for Game 2's final score.
Eric Nyquist improved to 7-0 on the mound for Mercer as he pitched his fourth complete game of the season. He surrendered just two runs on six hits over seven innings of work, and he collected five strikeouts as he walked just two batters.
Kyle Colletta led the Norse offense in the opener, going 2-for-3 from the plate, before taking the loss on the mound in the nightcap. Colletta (0-2) gave up three runs on six hits with one strikeout and one walk in three innings of work.
Zac Asman went 3-for-7 from the plate on the day and was hit by a pitch to lead NKU, which fell to 11-25 on the year and 5-10 in the Atlantic Sun. Spurlin scored twice, collected two hits and was hit by a pitch to extend his on-base streak to 36 games, dating back to last season, while Procyshen and Faron each drove in two runs.
NKU returns to the Bill Aker Baseball Complex on Tuesday as the Norse welcome Xavier at 3 p.m. On Wednesday, NKU will travel across the Ohio River to again face the Musketeers, this time at Hayden Field in Cincinnati at 3 p.m. Links to live stats, Tuesday's ASun.TV broadcast and John Asalon's audio broadcast will be available at nkunorse.com.
