Saturday, May 29, 2010

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A meeting between the Atlantic Sun’s top two offenses turned into an unexpected pitcher’s duel. Mercer’s Brandon Love limited ETSU to one unearned run in pitching the Bears to their first A-Sun Baseball Championship title game in 16 years with a 3-1 victory from Ken Dugan Field on the campus of Lipscomb University.

Love, who surrendered 10 hits and five runs in a regular-season start at ETSU (32-28), held down the conference’s top offense to five hits and one unearned run to improve to 8-3. He buckled down upon getting two outs, holding the Buccaneers to 1-for-9 in such situations. He stranded eight ETSU runners while on the mound. For the game, ETSU stranded 11.

Read the Atlantic Sun Insider Column from Mercer's victory HERE.

After ETSU starter Bo Burton retired the first seven of the game, Mercer (36-22) put together a rally in the bottom of the third inning. John Moreland collected the first hit of the game, a double to right field. One out later, Billy Burns singled in Moreland and advanced to second on a fielding error. Tyler McCarty singled on the first pitch he saw up the middle, plating Burns. Teams scoring first at the A-Sun Championship improved to 8-1.

ETSU scored its lone run in the fifth inning courtesy Chas Byrne. With two outs, the junior walked, stole second and took third on a wild pitch. He scored on an error by Jacob Tanis. Tanis would atone for the error by connecting on his 21st home run of the season, driving in his conference-leading 85th RBI. David Teasley closed out the Buccaneers as he allowed one hit in 2.1 innings of work to earn his fifth save. Chas Byrne appeared in his fourth straight game for ETSU, recording three outs. For the week, he earned a win and a save while posting a 2.57 ERA. At the plate, he hit .471 (8-for-17).

The Bears became only the fourth team to hold the potent the Buccaneers offense to less than two runs this season. The Citadel opened the season by handing ETSU a 4-1 loss. Chris Sale and FGCU shut out ETSU, 10-0, on May 8 and Oregon blanked ETSU, 5-0, six days later. All three schools rank among the top 50 in the RPI.

Mercer, who appeared in the title game each of the first five years of the Atlantic Sun (1979-83), will make only its second visit to the title game since that run. In 1994, the Bears lost to Southeast Louisiana, 11-8 in the final. The win, Mercer’s 16th in its last 19 games pushed the Bears’ win total to 36, matching the 1997 and 1999 squads for the most in the last 29 seasons.

Mercer will face Jacksonville at 6:00 p.m. CT with a chance to win its first A-Sun Baseball Championship since 1983. All the action will be broadcast, free of charge, on ASun.TV.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.