Thursday, May 26, 2011

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Justice French pitched himself out of several jams as fourth-seeded Mercer outlasted No. 2 seed Jacksonville 2-1 in the nightcap of the second day of the 2011 Atlantic Sun Baseball Championship on Thursday at Lipscomb’s Dugan Field.

The Bears have won three-straight tournament games against Jacksonville as they defeated the Dolphins twice last year to win the championship. Mercer (38-18) is trying to become the first repeat champion since Stetson accomplished the feat in 2005-06.

French, a senior right-hander, gave up nine hits, two walks but allowed just one earned run in 6.1 innings. He delivered five strikeouts and stranded 10 Jacksonville baserunners, including leaving the bases loaded twice.

Jacksonville (35-21) broke up a scoreless game when Atlantic Sun Player of the Year Adam Brett Walker cranked a home run over the left-field wall to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning. The Dolphins proceeded to load the bases with two outs, but French left them standing when he induced a fly out from Taylor Ratliff. French also worked out of a similar jam in the fifth. He induced two groundouts to second to start the inning but then gave up three straight singles. However, French forced pinch-hitter Colin Monagle to pop up to third baseman Jacob Tanis in foul territory.

Mercer, which also stranded 10 baserunners, went ahead in the sixth inning thanks to some help from Jacksonville. With runners on first and second and one out, Dolphins relief pitcher Chris Kaminski threw a wild pitch allowing both runners to advance a base. A throwing error from the catcher allowed Thomas Carroll to score from third and Barrett to move to third. He later scored on D.J. Johnson’s single through the left side of the infield.

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Read the Atlantic Sun Insider Column: French Refuses to Surrender in Latest Gutty Win

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While French improved to 6-2, J.T. Odom picked up his second save in as many days. Like on Wednesday, the Mercer closer entered in the seventh inning. With one out and a runner on first, he induced a double-play ball to shortstop Evan Boyd. He put down all seven batters he faced to record his seventh save. In the two tournament games, he has pitched five innings of no-hit ball with seven strikeouts.

On the other side, Jacksonville starter Tony Mollica fell to 3-4 though he allowed just two runs on two hits with four strikeouts in five innings. He walked five batters and in the sixth he let two runners get on with no outs as he was pulled for Kaminski.

Mercer advances to play sixth-seeded Belmont at 11 a.m. on Friday. The winner will advance to the championship round on Saturday. Jacksonville falls into an elimination game against Stetson at 3 p.m. on Friday.

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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.