Saturday, February 26, 2011

WOODSTOCK, Ga. – The Mercer softball team picked up a pair of wins on the first day of the Phyllis Rafter Memorial, defeating Mississippi State and Tennessee State, 6-5 and 6-1 respectively.

The Bears (10-4, 0-0 A-Sun) had eight hits in each of the games and benefited from strong outings from senior pitchers Jenni Holtz and Kari Chambers. The Bears extended their current winning streak to seven and have three more games scheduled over the next two days.

Game one saw the Bears get into a back and forth bout with the SEC's Mississippi St. Bulldogs. The two teams battled until the very end with the Bears prevailing on the arm of Holtz.

Mercer took a quick 1-0 lead when junior Kristin Marko laced a shot down the left field line scoring senior Anna Johnson from second. After that the Bulldogs were able to put three up on the board in the top of the third on the strength of a Courtney Nesbit three-run home run.