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5/8/2009 - SOFTBALL
Bears Long Bats Propel Mercer to Championship Game
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DeLAND, Fla. - Mercer's offense exploded with 10 runs on 15 hits to eliminate the Lipscomb Lady Bisons, 10-4 in the final game of day two of the 2009 Atlantic Sun Softball Championship presented by Holiday Inn Express. Mercer now faces No. 1 Campbell in the Championship game tomorrow at 5:00 p.m.
Mercer advances to title game for the first time since 1989. This is the highest combined scoring game of the tournament by six runs - Lipscomb defeated Stetson, 6-2. Mercer’s 15 hits are the most Lipscomb gave up all season long. The last time any team scored 10 runs in a tournament game was May 12, 2006 when Stetson beat FAU, 11-3.
Trailing, 4-2, in the top of the third inning, Mercer's Sara Stukes and Jena Ellis singled to put two Bears in place to score. Catcher Emi Sherrill smashed the ball the left field to put the Bears up, 5-4.
Mercer continued its hot streak in the fifth inning with a first-pitch center field homer from Stukes. Ellis stepped up to the plate and fired a double to right center. Sherrill followed with a single to left field, and on a Lipscomb fielding error Ellis made a trip around the bases.
After two singles from Mercer hitters, Oglesbee made it home on another Ellis hit to the right side. With three ducks on the pond, Neilson's single brought in Page Raynor. With the bases still loaded, Whitney Kiihnl walked Jenny Goodman to bring in Stukes for the 10-4 win.
Fresh off playing seven innings against Stetson, the Lady Bisons stepped out front early putting up three runs. Mercer pitcher Lacey Richardson walked Lauren Dortwegt, and then Courtney Billington used a sacrifice bunt to advance Dortwegt to second. Kellie Sirus stepped up with a singled to right field to move Dortwegt to third. Abby Keese reached base with a bat to the pitcher bringing in Dortwegt to put Lipscomb ahead, 1-0.
The hitting continued as Mollie Mitchell singled through the left side to move the runners to second and third. After a pitching change, Jenni Holtz gave up a hit to Christen Campbell to send Keese and Sirus home, adding two more runs to the board. Unfourtunately that would be the end of the Lady Bisons runs.
In the second inning, Mercer got its bats going as Emi Sherrill singled up the middle before Cassy Neilson homered bringing in two, for a 3-2 score. Lipscomb came in fired up with a successful bunt from Dortwegt to put a runner on. The Lady Bisons' third baseman, Sirus stepped up and fired a long ball to the right center fence to hit her first triple of the season and send Dortwegt in for the run.
Holtz picked up the win improving to a 23-9 record. She tossed 95 pitches, surrendered eight hits and fanned six batters. Christen Campbell received the loss taking her record 11-1, tossing 42 pitches in 2.1 innings giving up seven hits on 15 batters.
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.
