Dawgs fall to Mercer

From UGA Sports Communications

MACON---- Mercer shortstop Matt Meeder delivered an RBI-single in the bottom of the ninth for a 6-5 win over Georgia Tuesday in front of a capacity crowd of 2,417 at OrthoGeorgia Park.

The Bears (4-0) and Bulldogs (1-3) combined to hit six home runs on the evening as the home team fought back from an early 4-1 deficit.  Trailing 4-3 in the seventh, Mercer centerfielder Alex Hanson smacked a two-run home run to give the Bears their first lead. However, the Bulldogs tied it in the eighth on a wild pitch.

After working a quick eighth with a pair of strikeouts, freshman Zac Kristofak issued a leadoff walk to Danny Edgeworth in the ninth. The Bears executed a bunt to move him into scoring position. After an intentional walk, Georgia turned to freshman Aaron Schunk to face Meeder who lined a single to centerfield for the game-winner. Mercer reliever Nick Spear got the win to move his record to 2-0 while Kristofak fell to 0-1.

Georgia got home runs from freshmen Will Proctor and Tucker Maxwell while sophomore catcher Michael Curry hit his second home run of the year, a two-run shot as those swings accounted for four of Georgia’s runs.

Dawg Tracks

*Freshman Will Proctor got the scoring started with his first career home run. Proctor's solo shot came in the 2^nd after Mercer starter Austin Cox had struck out six of the first eight Bulldogs he faced.  In the fifth, freshman Tucker Maxwell notched his first career home run for a 4-1 lead.

*Sophomore Michael Curry blasted his second home run of the year and 13^th of his career for a 3-0 lead in the fourth.

*Senior left-hander Andrew Gist started and tied his career-high with six strikeouts in only 4.2 innings. He did not factor in the decision.

Coach’s Corner

Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Scott Stricklin

On Georgia's performance: 

"I feel bad for the team because they played well tonight and didn't get the win, but when you play on the road, you have to play better than the home team, and Mercer played a little bit better. We'll practice Wednesday and then get ready to go on the road against another quality opponent in Georgia Southern. It will start bouncing our way. We've turned the page from our first two games and we've definitely played better in these last two games."

Up Next

Georgia heads to Statesboro later this week for a three-game series with Ga. Southern  starting Friday at 6:30 p.m. (ESPN3)

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