GREENVILLE, S.C. – A complete game by
Josh Farmer led the Mercer baseball program (33-24) to an 8-1 victory over No. 8 The Citadel (23-31) at the 2023 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases. The Bears will now face No. 6 UNCG at 7:30 p.m. in an elimination game at Fluor Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bulldogs put two on base in the first, but a double play by the Mercer defense kept The Citadel off the board.
Josh Farmer retired the side in the second, closing the inning with a strikeout.
Mercer loaded the bases in the second frame with singles by
Carter Sanford and
Trevor Austin and a full count walk of
Bradley Frye, but no runs were pushed across.
The third was similar as
Antonio Brown was the first to reach on a walk.
Jozsef Rohrbacher singled through the right side, and A. Brown decided to sprint to third and beat the throw, allowing Rohrbacher to reach second.
Eric Toth recorded his third intentional walk of the tournament to load the bases again, but a double play got the Bulldogs out of the inning.
The breakthrough came in the fourth inning for the Bears. Back-to-back singles by Austin and Cherry allowed Austin to run home on a wild pitch. Hughes extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a single to score Cherry.
A. Brown walked followed by a single from Rohrbacher to load the bases, granting a run to be walked in thanks to Toth. Two of the three runs in the inning were scored with two outs on the board.
It only took six pitches for Farmer to retire the side in the fifth, and he earned his fourth strikeout of the day, catching Anthony Badala looking on an 0-2 count. The Citadel found a rhythm in the sixth, loading the bases with zero outs on the board, but an unassisted double play by Rohrbacher lessened the threat and helped keep the Bulldogs scoreless. Rohrbacher caught a line drive from Thomas Rollauer and stepped on the base to get runner Sawyer Reeves out.
After a single from
Ty Dalley and a four-pitch walk of Hughes, the Bulldogs changed pitchers. A sacrifice bunt from A. Brown advanced both runners to scoring position, allowing Dalley to slide home on a wild pitch. Rohrbacher's third consecutive hit, this time a double down the right field line, scored Hughes. Toth was intentionally walked for the second time of the game and the fourth of the tournament but did not advance before the inning ended.
The Citadel got on the board with a solo home run in the seventh by Noah Mitchell. Farmer added another strikeout and retired the side in the eighth, posting his seventh scoreless frame.
Rohrbacher hit his second double of the game to reach four hits on the day, tying a career high. Toth notched his fourth walk of the day before Sanford reached on an error to load the bases. A sacrifice fly from Austin plated Rohrbacher for an insurance run. After pinch hitter
Max Kops was hit by a pitch, the Bulldogs made a pitching change. On Conner Cummiskey's first pitch to Frye, he doubled to left center scoring Toth and Sanford.
A double play sealed the game for the Bears and secured Farmer's complete game. The redshirt senior earned his sixth win of the season, finishing with six hits, one run, one walk, and five strikeouts. Farmer threw just 96 pitches, facing 33 batters.
NOTES
- Josh Farmer threw his second complete game of the season and the first nine-inning complete game of his career.
- Treyson Hughes is on a 19-game hitting streak and has reached base in 23-straight games.
- Jozsef Rohrbacher has reached base in 19-straight games. His four hits set a new season high and tied a career high.
- Eric Toth was intentionally walked twice. He now has four intentional walks in the tournament. This is the second-straight game where he was intentionally walked twice.
- Three intentional walks in a game are a season high for Mercer (Toth 2, Hughes 1). The Bears have recorded five intentional walks in the tournament.
- Toth's four walks tie a game high for the Bears this season (Bradley Frye, 4/23 at VMI).
SCORING SUMMARY
B4 | Mercer 1, The Citadel 0 Austin scored on a wild pitch.
B4 | Mercer 2, The Citadel 0 Hughes singled to third base, scoring Cherry.
B4 | Mercer 3, The Citadel 0 Toth walked, scoring Hughes.
B6 | Mercer 4, The Citadel 0 Dalley scored on a wild pitch.
B6 | Mercer 5, The Citadel 0 Rohrbacher doubled down the right field line, scoring Hughes.
T7 | Mercer 5, The Citadel 1 Mitchell homered down the left field line.
B8 | Mercer 6, The Citadel 1 Austin flied out to left field, scoring Rohrbacher.
B8 | Mercer 8, The Citadel 1 Frye doubled to left center, scoring Toth and Sanford (unearned).
UP NEXT: Mercer will play No. 6 UNCG in an elimination game at 7:30 p.m. at Fluor Field.
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