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Petschke Mercer
Chase Cochran | Samford Athletics
5
Winner Samford SAM 33-20, 13-6 SoCon
4
Mercer MER 29-22, 13-6 SoCon
Winner
Samford SAM
33-20, 13-6 SoCon
5
Final
4
Mercer MER
29-22, 13-6 SoCon
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Samford SAM 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 1 5 12 1
Mercer MER 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 4 9 0

W: Cravey, Jacob (9-2) L: Ryan Lobus (5-4) S: Petschke, Ben (12)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball Takes Thursday-Night Thriller at Mercer

MACON, Ga. – The Samford Baseball team picked up a crucial 5-4 series-opening win at Mercer on Thursday evening, setting the Bulldogs up to need just one more win over the Bears to clinch a Southern Conference Regular Season Championship.
 
Freshman infielder Jayden Davis, who extended his program-record hitting streak to 35 games in the win, knocked in the eventual game-winning run in the top of the ninth inning. Garrett Staton led off the inning with a single to left field and advanced to second on a passed ball before being brought home on Davis's hit.
 
"Tonight was an unbelievably well-played game by both sides with so much on the line this weekend," Head Coach Tony David said. "Cravey was incredible again. He was up to 96 mph as late as the sixth inning. I thought both sides pitched great with the wind gusting out to their right field."
 
With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 30-22 overall and 13-6 in SoCon play. Mercer falls to 32-21 and 13-6 in league games.
 
Jacob Cravey (9-2) struck out nine over eight innings of work, with none bigger than his pair of punch outs with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the eighth to escape the inning unscathed.

"What a sequence in the eighth by Cravey to get us out of that bases-loaded jam with huge pitch after pitch," David said. "Then Stat's hit right after to start the ninth. Those were game-changing moments."
 
Ben Petschke (12) logged his SoCon-leading 12th save, striking out a pair in the ninth inning to slam the door shut.
 
Staton led the Bulldogs with three hits on the night and a run scored while Davis and Kaden Dreier each collected two hits. Dreier drove in a team-high two runs with an RBI double in the fourth.
 
Stephen Klein and Josh Rodriguez both drove in a run, with Klein slugging his seventh home run of the season.
 
The Bulldogs broke through for three runs in the top of the fourth, beginning with a solo shot from Klein. Dreier followed up three batters later with an RBI double down the left-field line that plated Garrett Howe and John Anderson, who both singled to set the stage for Dreier.
 
Samford added another run in the top of the sixth in the form of an RBI single by Rodriguez, but Mercer answered by scoring three runs in the bottom half of the inning. A solo shot by Ty Dalley, followed by a two-run blast by Erich Toth, accounted for the damage done in the frame.
 
Mercer tied the contest in the bottom of the seventh on a solo shot by Bradley Frye and looked poised to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth with the bases loaded and one out. Cravey buckled down with his eighth and ninth strikeouts to end his night and leave three Bear baserunners stranded.

"They answered like they always do," David said. "I have a ton of respect for Coach Gibson and what those guys do every year. They always play hard."
 
Mercer got the tying run to third with one out in the bottom of the ninth, but Petschke recorded a huge second out via strikeout before an F-8 ended the night.  
 
"Our guys do what they do though and responded after they tied it up," David said. "Stat got the big hit to lead off the ninth and Jayden came through with the game-winner. Petschke finished it in style. He has been the master of escaping those 'runner at third less than two outs' spots with the game on the line."
 
The Bulldogs and Bears will play game two of their SoCon series on Friday, May 19. First pitch from Macon, Ga. is set for 5:00 p.m. (CST).
 
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS:
For the latest news and information on Samford baseball, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordBaseball (Facebook), @SamfordBaseball (Instagram),and @SamfordBaseball (Twitter).
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