Greenville, S.C. - Using a second three-run inning in the bottom of the seventh, second-seeded Western Carolina grabbed a four-run, 7-3, lead with two frames remaining. However, top-seeded Mercer rallied with six runs over the final two innings to upend the Catamounts, 9-8, on Saturday afternoon to move into the championship game.

WCU (27-29) drops into the losers' bracket and will take on either No. 4 seed Furman or No. 6 seed Samford later Saturday evening (approx. 7:30 pm). The Paladins and Bulldogs opened play at 4:15 pm in an elimination contest. Saturday evening's game can be heard on the Catamount Sports Network with live streaming audio online at CatamountSports.com.

Mercer (38-21) remains unbeaten in SoCon tournament action all-time at 7-0 and advance to Sunday's title game, which will air live on ESPN3 at 1:00 pm.

Mercer scored six runs in the final two innings to overcome the late four-run deficit. After putting up four runs in the eighth to tie the contest at 7, the Bears scored twice in the ninth to take the win. Blaise Lezynski put Mercer ahead for the first time on the day with a two-out single to right to score SoCon Player of the Year Kyle Lewis from third, and Jackson Ware followed with an RBI triple for what would prove to be a crucial insurance run.

The Catamounts didn't go down without a fight, getting consecutive one-out singles and a wild pitch to put runners at second and third in the bottom of the ninth. Kramer Ferrell followed with a fielder's choice that scored Matt Smith, but Bears shortstop Matt Meeder alertly went to third to nail trail runner Danny Bermudez, giving WCU a runner on first with two down instead of a runner in scoring position.

Mercer reliever Austin Lord did the rest, recording the final out on a strike out looking to end the contest.

The ninth-inning dramatics capped an entertaining final three innings of play. The Catamounts got a two-run double from Smith and an RBI single from Ferrell to make it 7-3 in the seventh, but Mercer answered with a 4-spot the following inning. After consecutive walks to Lewis and Charlie Madden to lead off the inning, Ryan Hagan crushed a three-run homer to left on the first pitch he saw.

After a strikeout, Meeder capped a run of three straight hits with an RBI single to tie the game, and Trey Truitt was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. The Bears ran themselves out of a bigger inning, however, as Danny Edgeworth flew out to right and WCU right-fielder Bryce Bowman gunned down pinch-runner Conrad Cornell at the plate for an inning-ending double play with Lewis -- who hit his 20th homer of the season, a three-run shot, in the top of the fifth -- standing in the on-deck circle.

The Catamounts led 4-0 early after Smith's RBI double in the first and Ferrell's two-run single in the third. Garrett Brown also scored on a wild pitch in the third.

Smith continued his torrid pace through the tournament, posting a game-high three hits and three RBIs, while Ferrell finished 2-for-5 with a game-high four RBIs. Sophomore Brett Pope scored three times for the Catamounts, drawing a trio of walks.

Ware and Meeder led the Bears with two hits each, while Lewis and Hagan had three RBIs each. Lewis scored three times.

Lord (5-1) picked up the win after pitching the final two innings, allowing one run on two hits. Dylan Biumi (3-2), after securing the four-inning save on Thursday night in the win over Samford, was saddled with the loss after allowing a pair of unearned runs on two hits in 1 2/3 innings of work.

Catamount starter Taylor Durand was again strong, working into the fifth inning before allowing a base hit to the powerful Mercer lineup. Durand and reliever Korey Anderson both struck out three batters apiece with Anderson tossing a pair of hitless, scoreless innings.