Macon, Ga. – Friday's Southern Conference softball doubleheader featured tight action throughout as Western Carolina dropped both ends against Mercer as the Bears rallied late in a 4-2 win in the opener before grabbing a 3-2 victory in nine innings to win the day at Sikes Field.
Freshman Courtney Marks and sophomore Maya McPherson led the Catamounts over the two contests with three hits apiece as McPherson doubled twice with three RBIs. Sophomore Lily Bell picked up a pair of hits, including a double. WCU had four others reach the hit column over the two games, including senior Tessa Juett, senior Natalie Henry, junior Rylee Butler who doubled, and sophomore Becka Wonsick.
Game One – Mercer 4, Western Carolina 2
Scoreless through five innings, Western Carolina broke the tie on a two-run ground-rule double off the bat of sophomore Maya McPherson for the 2-0 lead before Mercer responded in the home half of the sixth with a four-run frame to jump back in front and secure the series opener, 4-2.
Lily Bell (2-of-3) and McPherson (2-of-3) both doubled in Friday's opener, with McPherson's double her team-high 11th and Bell posting her eighth two-bagger of the season. Bell picked up her team-high 22nd multi-hit game, while McPherson had her 11th of the year.
Bell doubled down the left field line to open the contest, followed by a Courtney Marks walk, before the Bears were able to record three straight outs to thwart the early threat. Similarly, Mercer put a pair of runners on base in the first inning against game one starter Tessa Juett who worked around the traffic to keep the game scoreless.
Neither team was able to muster a threat in the middle innings as both squads were erased in order in the second and fifth. Mercer had limited traffic in the fourth, which Juett erased without trouble.
In the sixth inning, WCU broke the scoreless tie using a one-out single from Bell and freshman Courtney Marks was followed by a two-run ground-rule double off the bat of McPherson that staked the Catamounts to the 2-0 lead.
Mercer responded, though, in the home half of the frame with hits from its first six batters, including a leadoff homer as four runners crossed home to give the hosts a 4-2 lead. Mercer was able to sit WCU down 1-2-3 in the seventh and secure the two-run series-opening win.
Juett (8-13) suffered the loss for WCU as she tossed her 10th complete game of the season. She went 6.0 innings, allowing seven hits and four runs with a strikeout.
Grace Taylor (2-1) secured the win for Mercer as she went the distance in game one. Taylor allowed five hits and a pair of runs with four strikeouts on the way to the victory.
Game Two – Mercer 3, Western Carolina 2 (9 Innings)
Mercer turned a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth inning into a walk-off sacrifice fly to complete the doubleheader sweep of WCU on Friday with the extra-inning victory, 3-2.
Freshman Courtney Marks (2-for-4) led the offense in game two with her seventh multi-hit game of her debut season. Junior Rylee Butler, sophomore Becka Wonsick, senior Natalie Henry, senior Tessa Juett, and sophomore Maya McPherson all tallied hits, with McPherson and Butler picking up doubles. McPherson also recorde her team-high 42nd RBI in game two to go along with her team-best 12th two-bagger.
The Catamounts struck early in game two with a one-out single from Marks before a double from Butler had a pair of runners in scoring position. McPherson picked up her third RBI of the day with a groundout to the pitcher to give the guests an early 1-0 lead.
Mercer (25-22, 5-8 SoCon) answered in the home half of the second with a leadoff single. After a wild pitch and sacrifice advanced the runner to third, the Bears lined a single back up the middle to even the game at one apiece after two complete.
The Bears claimed their first advantage of game two in the third inning with an RBI single to jump in front 2-1 after three.
WCU wasted no time answering the Mercer offense as Wonsick opened the fourth with a single. Following a stolen base and a groundout that moved her to third, Natalie Henry's sacrifice fly scored Wonsick to even the contest at two apiece.
The offenses were stymied down the stretch in regulation on Friday as Mercer left three and WCU left a pair of runners on between the fifth and seventh innings to send game two to extras. Western Carolina appeared in its third extra-inning game of the season and second in as many SoCon weekends.
Both squads went 1-2-3 in the eighth, and the Catamounts were retired in order in the ninth. In the home half, Mercer used a leadoff bunt single and a stolen base to move the game-winning run to second. A sacrifice bunt pushed the runner to third before a sacrifice fly scored the game winner for the 3-2 win for the Bears.
Amanda Fulton (9-6) suffered the loss after tossing a career-long 8.2 innings, scattering seven hits and three runs with a pair of strikeouts. The Woodstock, Ga. native picked up her team-best 11th complete game in the defeat on Friday night.
Gabby Ellis made the start for the Bears as she went 5.0 innings, allowing a pair of runs on five hits with two strikeouts. Hannah Pitts (7-7) entered in relief and earned the win for Mercer, going the final 4.0 innings and allowing a pair of hits and three strikeouts en route to the victory.
Western Carolina (20-26, 4-10 SoCon) closes its three-game weekend series on Sat., April 19, with a 1 p.m. start against Mercer. Saturday's matchup has live stats coverage provided at CatamountSports.com.
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