The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Mercer
Baseball Falls Short in 6-5 Loss to Mercer
February 27 | Baseball
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Box Score
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Bears snapped a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat the University of Akron baseball team, 6-5, Friday night at Claude Smith Field in the Zips' first game of the 2015 Mercer Baseball Classic.
The Zips (4-3) claimed the game's largest lead after senior infielder Matt LaRocca launched a two-out, three-run homer to left field for a 3-0 Akron lead in the top of the second frame. It was the Zips' third homer on the season, LaRocca's first.
"It was good to see us jump out early on them and to see LaRocca hit a home run with a couple guys on," head coach Rick Rembielak said.
Junior pitcher JT Brubaker made his third start on the mound and held the Bears hitless through the first three innings, fanning four batters in that span to keep Mercer scoreless. He ended his outing after throwing 5.0 innings, allowing six hits and four runs. The righty walked two and struck out five.
"They had a couple good innings against us. They scored two runs in back-to-back innings off a couple bad pitches, which got us in trouble," Rembielak added.
The Bears (6-4) had an answer to LaRocca's homer in the bottom of the fourth, plating two runs on a pair of RBI doubles for a 3-2 game.
In its next inning at the plate, Mercer posted two hits and sent another pair of runs across for their first lead of the game at 4-3.
The Zips countered quickly when senior outfielder Joey Havrilak and junior outfielder Kris Simonton led off the top of the sixth with back-to-back hits. Sophomore infielder Dom Iero and junior infielder Billy Salem followed with RBI singles to again claim a one-run lead at 5-4.
Mercer would knot the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer.
Sophomore reliever Josh Davis (2-1) posted a scoreless seventh to keep the game locked in a tie until a Mercer RBI single put Mercer back on top in the bottom of the eighth. Davis was handed the loss after 2.1 innings on the mound.
Relievers Zach Beaver and Daulton Mosbarger combined to post a pair of outs to end the eighth inning without any further damage. However, the Zips could not push a run across in the top of the ninth.
Offensively, UA and Mercer ended the game tied with 10 hits apiece. Eight different Akron batters combined for the 10-hit effort, led by Iero and senior Matt Rembielak with two hits each.
"Overall, we still competed well but just fell short in a good game," Rembielak said.
The Zips are back in action on Saturday as the 2015 Mercer Baseball Classic continues. They start the day with an 11 a.m. contest against Belmont and will play a second game at 7 p.m. against Notre Dame to conclude the tournament at Claude Smith Field.
