Mercer is 1-9 against Wilmington since April of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Mustangs will challenge the Greyhounds at 4:30 p.m. Mercer is coming into the match hot, having won their last six games.
Mercer gave up the first runs on Wednesday, but they didn't let that get them down. They put the hurt on Laurel with a sharp 10-4 win. The Mustangs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four games by six runs or more this season.
Mercer got a big performance out of Cole Fisher, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. Parker Puskar was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run.
Mercer was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .385. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Laurel only posted a batting average of .192.
Meanwhile, Wilmington hadn't done well against Slippery Rock recently (they were 0-3 in their previous three matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Monday. The Greyhounds came out on top against the Rockets by a score of 7-3. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Greyhounds.
Tristen Jones tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits over five innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Wilmington is 4-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 3-7 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Danny Leonard was excellent, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs and one double. That's the most runs he has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Owen Bauer, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run.
Mercer's victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-3. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.0 runs over those games. As for Wilmington, their record now sits at 7-8.
Mercer couldn't quite get it done against Wilmington when the teams last played back in April as they fell 6-3. Can the Mustangs avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
