“The first game didn't go the way we wanted it, but it showed the resiliency and the toughness of our players.” Head Coach Link Jarrett said, “There's no question that they (Mercer) played the better game in the first one.  (Matt) Frisbee, a freshman, went out there in the second game and competed and got it to (Andrew) Wantz.  Wantz was probably as good or better than he has been all year.  They (Mercer) pitch very well.  They have a good plan, good arms and they executed.  (Dillon) Stewart said that the lefty wasn't going to get him again, and he was right, running that one out of the park.  In games like this, it can take one swing.  When it's a player like Stewart, that one swing has the potential to be the difference in the game, and it was today.  To have to go in after working on the field, and the tarp all day and getting beat in the first game, to come out with a win in the second, shows how tough our kids are.   I'm proud of how our guys played today.  I'm excited that we get to play a winner-take-all one game championship tomorrow.  Our guys are thrilled and it'll be the biggest game that'll be played on this field and we're very excited to have this opportunity.”

In the first game, UNCG had seven hits.  Cesar Trejo (Greensboro, N.C./Ragsdale) finished 2-for-4 with a run scored.  L.J. Kalawaia (Wailuku, Hawai'i/Ohlone College) and an RBI single.  Ben Spitznagel (Cincinnati, Ohio/Wabash Valley CC) added to his team-leading hit total, earning a base knock and scoring a run.

Dillon Stewart (Dunn, N.C./Brunswick CC), Ryne Sigmon (Danville, Va./Danville CC) and Jake Kusz (Durham, N.C./Riverside) all had a hit in the first game.

Hunter Smith (Whiteville, N.C./Whiteville) (6-4) started and picked up the loss.  Smith worked 5.0 innings, allowing eight hits and six earned runs.  Bryce Hensley (Asheville, N.C./Catawba Valley CC) worked 3.0 innings, surrendering four hits and a pair of earned runs. Ben Kerner (Cary, N.C./Brunswick CC) worked the ninth inning, tossing a shutout frame and striking out two hitters. 

In the nightcap, the Spartans managed just two hits, but none were bigger than a solo home run from Stewart in the bottom of the fourth inning.  Trejo added a single.

On the mound, Matt Frisbee (Candler, N.C./Enka) (5-3) earned the win.  The freshman threw 6.1 innings, allowed five hits, and struck out five batters. Andrew Wantz (Holly Springs, N.C./Holly Springs) came on in the top of the seventh and surrendered just one hit, and struck out six of the nine batters he faced to earn his fifth save of the season and give the Spartans a chance at a one-game championship tomorrow afternoon. 

Mercer broke open a scoreless first game in the top of the fourth inning.  After a walk, a single and a hit by pitch loaded the bases, Jackson Ware doubled to right field to plate two.  Trey Truitt followed with a single down the right field line to plate a pair and give the Bears a 4-0 lead.

Ware struck again in the top of the fifth inning, connecting for a bases loaded single to score two runs and put Mercer up 6-0. 

The Bears tacked on two more runs in the top of the sixth on a Ryan Hagan double to right center to extend the lead to 8-0. 

UNCG cut into the Bear lead in the bottom of the sixth inning.  Singles from Spitznagel and Trejo put runners on the corners.  Kalawaia delivered the first UNCG run of the game, singling through the right side.  Trejo later scored on a double play to cut the lead to 8-2 Mercer. 

In the nightcap, the Spartans took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning when Stewart launched his team-leading 12^th home run over the left field wall and proved to be the difference as neither team was able to score again.

UNCG and Mercer will take part in a winner-take-all matchup in the final game of the regular season tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 p.m., with Senior Day recognition at 2:45 p.m.

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