MACON, Ga. - Kennesaw State (25-21, 15-8 Atlantic Sun) fell to in-state foe Mercer (26-22, 5-9 SoCON), 13-7, Tuesday night inside OrthoGeorgia Park.
Isaac Bouton mashed his 11th home run of 2024 and is now tied for the 10th-most in a single-season in Kennesaw State Division I history.
Tanner Franklin got the start and pitched 2.0 frames allowing no hits or earned runs while striking out four of the seven batters he faced.
Hudson Mimbs and
Jackson Chirello led KSU with two hits in the midweek contest.
Mimbs led off the third with a walk then advanced to second on a balk by the Mercer pitcher. A bunt from
Cooper Williams moved Mimbs to third with none out.
Shamaar McDuffie sent the first pitch he saw Tuesday to deep right to score Mimbs on a sac fly. After
Chris Cole reached on an error by Mercer,
Brayden Eidson ripped a double to the right field corner to score Cole from first.
With two outs, Bouton launched his 11th homer of the season for an oppo-taco shot to give KSU a 4-0 lead after three. Mercer added one in the fourth to cut into the Owl lead, 4-1.
In the fifth inning, Chirello sent a 2-2 pitch through the left side to score Cole and put the Owls up by four again, 5-1. With Chirello and Bouton on and two outs in the inning, Mimbs sent a ball to shallow left center to clear the bases and extend the Owl advantage, 7-1. Mercer took the lead, 13-7, by the end of the eighth and held on for the win.
UP NEXT
The Owls road trip rolls on for three games against the Jacksonville Dolphins beginning Friday, May 10.
KSU returns to The Shake Tuesday, May 14 for a midweek battle with future CUSA foe Jacksonville State on ESPN+. Fans can purchase ticketsÂ
here.
