Austin Horn scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning Tuesday to give Mercer County a 4-3 victory over Collins at Harrodsburg.
The Titans won after rallying from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game in the sixth inning.
J.T. Long pitched six shutout innings in relief for Mercer (6-5), and the Titans’ offense had 12 hits, though they didn’t get on the scoreboard until the fifth.
“J.T. was lights out ... and we finally came out and swung the bats against good pitching,” Shope said. “It was a good win for us against a good baseball team.”
Mercer prevailed in a game that was delayed three times due to lightning for a total of about 90 minutes after Horn drew a leadoff walk in the 10th, stole second base and was bunted to third by Long before scoring on Zach Wiley’s wild pitch.
A two-run home run by Austin Perry gave Collins (7-2) a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning before Mercer’s offense got going.
The Titans scored in the fifth on an RBI single by John Banks and tied the game in the sixth when Luke Bosse doubled and Horn singled to open the inning, Long hit a sacrifice fly and Alex Guay had an RBI single.
Seth Heath went 4 for 5 at the plate for Mercer, while Bosse and Guay had two hits each.
Long struck out nine batters, allowing three hits and walk. Starter John Ingram allowed three runs on four hits in four innings.
Mercer County 000 012 000 1 — 4 12 1
Collins 001 200 000 0 — 3 7 3
Ingram, Long (5) and Guay. Perry, Johnson (6), Wiley (8) and Roberts. 2B—Bosse (MC), Banks (MC). HR—Perry (C).
The Titans won after rallying from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game in the sixth inning.
J.T. Long pitched six shutout innings in relief for Mercer (6-5), and the Titans’ offense had 12 hits, though they didn’t get on the scoreboard until the fifth.
“J.T. was lights out ... and we finally came out and swung the bats against good pitching,” Shope said. “It was a good win for us against a good baseball team.”
Mercer prevailed in a game that was delayed three times due to lightning for a total of about 90 minutes after Horn drew a leadoff walk in the 10th, stole second base and was bunted to third by Long before scoring on Zach Wiley’s wild pitch.
A two-run home run by Austin Perry gave Collins (7-2) a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning before Mercer’s offense got going.
The Titans scored in the fifth on an RBI single by John Banks and tied the game in the sixth when Luke Bosse doubled and Horn singled to open the inning, Long hit a sacrifice fly and Alex Guay had an RBI single.
Seth Heath went 4 for 5 at the plate for Mercer, while Bosse and Guay had two hits each.
Long struck out nine batters, allowing three hits and walk. Starter John Ingram allowed three runs on four hits in four innings.
Mercer County 000 012 000 1 — 4 12 1
Collins 001 200 000 0 — 3 7 3
Ingram, Long (5) and Guay. Perry, Johnson (6), Wiley (8) and Roberts. 2B—Bosse (MC), Banks (MC). HR—Perry (C).
