MACON, Ga.- Fiver Mercer pitcher held Savannah State to just three hits as the Bears defeated SSU 5-1 at Claude Smith Field.

Nick Backlund and Jamie McMillan hit RBI singles for Mercer (18-12) in the first inning for a 2-0 lead.

In the top of the fifth, Savannah State got on the board as Julius Green was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Green went to third on a groundout by Matt Oglesby and came home on a ground out by Ian Ferras to make the score 2-1.

The Bears answered in the bottom of the inning as Backlund hit a three-run home run for a 5-1 lead.

Lightning strikes in the area started in the bottom of the sixth inning which forced a game delay. More than 90 minutes later both umpires and head coaches decided to call the game since it was already past the five inning official result limit.

Todd Hagen had two singles for the Tigers (11-18) in a losing effort. Oglesby took the loss on the mound, giving up five runs and six hits.

Backlund went 3-for-3 for Mercer and had four RBIs. Dimitri Kourtis earned the win although he gave up one run in two innings of work.