Spartan Baseball Falls To Mercer, 8-4 :: Senior left fielder David Miller paces the Spartans, hitting his second home run of season.

March 9, 2004

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Michigan State baseball suffered an 8-4 setback to Mercer Tuesday, March 9 at the Kennel Club Classic in Jacksonville, Fla.

Spartan freshman right-hander Craig Brookes (0-2) earned his first collegiate start and pitched four innings, allowing five earned runs - all in the first - and 10 hits. Brookes also recorded two strikeouts.

Trailing 5-0, Michigan State (3-4) answered with a run in the bottom of the first. Second baseman E.J. Daws singled to left with one out. After stealing second, Daws scored when Mercer first baseman Andrew Einert lost Scott Koerber's pop-up in the sun.

The Spartans cut the deficit to 5-2 in the second inning when left fielder David Miller blasted the ball over the center-field fence. Miller finished 2-for-4 at the plate, including a double and home run.

Although Mercer (10-12) added a run in the fourth and two runs in the eighth, the five runs scored in the first inning proved to be all it would need for the win.

The Bears' bullpen proved strong in the clutch as Philip Morrison and Mike Narveson threw two scoreless innings each, combining for four strikeouts while allowing only one hit. Starter Adam Bowling (3-2) picked up the win, permitting three earned runs on nine hits in five innings while posting four strikeouts.

Michigan State continued to swing the bats, scoring twice in the fifth inning to pull to within 6-4. Right fielder Travis Gulick opened the stanza with a single and ran to third on a double to left field by Erik Morris. Gulick scored on Koerber's sacrifice fly to center and Morris came home on Miller's double.

Gulick and Morris each went 2-for-5 on the afternoon.

Adam White and Jon Kowalski combined to throw five innings in relief for the Spartans. White surrendered two unearned runs on four hits in 3.2 innings, with four walks and five strikeouts. Kowalski closed the game, pitching the final 1.1 innings while allowing only one hit.

MSU faces Mercer again Wednesday, March 10 at 1 p.m. at Harmon Stadium in Jacksonville before traveling to Tallahassee to face No. 19/21 Florida State in a three-game series March 12-14.