MACON, Ga. (Interstat) — Mercer rallied from a four-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday, with Chris Katz hitting a go-ahead grand slam and Eli Stephens following with a walk-off homer, to defeat Georgia Southern 10-9 at Claude Smith Field.

The Bears improved to 33-12, while the Eagles fell to 13-32.

Georgia Southern pounced early, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning. After an Edwards single, Chris (Brady Christman) launched a two-run homer to left center. The Eagles added two more in the second on a Jamie RBI single and a Myers (Jack Myers) run-scoring hit, building a 5-0 lead. Mercer answered in the bottom half with a Katz two-run double and a Baughcum walk, cutting the deficit to 5-3.

The Eagles extended the lead in the third. Christman doubled in McCoy, and Jamie singled home Christman. Georgia Southern padded its advantage to 8-3 in the fifth when Christman tripled and scored on a Trammell groundout, and Myers singled home White.

Mercer chipped away in the sixth. With the bases loaded and two outs, Graziano singled to left, scoring two runs to make the score 8-5. The Eagles added a run in the top of the ninth on a White RBI single, and Myers doubled in two more to push the lead to 9-5.

The Bears mounted their final comeback in the bottom of the ninth. Johnson led off with a single, and Graziano walked. After a pitching change, Shepherd walked to load the bases. Katz then homered to left center, driving in four runs to tie the game at 9-9. Stephens followed by hitting a walk-off homer to deep right field.

Katz finished 2 for 4 with a home run and six RBIs. Christman recorded a perfect 4 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs. Myers was 3 for 5 with three RBIs. For Mercer, Jess Ackerman earned the win in relief, pitching two scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Lawson Cole tossed 1.1 scoreless innings. Ethan Garrett took the loss for Georgia Southern, allowing two runs in 2.1 innings.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Mercer 7-0, and the ELO system gave the Bears a 64.30 percent probability to win.