Baylor School junior Hunter Mercer has committed to continue his baseball career at NCAA Division I member Troy (Ala.) University. He also has been recruited by Lipscomb, among others. Mercer has been in the Chattanooga Cyclones club organization since age 13 and has been among the Cyclones’ leading hitters in his age group every year. He batted .350 with 19 runs and a team-high 25 RBIs in the 2013 fall season for the Cyclones K team, which used wooden bats exclusively, and played outfield and third base. He plays third and pitches for Baylor and posted four wins last year, and he has a 3.4 grade point average. Former Cyclones T.J. Binder and Lee Gibson already are at Troy, and Ooltewah senior Brody Binder has signed with the Trojans. “Hunter Mercer is one of the most dedicated and hard-working players I have had the privilege to work with in the 21 years we have had the organization,” Cyclones general manager George Koontz said. “Hunter was blessed with good hand-eye coordination and bat speed, but in every other respect he has made himself into a D-I scholarship player through relentless hard work.”
• Jay Rhoten had a first-inning grand slam and two other hits and Ryan Whitt had five hits as Chattanooga State won 17-7 over Roane State in the delayed opener of their TCCAA baseball series Sunday. Brandon Day also had three hits and Zach Thompson earned his fourth pitching win of the season.
• Bobby Gazzola pitched a five-hitter and Matt Kaiser was 2-for-4 with both RBIs as first-place Reinhardt won 2-0 in Appalachian Athletic Conference baseball Monday at Bryan. That was after Blake Marbut and two relief pitchers allowed only three hits in a 6-2 win for the visitors (26-13, 11-4). Kevin Roberts’ two-run homer was the extent of the offense for the Lions (22-16, 8-7).
Softball
• The nationally seventh-ranked Chattanooga State softball team improved to 35-5 overall and 20-4 in the TCCAA by winning 24-1 and 11-3 in five innings Monday at Southwest Tennessee. Dana Horgan was 5-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs in the first game, when Baylee Williams was 4-for-4 with a grand slam, a three-run homer, two doubles and eight RBIs, Katy Richardson was 3-for-4 with a homer, a double and four RBIs, Emily Dagnan was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer, Khadija Neely was 4-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs and Courtney Crawford was 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Hanna Manley (8-1) was the winning pitcher. Sharlene Godoy was the second-game winner, while Izzy McCurry was 4-for-4 with two homers and five RBIs and Horgan and Cassidy Howren each was 4-for-5. Williams was 2-for-4.