MACON, Ga. --- Raygan Hall (Cleveland, Tenn.) made a season-high 13 saves and Amanda Steinmuller (Ellicott, Md.) scored two goals, as Mercer outscored Gardner-Webb by a 7-0 margin in the second half en route to a 15-2 victory in non-conference play on Sunday afternoon.
Mercer (3-3) converted 16-of-18 clearing attempts and scooped up 34 ground balls on the day, while holding Gardner-Webb (0-7) to 13 shots and a 5-of-12 afternoon on clears. The Runnin' Bulldogs recorded 25 ground balls in the contest, and controlled 8-of-18 draws.
Steinmuller paced the Runnin' Bulldogs with her sixth and seventh goals of the season, while tying with Monique Martin (Tyngsborough, Mass.), Lindsey Lippert (Syracuse, N.Y.) and Destiny Mead (Palm Harbor, Fla.) for the team-lead in ground balls with four each. Martin controlled a game-high six draws, as Hall stopped 13 of the 25 shots she faced.
Hannah Blair led the way for Mercer with three goals and one assist, as Lindsey Zeltwanger, Gabby Goldberg, Tori Blakeman and Audrey Allen each added two goals. Zeltwanger dished out a game-high two assists, while Katie Brueske and Marisa Agganis each scooped up four ground balls. Haleigh Wurzel and Michele Holmes combined for nine saves.
Mercer jumped out to an early lead in the first half, scoring four goals in a three-minute span to take a 4-0 advantage at the 22:15 mark. Steinmuller answered for the Runnin' Bulldogs less than a minute later, trimming the margin to 4-1 with her sixth of the season.
After Mercer countered with a pair of strikes, Steinmuller responded with her team-leading seventh goal of the season, cutting the lead to 6-2 on Gardner-Webb's only free position attempt of the day at the 8:11 mark. Mercer would add two goals late in the half to take an 8-2 lead into the break.
The Bears would strike four times in the opening 15 minutes of the second half, pushing the margin to 12-2 before adding a trio of late goals to equal the final score of 15-2.
Gardner-Webb continues its Georgia swing on Tuesday, March 17 when the Runnin' Bulldogs take on Kennesaw State at 4:00 pm.
