Mercer University
Florida A&M
Mercer Set for Mid-Week Games with Florida A&M and Savannah State
3/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer baseball team looks to bounce back after a tough weekend as it prepares to play Florida A&M and Savannah State in a pair of mid-week non-conference tilts.
Monday evening's game against Florida A&M is at 6 p.m. at Claude Smith Field while Tuesday night's contest against Savannah State is set for a 5 p.m. first pitch at Grayson Stadium in Savannah.
Last Time Out
DELAND, Fla. – The Stetson Hatters scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to hand the Mercer baseball team yet another heartbreaking 3-2 loss on Sunday afternoon at Melching Field.
The win for Stetson (16-4, 5-1 A-Sun) secured the series sweep for the Hatters and was its third straight one-run victory over Mercer (14-8, 4-5 A-Sun) in as many days.
Senior Justice French had a solid outing for Mercer going 6.2 innings and allowing just one unearned run on eight hits to go along with one strikeout.
Juniors Billy Burns and Jacob Tanis and freshman Derrick Workman each tallied two hits apiece in the loss.
Scouting the Opposition
This will be the fourth and final meeting this season between Mercer and Florida A&M, with the Bears winning the first three games of the season series by a combined 48-8 margin. Mercer won game one 19-6, game two 5-1 and game three by a 24-1 margin. The Rattlers come into Monday's action at 8-15 overall after dropping two-of-three against Jackson State in Tallahassee this past weekend.
Tuesday's game with Savannah State is the first of two meetings between the schools this season. Mercer leads the all-time series against the Tigers 16-11, but is 0-4 against Savannah State in Savannah since the series began back in 1997. The Tigers enter play on Tuesday with a 12-9 overall record after taking two-out-of-three against Coppin State this past weekend. Sophomore Joseph McCrary paces Savannah State offensively with a .333 average, 25 hits and three triples.
Quick Hits
- Several Bears are coming up on some impressive career milestones. Senior Thomas Carroll is just three hits away from 200 for his career, junior Billy Burns is one steal away from 50 for his career and junior Jacob Tanis is only three home runs away for 40 in his career in the Orange and Black.
- Over the last six games, the Mercer pitching staff has allowed just 21 earned runs for a 3.24 ERA. Overall, Mercer ranks second in the A-Sun with a 3.13 ERA in 2011.
