Bears Prep For A-Sun Weekend Series; Senior Day
4/14/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MACON, Ga. – After taking a short break from Atlantic Sun Conference play, the Mercer softball team will be back in action this Friday and Saturday hosting East Tennesse St. and USC Upstate at Sikes Field.
Half way through the A-Sun schedule, if play ended today, the Bears (21-17, 4-6) would be the sixth and final team to make the A-Sun tournament (as Florida Gulf Coast is still not eligible for postseason play). However, three weeks remain in the 2011 season and the Bears still have much to accomplish in order to be one of those six teams to make the cut.
Mercer is coming off doubleheaders against stiff competition the past two weeks, including series against Auburn and Florida St. The Orange and Black played each of the schools tough and pulled out a win against No. 22 Auburn last week.
The coming weekend will give the Bears a much clearer indication of their postseason aspirations with four A-Sun games on deck. Friday the Bears play host to ETSU with a doubleheader scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Saturday is Mercer's Senior Day and USC Upstate will travel to Macon for a 2 p.m. first pitch. Six seniors will be honored before the games against the Spartans.
LAST TIME OUT
AT FLORIDA ST. - April 12 - L, 5-4 (game 1); L, 3-0 (game 2)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Mercer softball senior pitcher Jenni Holtz put another notch in her historic career on Tuesday night as the Bears dropped a non-conference double header at Florida St. by scores of 5-4 and 3-0.
Holtz, who holds team records in just about every major statistical category, became the first player in program history to reach 900 strikeouts for her career. She is also just the third player in Atlantic Sun Conference history to reach the milestone.
SCOUTING THE BUCCANEERS
The Buccaneers come into this Friday's games having lost seven of their last eight and currently sit in ninth(8th without factoring in FGCU) position in the A-Sun with a 3-9 conference record. Mercer holds a slight 6-5 advantage in the overall series against the Buccaneers. Last season the Bears were swept by the Buccaneers in Johnson City, Tenn.
This season, the Buccaneers are by senior Katie Henderson who is batting .358, with 22 RBI on 39 hits. Jackie Baird leads the team with 24 RBI this year and is tied for the team-lead with four home runs.
Inside the circle, ETSU has been pitching by committee with three players splitting time. Jessica Duncan has recorded the most wins of the group with a 7-10 overall record. The trio has a combined 5.16 ERA in 2011 and opponents are batting .291 against them this season.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
The Spartans began the 2011 season in impressive fashion by going 25-0 start. Since then they have gone 6-10 and find themselves at .500 in conference play(6-6). The Bears trail in the all-time series against Upstate, 2-6, but were able to take one of two in Spartanburg, S.C. last season.
Jana Lewis leads the team and is second in the A-Sun with a .381 average. Lewis' 13 doubles are second best in the conference as well. She is backed up by the A-Sun, third best run scorer in Katie Zauner. Zauner has 36 RBI this season to go along with a .366 batting average. Her 48 hits are best on the team and third in the A-Sun.
The Spartans pitching staff is highlighted by senior pitcher Morgan Childers. Childers recently became the conference's all-time leader in wins and has 21 complete games to her credit this season. She maintains a 1.46 ERA and leads the conference in wins(24), strikeouts(303), and shutouts(9).
