Bears Set for Non-Conference Tilt Against In-State Rival Georgia St.
4/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MACON, Ga. – Holding on to the sixth and final Atlantic Sun Tournament spot currently, the Mercer softball team will take another short break from conference play as the team hosts in-state Georgia State for a 4 p.m. doubleheader at Sikes Field.
The Bears are coming off a 2-2 weekend of A-Sun action, sweeping ETSU on Friday before being swept by USC Upstate on Saturday. But MU still finds itself in a favorable position to secure one of the six spots for the conference tournament.
LAST TIME OUT
MACON, Ga. - April 16 - L, 3-1 (game 1); L, 5-2 (game 2)
MACON, Ga. – A day after sweeping ETSU at home, the Mercer softball team were swept themselves on Senior Day by the visiting USC Upstate Spartans, 3-1 and 5-2 on Saturday at Sikes Field.
The two losses push the Bears (23-19, 6-8 A-Sun) back under .500 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. With six games left in league play, Mercer will look to make a push in order to lock down one of six spots in the A-Sun tournament.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
The Panthers (27-17, 11-1 CAA) come into Tuesday's games having won 11 of their last 12 games, with their one loss coming at the hands of fellow A-Sun rival Kennesaw St. GSU is 11-1 in the Colonial Athletic Conference and holds 50-15 advantage in the overall series against the Bears. Last season, Mercer was swept by the Panthers, 3-2 and 8-5, and both were come-from-behind wins for the Panthers.
This season, the Panthers are led by Paige Nowacki, who is batting .328 with 23 RBI on 40 hits. Lauren Jones leads the team with 31 RBI this year. As a team, the Panthers are batting .255 and have scored 173 total runs. Comparatively speaking, Mercer is batting .271 with 184 runs scored in 2011.
Inside the circle, Georgia St. has four talented pitchers on which to rely. McCall Langford has recorded the most wins of the group with a 10-8 overall record. Langford along with Kaitlyn Medlam both hold ERA's lower than 2.00 at 1.68 and 1.70, respectively. Medlam is 9-1 with two complete game shutouts and three saves. The quartet is keeping opposing batters at bay with a combined .245 batting average in 2011.
