Bears Head to Nashville With Tournament Hopes Alive
4/20/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MACON, Ga. – With just 10 games remaining in the 2011 regular season, the Mercer softball team heads to Nashville, Tenn. this Thursday and Friday looking to remain as one of the top six teams in the Atlantic Sun.
The Bears will start off against Belmont on Thursday evening and then head across town to Lipscomb on Friday afternoon. Mercer holds a slight 1.5 game lead over North Florida for the sixth and final tournament position – as Florida Gulf Coast is ineligible because of NCAA reclassification – in the A-Sun.
LAST TIME OUT
AGAINTST GEORGIA ST. - April 19 - W, 8-2 (game 1); L, 3-2 (game 2)
MACON, Ga. – Mercer softball's hopes for a non-conference sweep against in-state rival Georgia St. fell just short on Tuesday night as the team dropped game two by a narrow 3-2 margin after winning game one 8-2.
The Bears (24-20, 6-8 A-Sun) scattered 19 hits in the two games, but couldn't come up with a clutch hit late in the second game to secure the sweep. The game-two loss moved the Bears to 4-7 in one-run games this season.
In fact, MU has failed to win this season (0-15) when they score two or fewer runs in a game. That stat held true in game two as the Bears were only able to plate two runs in an attempt for the come-from-behind victory.
SCOUTING THE BRUINS
The Bruins come into this Thursday's games having lost seven of their last nine and currently sit in tenth position in the A-Sun with a 3-11 conference record. Mercer holds a 17-8 advantage in the overall series against the Bruins and split the season series last year in Macon.
This season, the Bruins are led by Becca Gift who is batting .284, with 33 hits and seven RBI. Ashley Byers leads the team with 28 RBI this year and is just one of two players on the Bruins roster with double-digit RBI.
Inside the circle, Belmont has struggled to find its groove as Devon Schmidt, the team's leader in innings pitched, is just 8-16 with a 3.22 ERA. Schmidt has struck out 124 batter this season, but has also let up 104 runs in 38 appearances. Her 161 innings pitched is more than the four other pitchers on the Bruins staff combined. As a team, Belmont carries a 5.10 ERA, which is second to last in the A-Sun.
SCOUTING THE LADY BISONS
The Lady Bisons dominance over the A-Sun has wavered just a bit in 2011 and come into Friday's game in second place with a 10-4 overall conference record. The Bears accounted for one of two conference losses by the Lady Bisons last season, splitting the season series in Macon. The Bears lead in the all-time series against Lipscomb, 8-7.
Lipscomb comes in batting only .240 in the A-Sun and Caroline Mason leads the team with a .318 average. Mason's eight home runs is tied for first on the team and she third with 19 RBI. Following Mason, is Mollie Mitchell who leads the team with 35 RBI in 2011.
The Lady Bisons pitching staff is third in the A-Sun and features a highly-capable pitcher in Whitney Kiihnl. Kiihnl is coming off a record setting season in 2010 where she maintained a 0.95 ERA and 35-5. This season, Kiihnl has come back to Earth and has a 1.80 ERA and is 16-9 overall.
