Bears Open Up A-Sun Tournament On Wednesday
5/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
CLICK HERE for the tournament bracket
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After winning seven out of their last 10 to finish out the regular season, the Mercer softball team is primed to make a late run in the Atlantic Sun Tournament, which begins on Wednesday.
The No. 5 Bears (30-22, 10-10 A-Sun) kick off the double-elimination tournament playing in the first game of the series against the No. 4 seed Campbell Camels (30-26, 11-9 A-Sun)at 2 p.m. tomorrow. This is the fourth time in Mercer head coach Mike Raynor's five years in Macon that the team has qualified for the conference tournament.
The last time the Bears played in the tournament was back in 2009, when Mercer won two games and squared off against this same Campbell team in the championship game. The Camels were able to pull out the close 1-0 victory that qualified them for an automatic trip to an NCAA regional.
This year the Bears are looking to continue their late-season rally and push for their first-ever A-Sun championship. After staring out A-Sun conference play at 1-6, the Orange and Black have battled back and won nine of their last 13 conference games, and outscored their opponents 36-19 in that stretch.
LAST TIME OUT
AT PRESBYTERIAN - May 8 - W, 2-1 (game 1); W, 6-0 (game 2)
CLINTON, S.C. – With the Atlantic Sun Tournament bracket already solidified, the Mercer softball team made its final preparations for postseason play on Sunday by sweeping Presbyterian College, 2-1 and 6-0 and ended the 2011 regular season.
Mercer continued their impressive late-season stretch on Sunday, finishing out the 2011 regular season having won seven out of their last 10. The victories also moved the Bears overall record to 30-22(10-10 A-Sun) on the year, marking the third season in the last five in which the team has amassed at least 30 victories.
Mercer combined for 14 hits in the two games and was equally impressive inside the circle, allowing just one run and eight hits on the day.
SCOUTING THE CAMELS
The Camels earned the fourth seed by finishing the regular season at 11-9 in the A-Sun. Campbell took the season series from the Bears with a pair of wins (3-2, 6-3) in Buies Creek, N.C. The Bears are also 0-4 all-time against the Camels in the A-Sun Tournament.
Coming into Wednesday, the Camels are led by Amanda Miller who is batting .323, with a team-high 36 RBI on 51 hits. Miller also leads the A-Sun with five triples on the year. Lauren Stephan is the only other player on the team to have over 30 RBI this season as she has brought home 34 with 12 home runs and a .286 batting average.
Inside the circle, the Camels maintain the ninth best pitching staff in the A-Sun with a 3.20 overall ERA. Katie Woodcock leads the team with a 2.07 ERA and an 11-5 overall record. Woodcock has thrown 128.1 innings this season and opponents are averaging .255 against her this season.
QUICK HITS
- Mercer is 19-34 all-time in the Atlantic Sun Tournament and is 4-6 under current head coach Mike Raynor.
