Mercer University
Presbyterian
Bears On Road To Wrap Up 2011 Regular Season
5/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer softball team has one final tune-up before the Atlantic Sun Tournament begins as the team wraps up its 2011 regular season tomorrow at non-conference foe Presbyterian.
The Bears (28-22, 10-10 A-Sun) finished out their conference portion of the season last weekend with a doubleheader sweep of Kennesaw St. and secured the fifth seed in the upcoming Atlantic Sun Tournament.
The Bears will have an opportunity to finish the year with 30 wins if they can pull off the sweep against the Blue Hose. It will be the third time in head coach Mike Raynor's five-year career that the team will have reached 30 wins in a season.
LAST TIME OUT
Against KENNESAW ST. - April 30 - W, 2-1 (game 1); W, 1-0 (game 2)
MACON, Ga. – Mercer pitchers Kassie Bailey, Jenni Holtz and Kari Chambers allowed just eight hits in two games as the Mercer softball team swept Kennesaw State Saturday afternoon at Sikes Field. The Bears captured 2-1 and 1-0 victories, clinching a berth in the upcoming conference tournament.
With the wins, Mercer improved to 28-22 (10-10 A-Sun) while Kennesaw State dropped to 28-25 (10-10 A-Sun). Mercer's pair of victories slotted the team as the fifth seed in the conference tournament, set for May 11-14 in Spartanburg, S.C.
SCOUTING THE BLUE HOSE
The Blue Hose currently sit in fourth position in the Big South with a 10-8 conference record. Presbyterian is 28-16-1 overall and have won four out of their last five heading into tomorrow's game.
This season, the Blue Hose are led by senior Tera Powell who is batting .331, with a team-high 50 hits but just three RBI. Codee Yeske leads the team with 28 RBI and is second with six home runs. Overall, the team is second in the Big South with a .265 combined batting average, but also has the lowest season total for hits with 306 in 2011.
Inside the circle, the Blue Hose are led by Leslie Hensley. Hensley is second among individual performers in the Big South with a 1.19 ERA and a 18-10 overall record. She has thrown 19 complete games and had five shutouts to complement 107 strikeouts. Behind Hensley, is another 10-game winner in Brittany Howell. Howell has a 2.66 ERA with a 10-5 record in 22 appearances in 2011.
