Mercer University
Michigan St.
Bears Set to Host Mercer Bears Classic
3/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University softball team will be hosting the Mercer Bears Classic this weekend. The teams participating are the Youngstown State University Penguins, Michigan State Spartans, Alabama A&M Lady Bulldogs, and the host Mercer University Bears.
Mercer University Bears
Mercer is coming off of a five and two road trip through Florida. USF and No. 20 UCF dealt the Bears two losses, while the Bears showed strong performances against Villanova, Central Michigan, Portland State, Western Michigan, and South Dakota. Kirsten Stevens was 4-0 on the road, leading the Mercer defense, while Natalie Shiver, Taylor Miller, and Riley Carter continue to pace the Bears offense.
Alabama A&M enters this weekends contest at 8-10 on the year. The Lady Bulldogs are participating in their third straight tournament, previously taking part in the Sand Dollar Classic and the Tiny Laster HBCU Classic. Alabama A&M is led offensively by Tayia McInnes and Rachel Sanders, both batting .500 heading into the weekend. Jordan Bradley and Anisa Britt have combined for six Lady Bulldog victories.
Michigan State Spartans
The Spartans head to Macon at 12-10 this season. MSU is coming off a two-tournament road trip in the sunshine state at Florida International and UCF, where the Spartans went 4-4. Sarah Gutknecht leads the MSU attack batting .291 on the year. Kristina Zalewski 3.78, Kelly Smith 4.98, and Valerie Kaff have split time in the circle for the Spartans this season over their 22 games.
Youngstown State Penguins
YSU is 6-9 on the year and head to make on a two game win streak. The Penguins spent the past week in South Carolina, where they faced Charleston Southern, The College of Charleston, and South Carolina State, going 2-3 on the trip. Miranda Castiglione and Cali Milkovich have paced the YSU offense, batting .386 and .360 respectively. Caitlyn Minney 3.88, Kayla Haslett 3.94, and Ashley Koziol 5.50 have all seen time in the circle for the Penguins in 2015.
Looking ahead the Bears will host Alabama State on Tuesday, March 17th and Savannah State on Saturday, March 21st in the final two non-conference series of the year.
Stay tuned to MercerBears.com for live stats and boxscores and be sure to follow Mercer softball on social media (Twitter / Facebook / Instagram) to keep up with all things Mercer Softball.
