Softball Faces Georgia Tech In Atlanta On Wednesday

ATLANTA – The Mercer University softball team will play its first mid-week doubleheader of the season on Wednesday, March 2, as it squares off with Atlantic Coast Conference foe Georgia Tech at Mewborn Field.

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Dates: Wednesday, March 2, 2016 | 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. EST
Teams: Mercer (4-10) at Georgia Tech (2-9)
Location: Atlanta, Ga. | Mewborn Field
Watch: RamblinWreck.com
Live Stats: MercerBears.com
Twitter Updates: @MercerUSoftball
Instagram Photos: @MercerUSoftball

THE SERIES: The Bears and Yellow Jackets will meet for the fifth and sixth times since 2010 on Wednesday afternoon. The two programs are 2-2 against one another since 2010, with the Bears winning the last two matchups. The Bears claimed 10-9 and 9-1 wins in 2013 for the season sweep. Seniors Natalie Shiver and Kaytlin Haney started in both games as freshmen.

Georgia Tech claimed two wins over Mercer on back-to-back days, March 13-14, 2010, winning 8-2 and 10-5.

SCOUTING GEORGIA TECH: The Yellow Jackets enter the mid-week doubleheader with an overall record of 2-9 through two weeks of regular season play. The ACC foe's only wins came this past weekend, as it started the season with a 0-7 skid.

Georgia Tech is led by sophomore right-handed pitcher Emily Anderson, who has thrown six complete games in nine starts for the Yellow Jackets this season. Anderson is 2-5 in the circle, but features a 2.96 earned-run average and has 42 strikeouts in 49.2 innings pitched.

The Yellow Jackets are hitting a collective .167 at the plate through 11 games, led by Samantha Pierannunzi (.273).

GEORGIA TECH'S LAST TIME OUT: The Yellow Jackets went 2-3 in a trip to the west coast for the UC Santa Barbara Tournament in Santa Barbara, Calif. from Feb. 26-28. Georgia Tech defeated Southern Utah twice (5-1, 2-0) while losing to UC Santa Barbara twice (6-4, 4-0) and South Carolina once (3-1).

MERCER'S LAST TIME OUT: The Bears had their best offensive output of the season in a 10-2 win against Austin Peay, but went 1-4 in the Trojan Warrior Tournament at Troy University in Troy, Ala. from Feb. 26-28. Mercer's losses came against Missouri State (twice), Dayton and Troy.

Led by a 3-for-4 individual performance by Natalie Shiver and home runs by Emma Andrew and Jaya Alaan, Mercer racked up a season-high 14 hits against the Governors on Saturday, Feb. 27 and scored 10 runs for the first time this season.

MERCER FACTS AND FIGURES

INSTANT IMPACT: Despite the Bears returning three of their top four hitters from a season ago, the most consistent bat in the lineup through 14 games has been freshman Megan Lane. The Brooksville, Fla. native has appeared in the lineup at designated player, outfield, second base and pinch hitter, and leads Mercer with a .372 batting average and 16 hits. Lane has been the Bears' No. 3 hitter in 12 of her 13 starts and has a .391 on-base percentage, good for second on the team.

HEATING UP: Taylor Miller takes a five-game hitting streak into Wednesday's doubleheader and is one of many Mercer bats that's gaining momentum at the plate recently. The junior outfielder picked up six hits at the Trojan Warrior Tournament last weekend and improved her batting average to .326 in the process.

Shaila Warren has hit safely in six of seven games and rides a three-game hitting streak as well, while Megan Lane has picked up a hit in seven of the last 10 games, including four of five at the Trojan Warrior Tournament.

Four Bears improved their batting averages to above .300 marks over the course of the five-game weekend. Mercer compiled 44 combined hits in the tournament, seven more than the Bears' previous five-game stretch.

FIVE LOOKS GOOD: Mercer's four wins have come when scoring at least five runs this season. The Bears are 4-2 overall when scoring that many. Through 14 games, Mercer is averaging just under 3.6 runs per game. The two losses when Mercer scored five runs were both 6-5 contests won by Maryland and Miami (Ohio) in the Panther Invitational.

ROLLING INTO MARCH: Mercer has won its March-opener only twice in the last six seasons and will look to improve that figure against the Yellow Jackets on Wednesday.

Overall, March has been a successful month for the Bears, who are a combined 42-22 in the month over the past three seasons. Mercer went 16-5 in March last season, including a 10-game winning streak from March 13-28, 2015. Within the 23 games slated for March this season, the Orange & Black will play 12 home games and open Southern Conference play on Friday, March 25 against Samford at Sikes Field.