Softball Hosts Furman On Family Weekend, Senior Day

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University Softball team will host Furman in its final homestand of the 2016 season this weekend, with first pitch coming at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 30. It's Family Weekend/Senior Day at Sikes Field as well, and the Bears will honor a pair of seniors prior to the series finale on Sunday, May 1.

SERIES HISTORY
Mercer and Furman will meet for the 16th, 17th and 18th times in an all-time series the Bears lead 11-4. The Bears are 5-1 against the Paladins in head coach James DeFeo's five-year tenure, including a 3-1 mark last season. Following a series win in Greenville, S.C. on April 3-4, 2015, Mercer defeated Furman 2-0 in the SoCon Tournament semifinal.

SCOUTING THE PALADINS
Furman enters the weekend series with a 26-26 overall record and a 7-8 mark in the SoCon. The Paladins are 2-3 in their last five games, but also took a SoCon series win over Western Carolina, 2-1, last weekend. They suffered a 4-1 loss at South Carolina on Tuesday, dropping their road record to 4-9.

Furman boasts the best ERA (3.62) in the SoCon, led by the duo of Emily Demonte and Lindsey Bert, who have logged nearly 90 percent of the team's 345.2 innings pitched. Demonte (8-7) leads the league in ERA at 2.48 while Bert ranks second among all pitchers in strikeouts (159). Opponents are batting .289 against the Paladins.

At the plate, Furman is one of the SoCon's biggest extra-base hit threats, with 143 on the season, 86 of which are doubles. The team is batting .299 as a unit while AnnaRose Borrelli and Candace Johnson rank in the SoCon top-five in home runs with 11 and 10, respectively.

RECAPPING LAST WEEKEND

Chattanooga (26-22, 6-6 SoCon) took two of three from Mercer last weekend, dropping the Bears to 3-9 in SoCon play.
Mercer squandered a 9-3 lead entering the bottom of the fifth inning in game one, eventually losing 10-9. The Mocs plated a pair of runs in the fifth before claiming the lead with a five-run sixth inning, which included a bases-clearing, go-ahead double.
Following a loss in game one, the Bears bounced back to claim a dominate 8-2 win in game two. Sophomore Quirisa Mauga blast a pair of home runs and lead the way with a career-high five RBIs while sophomore Megan Bilgri tossed a complete game five-hitter for her sixth win of the season.
Mercer struggled to keep the same offensive presence in Sunday's rubber match, losing to the Mocs 9-0 in a five-inning, run-rule contest. The Bears had runners on second and third bases with one out in the first inning, but otherwise failed to get a runner past first base the rest of the game.

MERCER FACTS & FIGURES

THANK YOU SENIORS
Seniors Kaytlin Haney and Natalie Shiver – who have started a combined 344 games in their four-year careers at Mercer – will be honored before the series finale on Sunday, May 1 on Senior Day.

Haney had a career-best season in 2014 by batting .326 with 55 RBIs, helping lead the Bears to a 37-19 record and an appearance in the Atlantic Sun Conference championship game. She's served as a valuable role player in her junior and senior years, starting a combined 35 games with 22 hits.

Shiver has placed her name among some of the most accomplished softball players at Mercer, ranking fifth all-time in games started and in the top-six of home runs, RBIs, doubles and runs scored. She was a pivotal piece in the Bears' run to the SoCon Tournament championship game in 2015 and is batting .326 this season with 34 RBIs.

REMEMBRANCE OF THOMAS GARY SIKES
The Mercer University Vietnam Commemoration Committee and Mercer Athletics will host a remembrance of 1st Lt. Thomas Gary Sikes at 12:45 p.m. on April 30 at Sikes Softball Field.

Mercer will honor the service of Sikes and all Vietnam-era veterans with a special recognition ceremony before the game. Guest of honor will be Sikes' widow, Judy. Mercer will remember those who served in the armed forces during this time and the sacrifices of those family members left behind.

1st Lt. Sikes, from Jacksonville, Fla., was a 1967 graduate of Mercer and received his commission through ROTC. He was killed in action in 1968 while serving as an officer in Vietnam with the 23rd Infantry Division.

DEFENDING SIKES FIELD
Mercer has the chance to finish with a winning record on its home turf for the third consecutive season with at least one win this weekend against Furman. The Bears enter the weekend with an 11-8 record at Sikes Field and are 52-21 at home since the 2014 season.

CREAM OF THE CROP
Junior Taylor Miller continues to add to her career-best junior campaign, ranking top-two among SoCon players in three offensive categories. The outfielder owns a .425 batting average to go along with 24 stolen bases – both league highs – and has 68 hits, good for second behind Samford's Megan Dowdy.

CATCH THEM IF YOU CAN
The Bears have dominated the basepaths this season. Mercer has stolen a SoCon-high 73 bases through 48 games played, 24 more than the next closest league team (Samford, 49). Ranking 49th in the nation with 1.52 steals per game, Mercer is highlighted by the duo of Miller and sophomore Meghan Rud, who individually lead with SoCon with 24 and 20 swipes, respectively. Five other Bears – Shiver (5) sophomore Emma Andrew (4) and freshmen Lindsay Boynton (4), Megan Lane (6) and Shaila Warren (8) – have stolen at least four bases as well.

LEADING THE CHARGE
Shiver and Mauga have been two of Mercer's hottest bats since the start of SoCon play on March 25. Shiver is batting .404 with four extra-base hits and a team-high 18 RBIs during the stretch. Mauga, hitting .354 with 17 hits during the 16 games, has eight extra-base hits and 13 RBIs. Both own .617 and .708 slugging percentages in that period.

TO THE MAX
Junior Maxine Rodriguez has emerged as Mercer's top arm in the circle this season. The junior ranks seventh in ERA (3.34) and sixth in opposing batting average (.262) among SoCon pitchers while leading Mercer with six wins. Her 14 RBIs at the plate since the start of league play is the second best mark on the team as well.

BALL FOUR!
Two of the SoCon's top three teams in bases on balls will meet this weekend, as Furman leads the league with 159 and Mercer ranks third with 141. The Bears average 2.9 walks per game and have seven players with at least 10 walks, including Rud (22), Shiver (21) and Boynton (18), all three of whom rank in the SoCon top-seven.

BATTLE-TESTED FRESHMEN
Mercer's three freshman starters – Warren, Boynton and Lane – have stepped in and succeeded immediately this season. Warren has started all 48 games and is 12-for-27 (.444) in her last nine games, raising her batting average to .308, fourth-best on the team. Lane and Boynton have started 40 and 31 games, respectively. The trio has totaled a combined 88 hits, 11 home runs, 64 RBIs, 18 stolen bases and 65 runs scored.

SHAKE AND BAKE
The speedy duo of Rud and Miller at the top of the Mercer lineup has proved to be one of the more formidable 1-2 punches in the SoCon this season. They're hitting a collective .354 at the plate and have recorded hits in the same game 29 times this season.

DEFEO CLOSING IN
Head coach James DeFeo continues to move closer to the all-time wins record at Mercer following the Bears' victory at Chattanooga on Saturday, April 23 – the 144th of his career. He needs only nine wins to surpass Ken Phillips' (1992-2001) mark of 152. DeFeo boasts the best winning percentage (.533) among all six of Mercer's all-time coaches.

AIM FOR FIVE
All of Mercer's 20 wins this season have come when scoring five runs or more. When the Bears reach at least six runs, they boast a 14-4 record as well.