Mercer Hosts Georgia State in Mid-Week Clash

Wednesday, February 22

Macon, Ga.

6 PM ET

Mercer University

Georgia State

2/21/2017 3:51:00 PM | Softball

Live Stats

The familiar programs are set for an intrastate battle Wednesday afternoon

By: Gerrit Van Genderen

MACON, Ga. – Two familiar programs will take the field in a mid-week contest as Mercer hosts intrastate foe Georgia State at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Sikes Field.

It will be the 66th all-time meeting for the teams as both seek to bounce back from losses at the end of this past weekend. Mercer (4-5) is coming off a 2-3 weekend at Auburn's Plainsman Invitational while the Panthers (7-3) went 3-1 at the North Florida Invite in Jacksonville.

GAMEDAY DETAILS
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 22 | 6 p.m.
Location: Macon, Ga. | Sikes Field
Teams (Records): Georgia State (7-3) at Mercer (4-5)
Twitter Updates: @MercerUSoftball
Live Stats: MercerBears.com/livestats

SCOUTING GEORGIA STATE
Ten games into the season the Panthers are off to a strong start, boasting a 7-3 record with all of their wins coming at Mississippi State's Bulldog Kickoff Classic and the North Florida Invite. Georgia State is no stranger to extra-inning affairs so far, having played four of them. The team is 3-1 in such contests with the loss coming in its most recent contest, a 7-6 defeat at North Florida on Feb. 18.

Junior catcher Ivie Drake, a consensus 2017 preseason All-American Watch List player, is the focal point of the Panthers' lineup and owns a .364 batting average with seven runs scored and 14 bases on balls. Four Georgia State pitchers have already logged at least four appearances, highlighted by Emily Soles (2-1 record; 3.18 ERA; 22 innings pitched).

SERIES HISTORY
Georgia State has been a historically tough foe for the Bears, who trail 15-50 in the all-time series. The Bears have lost four of the last five meetings with their one win, an 11-5 victory, coming in the second half of a doubleheader in Atlanta on Feb. 26, 2014.

LAST MEETING
Mercer fell to Georgia State, 8-2, in the final game of last year's Panther Invitational in Atlanta on Feb. 21, 2016. Emma Andrew (RBI-triple) and Quirisa Mauga (RBI-double) got the Bears on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth inning, but not before the Panthers had already taken a 5-0 lead thanks to a pair of home runs by catcher Ivie Drake.

IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE
Speed kills. After leading the Southern Conference in stolen bases for a second straight year in 2016 (76 swipes in 89 attempts), Mercer is picking up where it left off. The Bears are 21-for-22 in stolen base attempts, highlighted by Meghan Rud's 10 individual steals. Taylor Miller, Megan Lane and Emma Andrew all have three steals apiece. Mercer ranks 13th nationally with 2.44 steals per game.

RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE
Four Bears are making an immediate impact at the plate early this season, led by leadoff batter Meghan Rud. The junior is tied for the SoCon lead with a .517 batting average and already has two triples to her name. Quirisa Mauga (.385) is tied for the conference lead with five doubles while Megan Lane (.375) and Maxine Rodriguez (.333) have nine and seven hits, respectively.

SNEAKY START
Although 2016 SoCon batting champion and 2017 Preseason All-SoCon First Team selection Taylor Miller has yet to record an at-bat this season, she has made sure everyone recognizes her speed on the base paths. The senior outfielder is 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts as a pinch runner while scoring twice in such opportunities.

"STELLA-R" START
Freshman right-hander Stella Preston followed up her impressive career debut with another complete game performance in Mercer's 3-1 win over Evansville on Feb. 17 in Auburn, Alabama. Preston struck out 11 batters – the most by a SoCon pitcher so far this year – to improve to 2-0 in the circle.

She took the loss the following day as Mercer fell to SIUE, 5-2, but has proven that she is ready to face college-level hitters.

WAIT, YOU'RE THE NEW KID?
Three freshmen, including Preston, have shown glimpses of why Coach DeFeo recruited them to be Bears. Abby Walsh and Danielle Castleberry have started all nine contests in right field and second base, respectively, and have risen to the occasion at the plate. Walsh collected her first career hit with a decisive two-run home run in a 4-0 win over Dayton on Feb. 11 and Castleberry had an eventual game-winning two-run single in Mercer's 3-1 win vs. Evansville.

SAME NAME, NEW REGIME
After three years as a co-head coach alongside her brother, James, Stephanie DeFeo takes the full reigns of the Mercer softball program in 2017. DeFeo earned her 100th victory at Mercer with the Bears' 5-1 win over Portland State on Feb. 11 and is 103-81 since arriving in Macon. She was instrumental in the program's best-ever three-year stretch, helping Mercer go 99-76 over the last three seasons.

With the return of assistant coach Heather Han and two first-year assistant coaches, Mike Giannamore and Kathleen Watson-Otani, DeFeo and company anticipate bright results in their 2017 campaign.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS
Mercer was picked by Southern Conference coaches to finish in a two-way tie for third place in the league standings this spring. Since its first season in the SoCon in 2015, Mercer has been picked second, fourth and third, respectively, in the preseason poll.

Taylor Miller, Quirisa Mauga, Meghan Rud and Taylor Rodgers earned 2017 Preseason All-SoCon honors. Miller was named to her third straight Preseason First Team and was joined by Mauga, who earned her first-ever conference accolade. Rud was named to the Preseason Second Team for the second straight season while Rodgers earned her first preseason SoCon nod.

FOLLOW THE BEARS
For complete coverage of Mercer Softball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerUSoftball (Twitter), /MercerSoftball (Facebook) and @MercerUSoftball (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.