Mercer Hosts Florida A&M in Mid-Week Doubleheader

Wednesday, March 1

Macon, Ga.

4 PM ET

Mercer University

Florida A&M

Mercer Hosts Florida A&M in Mid-Week Doubleheader

2/28/2017 5:07:00 PM | Softball

G1 Live Stats G2 Live Stats

Bears coming off a 4-1 weekend at Sikes Field

By: Gerrit Van Genderen

MACON, Ga. – Mercer hosts Florida A&M in a mid-week doubleheader Wednesday starting at 4 p.m. as it looks to improve upon its 6-4 record at Sikes Field this season.

The Bears (8-7) went 4-1 last weekend on their home turf as they defeated Marist, Fort Wayne and Savannah State (twice) in the Black & Orange Challenge. The back-to-back contests Wednesday will serve as Mercer's first true doubleheader of the season.

Florida A&M owns a 1-14-1 record and will play a doubleheader against Troy Tuesday night in Tallahassee before making the trip north to Macon.

DOUBLEHEADER OUTLOOK
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 28 | 4 & 6 p.m.
Location: Macon, Georgia | Sikes Field
Teams (Records): Mercer (8-7) vs. Florida A&M (1-14-1)
Live Stats:

Game 1: MercerBears.com/LiveStats
Game 2: MercerBears.com/LiveStats

Twitter Updates: @MercerUSoftball

SCOUTING FLORIDA A&M
The Lady Rattlers are off to a rocky start to 2017, owning a 1-14-1 record through Monday. They are on a current five-game losing streak and have only scored one run such the stretch. Florida A&M is collectively hitting .185 and is led by Taylor Rosier (.350) at the plate. Kenya Pereira has been the team's most consistent arm in the circle, owning a 3.32 ERA with 31 strikeouts in a team-best 52.2 innings pitched so far.

LAST MEETING
Mercer swept Florida A&M in Tallahassee with scores of 15-7 and 9-1. The 15 runs were a then-season-high as the Bears also drew 21 total bases on balls in the doubleheader.

POWER SURGE
Mercer ranks second in the Southern Conference and 28th in the nation with an average of one home run per game this season after smacking nine over the weekend, including a pair each from Abby Walsh, Megan Lane and Quirisa Mauga. The Bears have 15 total home runs.

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 33-for-37 in stolen base attempts, highlighted by Meghan Rud's 14 individual steals. Taylor Miller has six steals while Megan Lane and Emma Andrew have four apiece.

GUESS WHO'S BACK?
2016 SoCon batting champion and 2017 Preseason All-SoCon First Team selection Taylor Miller has hit safely in all six games since returning to the starting lineup last Wednesday against Georgia State. The senior is hitting .409 with nine hits and 10 runs scored.

WAIT, YOU'RE THE NEW KID?
Three freshmen have shown glimpses of why Coach DeFeo recruited them to be Bears. Abby Walsh and Danielle Castleberry have started all 15 contests in right field and second base, respectively, and have risen to the occasion at the plate. Wash hit .455 last week with three extra-base hits, six RBIs and five runs scored while Castleberry batted .467 with three RBIs and a triple in the same time frame.

Right-hander Stella Preston leads Mercer in nearly every pitching category, as she owns a 3-2 record with a 2.44 ERA. Opposing batters are collectively hitting .190 off of Preston while she has struck out 23 batters in 37.1 innings.

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 107-83 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.

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.