Mercer University
Austin Peay
Mercer Baseball Opens Series at Austin Peay Friday
3/2/2017 7:58:00 PM | Baseball
MACON, Ga. – Mercer looks to return to winning ways and claim its first road victory of the season when it opens a three-game series at Austin Peay starting Friday at 4 p.m. ET.
SERIES LINEUP
Teams: Mercer (7-2) at Austin Peay (5-3)
Location: Clarksville, Tenn. | Raymond C. Hand Park
Game 1: Friday, March 3 | 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT | MercerBears.com/livestats
Game 2: Saturday, March 4 |Â 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT | MercerBears.com/livestats
Game 3: Sunday, March 5 | 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT | MercerBears.com/livestats
Projected Starters
Friday: Sr. RHP Ryan Askew (1-0, 1.50) vs. Jr. LHP Michael Costanzo (1-1, 5.19)
Saturday: So. LHP Austin Cox (1-0, 2.89) vs. TBD
Sunday: So. RHP Kevin Coulter (0-0, 7.71) vs. TBD
Quick Hits
• Mercer and Austin Peay face each other for the second consecutive season, this time in Clarksville
• Mercer is looking to claim its first road win of the year after dropping a pair of mid-week road contests at Florida A&M.
• The Bears took two of the three games in last year's series, which marked the first time the two schools had met on the diamond.
• Mercer is 56-50-1 all-time against schools from the Ohio Valley Conference.
• Austin Peay enters with a 5-3 record (4-1 at home) and are coming off a 21-8 win over Middle Tennessee.
King of the Hill
Mercer enters this weekend's action with a 7-2 mark and remains at the top of the standings in the Southern Conference. While that mark survived a challenge from the SEC (Georgia) and a hot-hitting Hartford team, the Bears dropped two at Florida A&M mid-week and are looking for their first road win.
Is It JTee Ball?
JT Thomas made the quite the collegiate debut this season and seemed like he may have been hitting off a tee. The catcher/designated hitter was 7-for-10 (.700 avg.) after the first weekend of play with five runs scored and nine RBIs. Of his seven hits, five were for extra bases with three doubles and two home runs.
It Might Be for the Whole Team
Mercer is off to a hot start this year thanks, in part, to a powerful offense that quickly came out of hibernation. Entering this week's play, Mercer was ranked in the top 25 in several categories showcasing just how tough the Bears are this year.
| Category | Nat'l | SoCon | Stat |
| Sacrifice Bunts (229 ranked) | 2 | 1 | 12 |
| Slugging Percentage (286 ranked) | 3 | 1 | 0.596 |
| Home Runs Per Game (272 ranked) | 4 | 1 | 2.00 |
| On Base Percentage (286 ranked) | 4 | 1 | 0.462 |
| Home Runs (253 ranked) | 5 | 1 | 16 |
| Runs (285 ranked) | 5 | 1 | 88 |
| Scoring (286 ranked) | 5 | 1 | 11.0 |
| Hit by Pitch (277 ranked) | 9 | 1 | 15 |
| Batting Average (286 ranked) | 10 | 2 | 0.344 |
| WL Pct (269 ranked) | 16 | 1 | 0.875 |
| Sacrifice Flies (189 ranked) | 20 | 1 | 6 |
| Base on Balls (286 ranked) | 22 | 2 | 49 |
| Shutouts (25 ranked) | 25 | 1 | 1 |
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How to Follow the Bears:
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