Mercer Ready for In-State Battle at Georgia State

MACON, Ga. – Mercer will make a short trip north to Atlanta for a mid-week nonconference battle with Georgia State at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the GSU Baseball Complex.

The two teams were scheduled the play the front end of a two-game season series at OrthoGeorgia Park last Wednesday, but the contest was cancelled due to inclement weather in the Macon area. Mercer (28-6, 8-1 Southern Conference) enters the matchup with a seven-game win streak and is tied for the national lead in wins with No. 1 Oregon State, No. 4 Clemson and No. 6 Texas Tech.

Tuesday's contest has live stats and video available (PantherVision). The latter is subscription-based, with a one-day purchase costing $5.95.

MID-WEEK LINEUP
Teams: Mercer (28-6, 8-1 SoCon) at Georgia State (11-20, 1-11 Sun Belt)
Location: Atlanta, Ga. | GSU Baseball Complex
Date/Time: April 11 | 6 p.m. | Watch | Live Stats
Twitter Updates: @MercerBaseball
Projected Starters: RHP Chase Burks (1-1, 4.70) vs. RHP Jordan Lee (1-0, 7.56)

Quick Hits

Mercer's .824 win percentage is the sixth-best mark in the nation.
Mercer is 64-50 all-time against the Panthers.
Senior RHP Ryan Askew was named the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week (April 3-9) for his complete-game effort in Mercer's 4-2 win over Samford last Friday.
Senior catcher Charlie Madden ranks third nationally in home runs (14) while leading the SoCon in total bases (92), slugging percentage (.724), RBI (38), runs scored (37) and doubles (12).
As a staff, Mercer owns a SoCon-best 3.02 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Askew is ninth in the nation with an individual ratio of 9.75.
Mercer continues to receive votes in two national polls (ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll and NCBWA Top 25 poll) and is 36th in the latest RPI rankings.
Mercer ranks among the top 10 nationally in nine different offensive categories, including first in sacrifice bunts (45), second in slugging percentage (.519) and walks (204) and third in home runs (57).

Scouting Georgia State
Georgia State has dropped its last 10 consecutive games to fall nine games under .500 heading into Tuesday's matchup. The Panthers are hitting only .229 as a unit, translating to 4.3 runs per game. Jordan Lee will start on the mound Tuesday and owns a 7.56 ERA over seven appearances, including three starts.

Series History
Mercer will seek to add two wins to its 64-50 all-time advantage over Georgia State in the first of two meetings this season. The Panthers were victorious in both contests last year, defeating Mercer 4-3 in Atlanta and 10-6 in Macon.

Last Time Out
Kevin Coulter tossed a season-best 7.2 innings of three-hit ball as Mercer cruised to a Southern Conference series sweep of Samford with a 7-1 win Sunday at OrthoGeorgia Park. Coulter retired the first eight batters of the game while striking out four and walking only one in his best performance of the season.

Five Mercer runs in the first three innings complimented the right-hander's strong start. Ryan Hagan left the yard for the third time this season with a two-run shot in the second, while Danny Edgeworth and Hunter Bening added RBIs in the three-inning stretch as well. Edgeworth would add a two-run double in the sixth to break the game open for good.

Small Ball, Long Ball
The Mercer offense is proving it can do a bit of everything, as it ranks third nationally with 57 home runs and first nationally with 49 sacrifice bunts. Those figures are reflected on an individual level as Charlie Madden is in third place nationally with 14 home runs while Jackson Ware is first nationally with 15 sac bunts.

Follow The Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Baseball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerBaseball (Twitter), /MercerBaseball (Facebook) and @Mercer.Baseball (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.

Mercer Ready for In-State Battle at Georgia State

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Players Mentioned

Ryan Askew

Hunter Bening

Chase Burks

Kevin Coulter

Danny Edgeworth

Ryan Hagan

Charlie Madden

Jackson Ware

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