Tuesday, April 25
Macon, Ga.
6 p.m.
Mercer University
vs
Georgia Southern
No. 24 Mercer to Clash with Georgia Southern Twice
4/24/2017 5:37:00 PM | Baseball
Bears look to improve upon their 6-2 in-state record
MACON, Ga. – No. 24 (Baseball America) Mercer faces in-state foe Georgia Southern twice in nonconference action this week, starting with a return to OrthoGeorgia Park at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
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Both teams will turn around and play again at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Statesboro, completing the two-day home-and-home series. Mercer (35-7) remains the nation's wins leader and is ranked in two major polls after a 3-1 week that included a fourth consecutive Southern Conference series sweep over the weekend.
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Tuesday's contest will be broadcasted live on the American Sports Network (ASN) and ESPN3 with Matt Stewart and Jason Jacobs as the talent. Rick Cameron will have the call on the airwaves Tuesday via the flagship station 97.3 FM The Bull Icons and on the iHeartRadio app.
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MID-WEEK LINEUP
Teams: No. 24 Mercer (35-7) vs. Georgia Southern (26-14)
Tuesday: Macon, Ga. | OrthoGeorgia Park | April 25 | 6 p.m. | Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Tickets
Wednesday: Statesboro, Ga. | J.I. Clements Stadium | April 26 | 6 p.m. | Watch | Live Stats | Tickets
Twitter Updates: @MercerBaseball
Projected Starters
Georgia Southern is riding high after taking two of three on the road from defending National Champion Coastal Carolina last weekend. The Eagles own a 26-14 overall record and are 7-3 in their last 10 games played. A trio of freshmen lead the Eagles' offensive, highlighted by Mason McWhorter (.350, four home runs).
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Mercer will face RHP Seth Shuman (3-0, 3.29) at home Tuesday before battling RHP Brian Eichhorn (1-4, 4.87) Wednesday. Georgia Southern owns a team-ERA of 4.01, striking out 378 batters in 359.0 innings.
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Series History
Mercer trails by a wide margin in the all-time series, 117-46-2, and has dropped two straight to the Eagles. Georgia Southern claimed both contests a year ago, defeated Mercer 11-10 in Macon and 8-5 in Statesboro.
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Last Meeting
The Bears struggled to get off the field with two outs, as Georgia Southern tallied six hits with .545 hitting in those situations en route to an 8-5 win over Mercer. On the other side, Mercer was limited to .231 hitting in the same scenario, although four of the team's five runs did come with two outs. Matt Meeder reached in base in four of his five plate appearances, including a three-run double in the seventh.
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Weapons of Choice: A Broom & A Spear
Mercer has benefited from the outstanding relief pitching of Nick Spear and Robert Broom this season. The duo is 12-1 over 78.0 innings pitched while notching 110 strikeouts collectively. Opposing batters are hitting .181 off Broom and .189 off Spear.
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We Got Your Back
Mercer's bullpen has been formidable this season and a key contributor to the success of the program. With a 3.44-combined ERA, the Mercer bullpen has struck out 228 batters in 193.2 innings. The 'pen owns a 22-2 record after earning all three wins at The Citadel last weekend. Mercer is 21-0 when leading after the sixth inning.
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Hagan Heating Up
After a slow start to the season offensively, Ryan Hagan has emerged as one of Mercer's hottest bats since SoCon play opened. The senior made a switch to shortstop, defensively, and is batting .419 in league play with 20 runs scored, 13 RBI and seven stolen bases. All five of his home runs this season have come in SoCon games as well.
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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.
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Both teams will turn around and play again at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Statesboro, completing the two-day home-and-home series. Mercer (35-7) remains the nation's wins leader and is ranked in two major polls after a 3-1 week that included a fourth consecutive Southern Conference series sweep over the weekend.
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Tuesday's contest will be broadcasted live on the American Sports Network (ASN) and ESPN3 with Matt Stewart and Jason Jacobs as the talent. Rick Cameron will have the call on the airwaves Tuesday via the flagship station 97.3 FM The Bull Icons and on the iHeartRadio app.
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MID-WEEK LINEUP
Teams: No. 24 Mercer (35-7) vs. Georgia Southern (26-14)
Tuesday: Macon, Ga. | OrthoGeorgia Park | April 25 | 6 p.m. | Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Tickets
Wednesday: Statesboro, Ga. | J.I. Clements Stadium | April 26 | 6 p.m. | Watch | Live Stats | Tickets
Twitter Updates: @MercerBaseball
Projected Starters
- Tuesday: RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (1-0, 3.97) vs. RHP Seth Shuman (3-0, 3.29)
- Wednesday: RHP Zach Graveno (6-0, 2.70) vs. RHP Brian Elchhorn (1-4, 4.87)
- Mercer's 35 wins are the most in the country.
- The Bears are No. 24 in Baseball America's Top 25 rankings. It is their first ranking in the poll since May 5, 2014.
- Mercer continues to receive votes in the USA Today Coaches' Poll (54).
- Mercer is No. 31 in the latest RPI rankings.
- The Bears have won at least 35 games in each of the past eight seasons.
- Mercer owns a 6-2 record against in-state opponents heading into mid-week action vs. Georgia Southern.
- Sophomore reliever Robert Broom was named SoCon Pitcher of the Week after allowing only two singles in eight innings (three appearances) last week. The sophomore righty struck out 11 batters and stranded six total inherited runners over the three appearances.
- Mercer owns a SoCon-best 3.04 strikeout-to-walk ratio. RHP Ryan Askew is 14th nationally with an individual ratio of 7.50.
- Mercer ranks among the top 10 nationally in nine different offensive categories, including first in sacrifice bunts (64) and walks (253), third in home runs (67) and fifth in on base percentage (.421) and slugging percentage (.511).
Georgia Southern is riding high after taking two of three on the road from defending National Champion Coastal Carolina last weekend. The Eagles own a 26-14 overall record and are 7-3 in their last 10 games played. A trio of freshmen lead the Eagles' offensive, highlighted by Mason McWhorter (.350, four home runs).
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Mercer will face RHP Seth Shuman (3-0, 3.29) at home Tuesday before battling RHP Brian Eichhorn (1-4, 4.87) Wednesday. Georgia Southern owns a team-ERA of 4.01, striking out 378 batters in 359.0 innings.
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Series History
Mercer trails by a wide margin in the all-time series, 117-46-2, and has dropped two straight to the Eagles. Georgia Southern claimed both contests a year ago, defeated Mercer 11-10 in Macon and 8-5 in Statesboro.
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Last Meeting
The Bears struggled to get off the field with two outs, as Georgia Southern tallied six hits with .545 hitting in those situations en route to an 8-5 win over Mercer. On the other side, Mercer was limited to .231 hitting in the same scenario, although four of the team's five runs did come with two outs. Matt Meeder reached in base in four of his five plate appearances, including a three-run double in the seventh.
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Weapons of Choice: A Broom & A Spear
Mercer has benefited from the outstanding relief pitching of Nick Spear and Robert Broom this season. The duo is 12-1 over 78.0 innings pitched while notching 110 strikeouts collectively. Opposing batters are hitting .181 off Broom and .189 off Spear.
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We Got Your Back
Mercer's bullpen has been formidable this season and a key contributor to the success of the program. With a 3.44-combined ERA, the Mercer bullpen has struck out 228 batters in 193.2 innings. The 'pen owns a 22-2 record after earning all three wins at The Citadel last weekend. Mercer is 21-0 when leading after the sixth inning.
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Hagan Heating Up
After a slow start to the season offensively, Ryan Hagan has emerged as one of Mercer's hottest bats since SoCon play opened. The senior made a switch to shortstop, defensively, and is batting .419 in league play with 20 runs scored, 13 RBI and seven stolen bases. All five of his home runs this season have come in SoCon games as well.
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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.
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