Nonconference Play Concludes Tuesday Against Kennesaw State

MACON, Ga. – Mercer will wrap up nonconference play Tuesday as it welcomes Kennesaw State to Macon for a mid-week battle at OrthoGeorgia Park.

The contest also serves as Mercer's (38-12) final in-state game of the season. Mercer is 6-4 in such games, including a 10-4 win over the Owls (22-27) in Kennesaw on April 4. The Bears are coming off a Southern Conference series win at Wofford that helped them clinch their third straight conference regular season title.

Rick Cameron will have the call on the airwaves via the flagship station 97.3 FM The Bull Icons and on the iHeartRadio app.

MID-WEEK LINEUP
Teams: Mercer (38-12) vs. Kennesaw State (22-27)
Location: Macon, Ga. | OrthoGeorgia Park
Tuesday: May 16 | 6 p.m. | Live Stats | Listen
Twitter Updates: @MercerBaseball
Projected Starters: RHP Zach Graveno (6-0, 4.18) vs. TBA

Quick Hits

The Bears are 21-8 outside of the SoCon this season.
A win over Kennesaw State would round out a season sweep for Mercer and push the Bears' record against in-state opponents to 7-4.
Mercer is No. 48 in the latest RPI rankings while receiving votes in the NCBWA Top-30 poll.
Ryan Hagan earned SoCon Player of the Week honors Monday after batting .500 with five RBIs and two home runs in the series win at Wofford. Hagan is one of five Bears to receive weekly conference honors this year.
Mercer has won at least 35 games in each of the past eight seasons.
Mercer's 17 SoCon wins are its most since joining the conference.
Five Bears are batting at least .314 in SoCon play this season, including Hagan, who owns a .409 average.
Right-handed reliever Robert Broom has been nearly untouchable in conference play, owning a 1.08 ERA and 5-0 record. Opponents are batting .207 off him while he has logged 31 strikeouts in 25.0 innings.

Scouting Kennesaw State
The Owls are 10-10 since Mercer defeated them, 10-4, on April 4 in Kennesaw. They got back on track with an ASUN Conference series win over NJIT last weekend after dropping a pair of series to Lipscomb and Jacksonville in previous weekends. The series win clinched an ASUN Tournament berth for Kennesaw State.

A tale of two teams, Kennesaw State has averaged nine runs in its last five wins but only one run in its last five losses. Four Owls are batting .319 or better, including Taylor Allum (.340) who leads the team with 14 home runs and 39 RBIs.

Series History
Mercer has won four straight against its in-state rival, including a weekend series sweep last year. The Bears defeated KSU 10-7, 9-6 and 11-5 in last year's sweep and lead the all-time series 25-16.

Last Meeting
Consecutive five-run innings highlighted by three home runs powered Mercer to a 10-4 nonconference win over Kennesaw State at Stillwell Stadium on April 4.

Trey Truitt hit a go-ahead three-run blast in the third while Charlie Madden and Danny Edgeworth went back-to-back leading off the fourth as eight Bears pitchers combined to limit Kennesaw State to six hits. KSU took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second with three hits against Zach Graveno (4-0), who earned the win, but the Bears quickly responded by sending 11 batters to the plate in both the third and fourth frames.

Defending Your Turf
Mercer takes an 18-6 home record into a four-game season-ending home stand. The Bears have seen serious offensive success at OrthoGeorgia Park this year; they average 8.2 runs per game while seven players are batting at least .329. Despite dropping three of its last four home games, Mercer will look to get back on track this week.

We Got Your Back
Mercer's bullpen has been formidable this season and a key contributor to the success of the program. With a 4.07 ERA, the Mercer bullpen has struck out 265 batters in 228.0 innings. The 'pen owns a 24-5 record overall and has led the Orange and Black to a 26-0 record when leading after the seventh inning.

Robert Broom and Nick Spear have been key components to the bullpen's success. The duo owns a combined 14-3 record and has struck out 124 batters in 92.1 innings. Broom, a NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List selection, is holding batters to a .189 average. Spear is even better, limiting batters to a .186 average.

Hagan in Charge
A slow start to the season did not prevent Ryan Hagan from working his way into an impressive senior campaign at the plate and defensively. Hagan – named SoCon Player of the Week on Monday afternoon – is batting .306 overall and .409 in SoCon play. His .491 on base percentage, nine stolen bases, 13 walks, seven home runs and .693 slugging percentage are top marks among all SoCon shortstops in conference action.

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.

Nonconference Play Concludes Tuesday Against Kennesaw State

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Players Mentioned

Robert Broom

Danny Edgeworth

Zach Graveno

Ryan Hagan

Charlie Madden

Nick Spear

Trey Truitt

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