Mercer Hosts Rattlers in Pair of Mid-Week Games

Tuesday, February 20

Macon, Ga.

6 p.m.

Mercer University

Florida A&M

Mercer Hosts Rattlers in Pair of Mid-Week Games

2/19/2018 3:57:00 PM | Baseball

Live Stats (Game 1)Live Stats (Game 2)

Bears coming off series win vs. Bethune-Cookman

By: Gerrit W. Van Genderen

MACON, Ga. – Fresh off of a season-opening series win against Bethune-Cookman last weekend, Mercer will host Florida A&M in its first two mid-week battles of the year on Tuesday and Wednesday at OrthoGeorgia Park.

Tuesday's first pitch between the Bears (2-1) and Rattlers (1-2) is scheduled for 6 p.m. while Wednesday's contest will begin at 4 p.m. The two teams will play once more later in the season on March 27 in Tallahassee, Fla.

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Teams: Mercer (2-1) vs. Florida A&M (1-2)
Location: Macon, Ga. | OrthoGeorgia Park
Tuesday: Feb. 20 | 6 p.m. | Live Stats
Wednesday: Feb. 21 | 4 p.m. | Live Stats
Twitter Updates: @MercerBaseball
Projected Starters:

Tuesday: RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (0-0, 4.50) vs. N/A
Wednesday: LHP Tanner Hall (0-0, 0.00) vs. N/A

Series History
Mercer and Florida A&M will clash for the 115th and 116th times in their frequently played head-to-head series, which dates back to 1986. While the Bears have a dominant 84-29-1 record in the series, the pair of programs are both 5-5 in the last 10 games played against one another.

Series: Mercer, 84-29-1
First Meeting: 1986, MER 9-0
Last Meeting: 3/22/2017, MER 11-5, in Macon, Ga.
Streak: Mercer, 2

Last Time Out vs. Florida A&M
The Orange and Black used a seven-run fourth inning to rally from an early deficit and defeat Florida A&M, 11-5, at OrthoGeorgia Park on March 22, 2017. The win was Head Coach Craig Gibson's 450th of his career. Jackson Ware connected on a three-run home run while Robert Broom earned the win with three innings of scoreless relief.

Scouting Florida A&M
The Rattlers earned one win in a home series loss to Marshall last weekend in Tallahassee. Despite its 8-1 win over Marshall on Saturday, Florida A&M was outscored by 21 runs in games one and three of the series. Florida A&M's top three bats from last season are back, including Dallas Oliver (team-best .365 average in 2017).

Mid-Week Consistency
The Bears will look to improve upon an 8-7 record in last season's mid-week contests. Mercer went 2-2 against Florida A&M in 2017, all of which were mid-week games. Mercer will play 14 mid-week games this year; Florida A&M is one of only two non-Georgia teams the Bears will play outside of weekends.

Weapons of Choice: Broom & Spear
Junior right-handed pitchers Robert Broom and Nick Spear are two of 52 players on the preseason watch list for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award. Mercer is the only school with multiple players named to the watch list. The award is given annually to the top relief pitcher at the NCAA Division I level.

Broom tossed 4.1 innings of scoreless relief over the weekend while tossing six strikeouts. Spear saw two innings of action Sunday, striking out two while allowing one run.

New Bears in Town
Multiple newcomers made impacts in last weekend's season-opening series against Bethune-Cookman. The trio of Brandon Michie, Sean McDermott and Le Bassett all recorded their first home runs as Bears while RJ Yeager recorded a team-best 11 assists defensively.

Although he redshirted last spring, outfielder Jordan Ammons came up with two key hits on the series, including a pinch-hit two-RBI single on Sunday.

All Eyes on Thomas
Senior catcher JT Thomas recorded six hits in the first weekend of action after earning a pair of preseason All-America First Team honors from Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA. The senior started Friday and Saturday's games at catcher while assuming the designated hitter role on Sunday. He batted .400 for the series with three runs scored and three runs batted in.

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 www.MercerBears.com.