Softball to Compete in Bulldog Slamboree

Friday, March 2

Starkville, Miss.

11:30 A.M.

Mercer University

Sam Houston State

3/1/2018 6:42:00 PM | Softball

Bears will square off with Sam Houston State, Lamar, Mississippi State and Alcorn State

By: David Fox

MACON, Ga. – Mercer will travel to Starkville, Miss., taking part in the 2018 Bulldog Slamboree hosted by Mississippi State. The tournament will be a three-day event beginning tomorrow morning.

The Bears will kick off the tournament with an 11:30 a.m. showdown against Sam Houston State on Friday, before taking on Lamar at 2 p.m. Mercer will then have a doubleheader on Saturday against Lamar (10 a.m.) and host Mississippi State (12:30 p.m.). The Bears will conclude the festivities on Sunday against Alcorn State at 10 a.m.

TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK
Date: Friday, March 2 – Sunday, March 4
Location: Starkville, Miss. | Nusz Park
Teams (2018 Records): Mercer (12-2), Sam Houston State (3-10), Lamar (7-7), Mississippi State (12-3), Alcorn State (1-9)
Tournament Central: hailstate.com/livestats
Twitter Updates: @MercerUSoftball

Player of the Week
Caroline Taylor had a monstrous week for Mercer, recording a slugging percentage of 1.056 after registering seven hits, four of which were long balls. Taylor also finished the week with 11 runs batted in, including a walk-off single to defeat Radford 3-2 in the eighth inning. This was Taylor's first SoCon Player of the Week honors.

Second in Georgia
Mercer enters the weekend as the second-best team in the state of Georgia with a 12-2 overall record for the first time in program history. The Bears are batting .332 at the plate for the season, holding opponents to .203 for the season. Mercer has scored 85 runs on the campaign, averaging just over six runs per game.

Just Keep Winning
Mercer is currently on a six-game winning streak for the first time since the 2016 season. The Bears' six-game winning streak has propelled Mercer to its first-ever 12-2 record in program history. Over the span of six games, the Bears are outscoring opponents 36-7. Mercer has accumulated 53 hits in the last six games, batting .331 as a team.

Freshmen Duo
Laurenne Sanchez and Allie Jones have taken Mercer by storm lately as Sanchez leads the team in batting average with .409. Jones has made 23 plate appearances, batting .478 with 11 hits and six runs batted in. Sanchez leads the team in doubles with six, while crossing the plate 15 times on the campaign. Jones boasts a slugging percentage of .609 this season, while Sanchez holds a .545 slugging percentage.

She is Perfect
Megan Bilgri hurled the program's first-ever perfect game on Friday as the Bears upended Drexel, 9-0. Bilgri saw 15 batters, sending all 15 back home empty handed. The Illinois native registered two strikeouts in the win. Bilgri currently holds a 4-1 overall record with a 3.78 ERA.

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