Bears Host Eastern Kentucky for Three Games

Friday, March 16

Macon, Ga.

6 p.m.

Mercer University

Eastern Kentucky

Tickets

3/15/2018 3:34:00 PM | Baseball

Tickets Live Stats (Game 1)Watch (Game 1)

Mercer hosts fourth weekend series of the season

By: Gerrit W. Van Genderen

MACON, Ga. – Mercer will host a three-game nonconference series against Eastern Kentucky this weekend, beginning Friday night at OrthoGeorgia Park.

Friday's series opener and Sunday's series finale will both stream live on ESPN3, marking the first home broadcasts of the season for Mercer.

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Teams: Mercer (13-5) vs. Eastern Kentucky (7-11)
Location: Macon, Ga. | OrthoGeorgia Park
Friday: March 16 | 6 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN3
Saturday: March 17 | 2 p.m. | Live Stats
Sunday: March 18 | 1 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN3
Tickets: www.tickets.mercer.edu
Projected Starters:

Friday: LHP Austin Cox (3-0, 4.58 ERA) vs. RHP Austin Perry (1-1, 3.86 ERA)
Saturday: RHP Chase Burks (2-1, 6.87 ERA) vs. RHP Logan Teague (1-2, 5.91 ERA)
Sunday: TBD vs. LHP Casey Collins (0-1, 5.56 ERA)

Batting Practice

Mercer has won 26 of 31 weekend series dating back to the start of the 2016 season.
The Bears are 13-4 in Friday series openers dating back to the start of last season.
Mercer is 20-9 all-time against opponents from the state of Kentucky.
Craig Gibson (483-336) is 17 wins away from career victory No. 500.
Trey Truitt ranks 11th nationally in runs scored (22).
Austin Cox leads the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (17.39).
Mercer ranks in the top 10 nationally in nine statistical categories.
- Strikeouts per nine innings (first, 12.9)
- Hit by pitch (third, 40)
- Runs (third, 172)
- Hits (third, 208)
- Scoring (fourth, 9.6)
- Home runs (sixth, 26)
- On base percentage (seventh, .433)
- Slugging percentage (10th, .507)
- Sacrifice bunts (10th, 15)

Series History
Mercer will face Eastern Kentucky for the first time in 19 years. The Bears are 2-3 all-time against the Colonels.

Series: Eastern Kentucky leads, 3-2
First Meeting: 1986 (MER, 1-0)
Last Meeting: Feb. 19, 1999 (EKU, 9-7)
Streak: Eastern Kentucky, 2

Scouting Eastern Kentucky
The Colonels enter the weekend with a 7-11 overall record and are coming off a 6-5 win over No. 11 Vanderbilt on Wednesday in Nashville. Eastern Kentucky has two wins over top-15 nationally-ranked teams this season, having also defeated No. 15 Virginia on March 23.

Eastern Kentucky has opened the season with a tough slate that includes six games against top-15 nationally-ranked teams. The Colonels are batting .250 as a unit while their three projected starters own 46 strikeouts through 49 innings pitched.

K's for Days
The Bears are the nation's leaders with 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings, trailing only Florida State (13.1). Mercer's 218 strikeouts in 151.1 innings pitched have been highlighted by a pair of 23-strikeout performances on Feb. 23 and March 5. Only two teams nationally have thrown 23 strikeouts in a game this season (Harvard), with Mercer being the only team to do it twice.

Lightning Rod
Senior right fielder Trey Truitt has been a catalyst for a Mercer offense averaging 9.5 runs per game this season. Truitt is batting .381, primarily out of the leadoff slot, with four home runs, 10 RBI, three stolen bases and a Southern Conference-leading 22 runs scored.

The Dothan, Ala., native tied a career-long hit streak of 10 games Wednesday with his third consecutive two-hit performance. He and teammate Alex Hanson are tied for the team lead with nine multi-hit games this season.

Cox in Control
The odds have tended to be in Mercer's favor whenever Austin Cox takes the mound this season. Mercer is undefeated (4-0) when its left-handed ace starts this season and has outscored its opponents 51-19 in such games. Cox (3-0, 4.58 ERA) is the nation's leader in strikeouts per nine innings (17.39).

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.