Mercer to Face Georgia Tech in Midweek Tilt

Wednesday, March 21

Atlanta, Ga.

6 p.m.

Mercer University

Georgia Tech

Mercer Baseball at Kansas State (Friday, March 9, 2018)

Photo by: Cooper Kinley

3/20/2018 4:53:00 PM | Baseball

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Bears, Yellow Jackets take undefeated in-state records into nonconference clash

By: Gerrit W. Van Genderen

MACON, Ga. – Mercer will take a 4-0 record against in-state opponents into Wednesday's midweek nonconference clash with Georgia Tech at Russ Chandler Stadium in Atlanta.

The contest will be streamed live via ACC Network Extra with a scheduled first pitch of 6 p.m. The host Yellow Jackets (11-8) are undefeated in-state as well (2-0), having defeated Georgia Southern and Georgia State.

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Teams: Mercer (16-5) at Georgia Tech (11-8)
Location: Atlanta, Ga. | Russ Chandler Stadium
Date/Time: Wednesday, March 21 | 6 p.m.
TV: ACC Network Extra/ESPN3
Live Stats: RamblinWreck.com
Tickets: RamblinWreck.com
Projected Starters: LHP Christian Vann (2-1, 4.09 ERA) vs. LHP Will Shirah (0-0, 7.71 ERA)

Batting Practice

Mercer is 4-0 against in-state foes this season.
Mercer is 5-1 in midweek contests this season.
Wednesday's contest will serve as only Mercer's fifth road game of the season.
Craig Gibson (486-336) is 14 wins away from career victory No. 500.
The Bears lead the nation with 12.5 strikeouts per nine innings. It is one of nine statistical categories that Mercer ranks inside the top 10 nationally.
Austin Cox ranks second nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (16.05).
Trey Truitt ranks among the top five in numerous Southern Conference categories including total bases (60), slugging percentage (.800), RBI (21), runs scored (28), on base percentage (.511), home runs (7), hits (32) and batting average (.427).
Mercer is the only team nationally with eight players to have 14-plus runs batted in this season. (Auburn has nine with 12+).
Mercer is one of nine teams nationally with 10 different players who have hit at least one home run this season. (Arkansas, 11; FAU, 11; South Carolina, 11; Davidson, 11; Georgia Tech, 10; Wichita State, 10; Elon, 10; Ohio, 10).
The Bears currently have four players with hit streaks of five games or better and six players with reached base streaks of 10 games or better.

A Look at the Series
After winning three straight games in the series in 2013-14, Mercer has fallen to the Yellow Jackets in five of the last six meetings. Mercer and Georgia Tech have met 166 times since their first clash in 1897. The two teams have played every year at least once since 2008.

Series: Georgia Tech 111-55
Last Meeting: April 18, 2017 | Georgia Tech, 8-5
Streak: Georgia Tech, 2

A Look at Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jackets are two weeks into Atlantic Coast Conference play and own an overall record of 11-8 (2-4 ACC). They are in the midst of a difficult five-game week as they face No. 6 Auburn (19-2) Tuesday before hosting Mercer and then travel to Raleigh, N.C. for a three-game weekend series at NC State.

Georgia Tech head coach Danny Hall enters the week one victory shy of career win number 1,000 as the Yellow Jackets' skipper. The Yellow Jackets are 2-0 against in-state foes, having defeated Georgia Southern (Feb. 20) and Georgia State (March 7). Georgia Tech is led by an impressive offense, which entered the week batting .323 with 219 hits, 28 home runs and a collective slugging percentage of .510. The Bears will face freshman left-hander Will Shirah, who will be making his first career start on the mound Wednesday.

Have a Day, RJ
While he was projected as one of the Southern Conference's top freshmen before ever playing a game, shortstop RJ Yeager showed growing pains early this season. Those days already seem to be in the rearview mirror just 18 games into his rookie campaign.

After batting .171 (6-for-35) through the first 11 games of the season, Yeager has hit a scorching team-high .461 (18-for-39) in the last 10 contests. He has recorded at least one hit in each of those 10 games, including seven multi-hit games, while adding 15 RBI.

K's for Days
The Bears are the nation's leaders with 12.5 strikeouts per nine innings. Mercer's 260 strikeouts in 187.1 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. Mercer set a program record with 522 strikeouts in 2017.

Lightning Rod
Senior right fielder Trey Truitt has been a catalyst for a Mercer offense averaging 9.6 runs per game this season. He was named the SoCon Player of the Week and a Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week on Monday for a staggering four-game stretch in which he batted .588 with 14 RBI, four home runs, eight runs scored and two stolen bases.

Truitt is batting .427 for the season and is currently riding a career-long 13-game hit streak. He ranks among the top five in numerous SoCon statistical categories including total bases (60), slugging percentage (.800), RBI (21), runs scored (28), on base percentage (.511), home runs (7) and hits (32).

Vann's the Man
Senior left-hander Christian Vann will start in Atlanta on Wednesday, marking his third start in a Mercer uniform. After impressing in his first career start with a 6.2-inning, seven-strikeout effort at Kennesaw State on Feb. 27, Vann emerged as a capable starting pitcher for the Bears. He cracked the weekend rotation at Kansas State and despite taking the loss, has proven to be one of Mercer's top arms. Opposing batters are hitting a miniscule .169 against him over 22.0 innings. He ranks 34th nationally with 13.09 strikeouts per nine innings.

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.