Mercer Takes on ETSU in Second SoCon Series

Thursday, March 29

Johnson City, Tenn.

6:30 p.m.

Mercer University

ETSU

Tickets

Photo by: Southern Conference

3/28/2018 6:04:00 PM | Baseball

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

Bears opened conference play with series win vs. Wofford last weekend

By: Gerrit W. Van Genderen

MACON, Ga. – Mercer will take on ETSU in a three-game Southern Conference road series in Johnson City, Tenn., beginning with a Thursday evening clash at 6:30 p.m. at Thomas Stadium.

The Bears (20-6, 2-1 SoCon) and ETSU (14-7, 2-1) both opened conference play with series victories last weekend. The three-game series will be held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday to avoid playing on Easter Sunday. All three games will be aired live on the SoCon Digital Network.

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Teams: Mercer (20-6, 2-1 SoCon) at ETSU (14-7, 2-1 SoCon)
Location: Johnson City, Tenn. | Thomas Stadium
Thursday: March 29 | 6:30 p.m. | Live Stats | SoCon Digital Network
Friday: March 30 | 6:30 p.m. | Live Stats | SoCon Digital Network
Saturday: March 31 | 1 p.m. | Live Stats | SoCon Digital Network
Tickets: www.ETSUBucs.com
Projected Starters:

Thursday: LHP Austin Cox (5-0, 4.99 ERA) vs. RHP Micah Kaczor (2-1, 4.41 ERA)
Friday: RHP Chase Burks (4-1, 5.34 ERA) vs. RHP Ryan Simpler (2-3, 5.09 ERA)
Saturday: LHP Christian Vann (2-1, 4.00 ERA) vs. TBA

Batting Practice

Mercer has won 28 of its last 33 weekend series played.
Mercer has won three consecutive series against the Bucs dating back to the 2015 season.
The Bears are 15-4 in Friday series openers dating back to the start of last season.
Craig Gibson (490-337) is 10 wins away from career victory No. 500.
Mercer swept ETSU on its last trip to Johnson City, Tenn. (April 8-10, 2016).
Mercer is one of two teams nationally with 12 different players who have hit at least one home run this season (Elon).
The Bears lead the nation in strikeouts (302) and strikeouts per nine innings (12.2).
Mercer leads the SoCon in slugging percentage (.508), scoring (9.1), sac bunts (18), OBP (.424), home runs (38), and walks drawn (129).
Mercer is one of 14 teams nationally with 20 or more wins.
The Bears currently have five players with reached base streaks of 10 games or better.

A Look at the Series
Mercer holds a 30-15 advantage over ETSU in their all-time series. The two programs are former ASUN rivals and have played at least three games each season dating back to 2006. Mercer has won three consecutive series against the Bucs dating back to 2015, including a series sweep in Johnson City in 2016.

Series: Mercer, 30-15
Last Meeting: March 26, 2017 (ETSU, 8-2)
Streak: ETSU 1

A Look at ETSU
The Bucs improved to 14-7 overall with a midweek win over UNC Asheville on Tuesday. ETSU matched season-highs in hits (16) and runs (12). ETSU opened SoCon play last week with series win at Samford, besting the Bulldogs on Friday and Sunday. The series win was ETSU's first under first-year head coach Joe Pennucci.

SoCon #4Peat?
Since joining the Southern Conference in 2015, Mercer has established a dominance with three consecutive regular season titles. The Bears became the first SoCon team to three-peat since Western Carolina claimed three SoCon South Division titles and the overall league title from 1986-89. The last program to win the title four consecutive years was West Virginia, which won it in 1961-64.

Lightning Rod
Senior right fielder Trey Truitt has been a catalyst for a Mercer offense averaging 9.2 runs per game this season. He was named the SoCon Player of the Week and a Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week on last week 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 .396 for the season and just recently saw a career-long 13-game hit streak end. He ranks among the top five in numerous SoCon statistical categories including total bases (69), slugging percentage (.802), RBI (23), runs scored (32), on base percentage (.519), home runs (9) and hits (35).

Your Choice: Broom or 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.

Both have been excellent out of the bullpen this season. Broom (4-0, 1.55 ERA) has recorded one save and 46 strikeouts in 29.0 innings. His 14.28 strikeouts per nine innings rank 12th nationally.

Spear (1-0, 3.12 ERA) owns a team-best four saves after recording a pair in Mercer's sweep of Eastern Kentucky on March 16-18. He has tossed 17.1 innings over a team-leading 13 appearances and has 30 strikeouts while opposing batters are hitting only .188 against him.

Cox in Control
The odds have tended to be in Mercer's favor whenever Austin Cox takes the mound this season. Mercer is undefeated (6-0) when its left-handed ace starts this season and has outscored its opponents 72-33 in such games. Cox (5-0, 4.99 ERA) ranks second nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (16.14).

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.