Bears Head West for Weekend at Kansas State

MACON, Ga. – Mercer's first weekend road trip of the season will take the Bears nearly 1,000 miles west to Manhattan, Kansas for a three-game series at Kansas State.

All three games will be broadcast live via ESPN3 from Tointon Family Stadium. First pitch for Friday, Saturday and Sunday's games are slated for 4 p.m., 3 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively (all times eastern).

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Teams: Mercer (11-3) at Kansas State (8-4)
Location: Manhattan, Kan. | Tointon Family Stadium
Friday: March 9 | 4 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN3
Saturday: March 10 | 3 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN3
Sunday: March 11 | 2 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN3
Tickets: kstatesports.com
Projected Starters:

Friday: LHP Christian Vann (2-0, 1.26 ERA) vs. RHP Kasey Ford (2-0, 5.09 ERA)
Saturday: LHP Austin Cox (3-0, 4.80 ERA) vs. RHP Caleb Littlejim (2-0, 5.56 ERA)
Sunday: RHP Chase Burks (2-0, 5.86 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Heckett (1-1, 5.51 ERA)

Batting Practice

The campuses of Kansas State and Mercer are separated by 997 miles.
The Bears are 4-3 all-time against the Big 12 Conference's current nine baseball programs. All seven games were played vs. West Virginia from 1975-92.
Austin Cox leads the nation with 18.0 strikeouts per nine innings.
Mercer has won 21 of 23 weekend series dating back to April of the 2016 season.
Craig Gibson (481-334) is 19 wins away from career victory No. 500.
Mercer ranks in the top 10 nationally in eight statistical categories.
- Strikeouts per nine innings (second, 13.3)
- Hit by pitch (second, 36)
- Runs (third, 141)
- Scoring (fourth, 10.1)
- Hits (fourth, 164)
- Home runs (fifth, 23)
- On base percentage (sixth, .447)
- Home runs per game (seventh, 1.64)

Series History
Friday will mark the first time Mercer and Kansas State clash on the baseball diamond.

Series: First Meeting
First Meeting: N/A
Last Meeting: N/A
Streak: N/A

Scouting Kansas State
Kansas State (8-4) is in the midst of a 14-game home stretch and enters Friday's series opener with a four-game win streak. The Wildcats swept La Salle last weekend before defeating Incarnate Word, 14-3, in a midweek clash Wednesday.

The Wildcats have recorded double-digit hits in eight straight games and are hitting a collective .298 for the season. Speed is a strong suit for Kansas State, which has stolen 34-of-36 bases to rank fourth nationally in the category. On the mound, the Wildcats will start a trio that is a combined 5-1 to start the season.

K's for Days
The Bears are second nationally with 13.3 strikeouts per nine innings, trailing only Florida State (13.5). Mercer's 186 strikeouts in 126.1 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.

Two of Mercer's three projected starters this weekend – Austin Cox and Christian Vann – rank inside the top 56 nationally in strikeouts per nine innings.

Fireworks in March
Mercer set a pair of program records with 33 runs scored on 28 hits in its 33-6 defeat of Holy Cross on Monday. The 33 runs are the third most in Southern Conference history and the second most by a NCAA Division I team this season. Mercer's 28 hits are tied for the eighth most in SoCon history.

All but one of Mercer's 15 batters notched at least one hit while nine Bears recorded at least two hits. Brandon Michie (4-for-4), RJ Yeager (3-for-6), David Posas (3-for-4) and Cory Wright (3-for-4) led the Bears in the hits category.

Vann's the Man
After impressing in his first career start with a 6.2-inning, seven-strikeout effort at Kennesaw State last Wednesday, senior left-hander Christian Vann earned the opportunity to join the weekend rotation against the Wildcats. Vann is 2-0 with a 1.26 earned run average over 14.1 innings pitched. He's holding opposing batters to a .143 average.

Thunder & Lightning
The Bears have found success with Trey Truitt and Alex Hanson batting No. 1-2 in the lineup this season. Mercer is 9-1 in such games and the senior outfield duo has played a key role in getting thing started.

Truitt (.378) ranks ninth nationally with 18 runs scored while Hanson (.315) has already matched last season's total of four home runs while adding 16 RBI and six stolen bases.

Jump on the JT Train
JT Thomas is off to a torrid start for the Bears just 14 games into his senior campaign. The 2018 Southern Conference Preseason Player of the Year is batting .444 and ranks eighth nationally with 24 hits despite snapping his career-long 16-game hit streak Wednesday.

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.

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Players Mentioned

Chase Burks

Austin Cox

Alex Hanson

Brandon Michie

David Posas

JT Thomas

Trey Truitt

Christian Vann

Cory Wright

RJ Yeager

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