Thursday, May 17
Macon, Ga.
3 p.m.
Mercer University
vs
The Citadel
Photo by: Gerrit Van Genderen
Bears Wrap Up Regular Season against The Citadel
5/16/2018 2:58:00 PM | Baseball
Mercer to hold Senior Day ceremony prior to Friday’s contest
MACON, Ga. – Mercer will welcome The Citadel to OrthoGeorgia Park for a regular-season ending conference series, starting with a doublehader at 3 p.m. Thursday.
The two teams will play a doubleheader Thursday starting at 3 p.m. due to the expectation of inclement weather in the Middle Georgia area throughout the remainder of the week. A series finale is currently set for a 6 p.m. first pitch on Friday and will be broadcasted live via ESPN3. The series was originally to be played over three days.
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The Bears (34-18, 10-11 Southern Conference) are seeking a strong finish to their conference slate; Mercer is currently in fifth place but can finish the regular season as high as third in the conference standings. The Citadel (17-32, 6-15) is locked into the No. 8 seed and will face No. 9 Western Carolina on Tuesday, May 22 in the SoCon Tournament play-in game.
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Mercer will hold a Senior Day ceremony to honor its 12 senior student-athletes prior to Friday's contest (6 p.m.).
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WEEKEND OUTLOOK
Teams: Mercer (34-18, 10-11) vs. The Citadel (17-32, 6-15)
Location: Macon, Ga. | OrthoGeorgia Park
Tickets: tickets.mercer.edu
Game 1: Thursday, May 17 | 3 p.m. | Live Stats
Game 2: Thursday, May 17Â | 7 p.m. | Live Stats |
Game 3: Friday, May 18 | 6 p.m. | Live Stats |Â ESPN+
Projected Starters:
Mercer is an impressive 12-3 against The Citadel since Craig Gibson took over the helm in Macon. The Bears have won four straight in the head-to-head series, including a series sweep on the road in Charleston last season. The two teams at tied, 5-5, when playing in Macon, but the Bears took a series win in 2016 by winning games one and two of the three-game clash.
The Bulldogs have already locked themselves into the No. 8 seed in next week's SoCon Tournament at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C. and enter the season-ending series at 17-32 (6-15). UNCG came to Charleston and swept The Citadel last weekend; the Bulldogs' lone conference series wins have come against ETSU and Western Carolina.
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Led by William Kinney (.330, 39 RBI), The Citadel is batting .263 as a team. Jeffery Brown ranks second on the team with a .309 average and team-best 17 stolen bases. Mercer will see staff ace Dylan Spence on the mound Thursday; despite a 3-5 record, he leads the team with a 3.67 ERA and 83.1 innings pitched.
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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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The two teams will play a doubleheader Thursday starting at 3 p.m. due to the expectation of inclement weather in the Middle Georgia area throughout the remainder of the week. A series finale is currently set for a 6 p.m. first pitch on Friday and will be broadcasted live via ESPN3. The series was originally to be played over three days.
Â
The Bears (34-18, 10-11 Southern Conference) are seeking a strong finish to their conference slate; Mercer is currently in fifth place but can finish the regular season as high as third in the conference standings. The Citadel (17-32, 6-15) is locked into the No. 8 seed and will face No. 9 Western Carolina on Tuesday, May 22 in the SoCon Tournament play-in game.
Â
Mercer will hold a Senior Day ceremony to honor its 12 senior student-athletes prior to Friday's contest (6 p.m.).
Â
WEEKEND OUTLOOK
Teams: Mercer (34-18, 10-11) vs. The Citadel (17-32, 6-15)
Location: Macon, Ga. | OrthoGeorgia Park
Tickets: tickets.mercer.edu
Game 1: Thursday, May 17 | 3 p.m. | Live Stats
Game 2: Thursday, May 17Â | 7 p.m. | Live Stats |
Game 3: Friday, May 18 | 6 p.m. | Live Stats |Â ESPN+
Projected Starters:
- Game 1: LHP Austin Cox (6-3, 4.98 ERA) vs. RHP Dylan Spence (3-5, 3.67 ERA)
- Game 2: RHP Chase Burks (5-4, 5.29 ERA) vs. RHP Thomas Byelick (2-6, 4.53 ERA)
- Game 3: LHP Christian Vann (4-3, 3.34 ERA) vs. RHP Jordan Merritt (2-5, 7.74 ERA)
- Mercer is one win away from reaching the 35-win mark for the ninth straight season.
- With home runs by Alex Crotty and Steven Taylor last weekend, Mercer is one of two teams nationally with 15 players to have hit at least one home run.
- Austin Cox and Robert Broom are the only teammates to rank inside the top-10 nationally in strikeouts per nine innings.
- Cox became the ninth player in program history to toss 100 strikeouts in a single season. Broom can join him with three more strikeouts (97), which would make them only the third teammate duo in program history to reach 100 in a single season.
- With three wins against The Citadel, Mercer can set a new program record for most home wins in a single season (25). The Bears went 24-4 at home in 2014.
- Alex Hanson has reached base safely in 73 of the last 77 games played.
- Mercer ranks in the top-25 nationally of 12 different statistical categories.
- Strikeouts (first, 557)
- Strikeouts per nine innings (first, 11.0)
- Runs (sixth, 413)
- Scoring (seventh, 7.9)
- Home runs (eighth, 68)
- Home runs per game (eighth, 1.31)
- On base percentage (10th, .402)
- Hits (11th, 549)
- Hit by pitch (11th, 85)
- Slugging percentage (16th, .469)
- Batting average (18th, .300)
- Strikeout-to-walk ratio (22nd, 2.68)
Mercer is an impressive 12-3 against The Citadel since Craig Gibson took over the helm in Macon. The Bears have won four straight in the head-to-head series, including a series sweep on the road in Charleston last season. The two teams at tied, 5-5, when playing in Macon, but the Bears took a series win in 2016 by winning games one and two of the three-game clash.
- Series: Mercer leads, 15-11
- Last Meeting: April 18, 2018 | Georgia State, 4-2, in Atlanta, Ga.
- First Meeting: April 23, 1965 | The Citadel, 6-4, in Charleston, S.C.
- In Macon: Tied, 5-5
- In Charleston: Mercer leads, 9-5
- Neutral: Tied, 1-1
- Craig Gibson vs. The Citadel: 12-3
- ÂStreak: Mercer, 4
The Bulldogs have already locked themselves into the No. 8 seed in next week's SoCon Tournament at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C. and enter the season-ending series at 17-32 (6-15). UNCG came to Charleston and swept The Citadel last weekend; the Bulldogs' lone conference series wins have come against ETSU and Western Carolina.
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Led by William Kinney (.330, 39 RBI), The Citadel is batting .263 as a team. Jeffery Brown ranks second on the team with a .309 average and team-best 17 stolen bases. Mercer will see staff ace Dylan Spence on the mound Thursday; despite a 3-5 record, he leads the team with a 3.67 ERA and 83.1 innings pitched.
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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
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