Wednesday, May 23
Greenville, S.C.
9 a.m.
Mercer University
vs
VMI
Photo by: Tim Casey & Allison Curry
Mercer Opens SoCon Tournament vs. #4 VMI Wednesday
5/22/2018 2:31:00 PM | Baseball
Bears, Keydets to clash at 9 a.m. Wednesday in Greenville
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Fifth-seeded Mercer will open the first round of the 2018 Southern Conference Baseball Championship, presented by Holston Gases, against No. 4 VMI at 9 a.m. Wednesday at Fluor Field in Greenville, South Carolina.
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Mercer (35-20, 11-13 SoCon) is 8-4 all-time at the SoCon Tournament and has never lost an opening-round game (3-0). Wednesday's game will also mark the third time Mercer and VMI (26-25, 12-12) have faced one another in postseason play.
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The contest will be streamed live via SoCon Digital Network.
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TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK
Teams: #5 Mercer (35-20, 11-13 SoCon) vs. #4 VMI (26-25, 12-12 SoCon)
Date/Time: Wednesday, May 23 | 9 a.m.
Location: Greenville, S.C. | Fluor Field
Tickets: SoConSports.com
Live Stats: SoConSports.com
Watch: SoCon Digital Network
Tournament Central: SoConSports.com
Tournament Bracket: SoConSports.com
Projected Starters: LHP Austin Cox (6-3, 4.66 ERA) vs. RHP Josh Winder (5-5, 4.98 ERA)
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Batting Practice
The Bears won two of three games against VMI earlier this season in Macon, extending a streak of four straight series wins for Mercer since joining the SoCon in 2015. Wednesday's game marks the third time the two programs will have met in the SoCon Tournament; Mercer defeated the Keydets in the first round of the 2015 and 2017 tournaments.
The fourth-seeded Keydets are coming off a series loss at Samford in the final weekend of the regular season and have lost three consecutive series dating back to their visit to Macon on April 27-29.
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VMI ranked second among SoCon teams with a .304 batting average in conference play and is led by outfielder Matt Pita, who batted .396 in conference. Pita, who slugged 14 home runs, is one of five Keydets batting above .300 entering the tournament. Josh Winder will start on the mound for VMI on Wednesday. He tossed a team-high 81.1 innings over 13 starts this season and pitched a complete game against Mercer on April 27; he struck out 10 batters while allowing just one run on five hits to earn the win.
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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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Mercer (35-20, 11-13 SoCon) is 8-4 all-time at the SoCon Tournament and has never lost an opening-round game (3-0). Wednesday's game will also mark the third time Mercer and VMI (26-25, 12-12) have faced one another in postseason play.
Â
The contest will be streamed live via SoCon Digital Network.
Â
TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK
Teams: #5 Mercer (35-20, 11-13 SoCon) vs. #4 VMI (26-25, 12-12 SoCon)
Date/Time: Wednesday, May 23 | 9 a.m.
Location: Greenville, S.C. | Fluor Field
Tickets: SoConSports.com
Live Stats: SoConSports.com
Watch: SoCon Digital Network
Tournament Central: SoConSports.com
Tournament Bracket: SoConSports.com
Projected Starters: LHP Austin Cox (6-3, 4.66 ERA) vs. RHP Josh Winder (5-5, 4.98 ERA)
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Batting Practice
- Two of Mercer's first-round wins in the SoCon Tournament have come against VMI.
- Mercer has won 35 games in nine consecutive seasons. The Bears were one of five teams nationally (LSU, Coastal Carolina, Florida State, Vanderbilt) that entered the season with eight straight seasons of 35 or more wins.
- Mercer is one of two teams nationally with 15 players to have hit at least one home run this season.
- Alex Hanson has reached base safely in 76 of the last 80 games. He reached in 51 of Mercer's 55 regular season games.
- Jackson Ware and Trey Truitt rank third and fourth among active SoCon players with 222 and 219 career games played.
- Truitt is the SoCon's active leader in runs scored (197) and walks (129). He also owns SoCon Tournament single-game records for home runs (3) and total bases (13). Both were set vs. The Citadel in the first round of the 2016 tournament at Fluor Field.
- Ware hit a team-best .356 in SoCon play.
- Freshman Le Bassett leads the SoCon in home runs entering the conference tournament (15).
- RJ Yeager became Mercer's first SoCon Freshman of the Year since joining the league in 2015.
- Austin Cox and Robert Broom are the third teammate duo in program history with 100 strikeouts in a single season. They rank 12th and fifth, respectively, in individual strikeouts per nine innings.
- Mercer ranks in the top-25 nationally of 11 different statistical categories.
- Strikeouts (first, 585)
- Strikeouts per nine innings (first, 10.9)
- Runs (seventh, 428)
- Scoring (seventh, 7.8)
- Home runs (eighth, 75)
- Home runs per game (eighth, 1.36)
- Hits (12th, 573)
- On base percentage (15th, .398)
- Slugging percentage (16th, .472)
- Hit by pitch (17th, 86)
- Batting average (23rd, .297)
The Bears won two of three games against VMI earlier this season in Macon, extending a streak of four straight series wins for Mercer since joining the SoCon in 2015. Wednesday's game marks the third time the two programs will have met in the SoCon Tournament; Mercer defeated the Keydets in the first round of the 2015 and 2017 tournaments.
- Series: Mercer 15-5-1
- First Meeting: 3/30/64 | Tie, 2-2 (11), in Macon, Ga.
- Last Meeting: 4/29/18 | Mercer, 11-3, in Macon, Ga.
- In Macon: Mercer leads, 7-5-1
- In Lexington: Mercer leads, 6-0
- Neutral: Mercer leads, 2-0 (both games played at 2015, 2017 SoCon Tournaments)
- Craig Gibson vs. VMI: 15-5
- Streak: Mercer, 2
The fourth-seeded Keydets are coming off a series loss at Samford in the final weekend of the regular season and have lost three consecutive series dating back to their visit to Macon on April 27-29.
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VMI ranked second among SoCon teams with a .304 batting average in conference play and is led by outfielder Matt Pita, who batted .396 in conference. Pita, who slugged 14 home runs, is one of five Keydets batting above .300 entering the tournament. Josh Winder will start on the mound for VMI on Wednesday. He tossed a team-high 81.1 innings over 13 starts this season and pitched a complete game against Mercer on April 27; he struck out 10 batters while allowing just one run on five hits to earn the win.
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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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