Bears Open Preseason Baseball Practice on Friday

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer baseball team opened preseason practice on a cold, but sunny Friday afternoon in OrthoGeorgia Park at Claude Smith Field. The Bears played six innings of an intersquad scrimmage and had four pitchers log three innings apiece.

Mercer, which has won 35 or more games in nine consecutive years dating back to 2010, opens the season at 6 p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 15, when the Bears play host to Evansville at OrthoGeorgia Park.

Mercer head coach Craig Gibson enters his 16th season at the helm of his alma mater eager for the challenges the 2019 season will present to his program. Gibson has led Mercer to three NCAA Tournament appearances since 2010 ('10, '13, '15) and three Southern Conference regular season titles and one tournament title in four seasons since joining the league.

"Today marks the start of a new season and there's always a good amount of excitement and energy that comes with it," Gibson said prior to Friday's practice. "We've had a good deal of success throughout the years and I think this team is capable of doing something special as well. Past Mercer teams have raised the bar for what is expected and it's up to these guys – many of which are new – to put together a great spring."

The 2019 Bears return four position players who have filled everyday starting roles in the past, including RJ Yeager, who was touted as the Preseason SoCon Player of the Year by D1Baseball. Mercer's pitching staff returns 12 arms from a group that in 2018 led the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (10.9) and set a SoCon and school record with 633 total strikeouts. Only 35 percent of those strikeouts were thrown by returning players however; senior Nick Spear struck out 60 in 38.1 innings.

Purchase 2019 Season Tickets
Season tickets for the 2019 baseball season are on sale now and can be purchased online at tickets.mercer.edu. The Bears' 32-game home schedule includes SoCon series with UNCG, Western Carolina, ETSU and Samford as well as in-state contests against Georgia Tech, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Kennesaw State and Savannah State.

In addition to purchasing season tickets at ticket.mercer.edu, Bears fans can call the Mercer Ticket Office at (478) 301-5470 during the hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday through Friday.

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.

Bears Open Preseason Baseball Practice on Friday

Players Mentioned

Nick Spear

RJ Yeager

Footer