Bears to Host Season-Opening Mercer Invitational

MACON, Ga. – Mercer will play host to three teams this weekend as it kicks off the 2019 softball season with the annual Mercer Invitational, featuring 10 total games at Sikes Field.

The tournament will feature the host Bears, Jacksonville State, Army and Rutgers. Action will start at 11 a.m. (ET) on Friday, Feb. 8 and conclude on Sunday afternoon. The Bears, who play five total games, including a pair on both Friday and Saturday, will face Rutgers and Army twice apiece and Jacksonville State once.

Live stats will be available for all 10 tournament games. There will be no live video stream.

TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK
Date: Friday, Feb. 8 – Sunday, Feb. 10
Location: Macon, Ga. | Sikes Field
Teams: Mercer (0-0), Rutgers (0-0), Army (0-0), Jacksonville State (0-0)
Admission: Free
Live Stats (Mercer's games): Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5
Video: N/A
Twitter Updates: @MercerUSoftball

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Date	Time	Teams
Fri. Feb. 8	11 AM	Jacksonville State vs. Army
Fri. Feb 8	1:15 PM	Rutgers vs. Jacksonville State
*Fri. Feb 8*	*3:30 PM*	*Mercer vs. Rutgers*
*Fri. Feb 8*	*5:45 PM*	*Mercer vs. Army*
Sat. Feb 9	10 AM	Rutgers vs. Jacksonville State
Sat. Feb 9	12:15 PM	Army vs. Jacksonville State
*Sat. Feb 9*	*2:30 PM*	*Mercer vs. Army*
*Sat. Feb 9*	*4:45 PM*	*Mercer vs. Rutgers*
Sun. Feb 10	11 AM	Army vs. Rutgers
*Sun. Feb 10*	*1:15 PM*	*Mercer vs. Jacksonville State*

PRESEASON POLL
Mercer was selected to finish second in the Southern Conference preseason standings. The Bears saw three players earn 2019 Preseason All-SoCon honors as Stella Preston, Megan Lane and Micayla Rood were named to the conference's First Team.

ABOUT THE BEARS
Mercer has 14 letter winners, including six starters, returning for the 2019 season. Lane led the Bears with 33 RBIs and nine home runs, while recording 48 hits for the 2018 season. Rood – last season's SoCon Freshman of the Year – nabbed a team-high .346 batting average. Preston appeared in 29 games and tossed 107 innings in the circle while striking out 74 batters. Preston also posted a 2.80 ERA.

SCOUTING RUTGERS
Rutgers welcomes back Jess Hughes as its leading hitter (50 hits) from last season. The Scarlet Knights went 19-31 and 4-16 in the Big Ten conference in 2018. Mercer hosts Rutgers in the Mercer Bears Classic (March 16-18) last season and split with the Scarlet Knights, falling 6-3 before winning 8-5 in the second head-to-head contest.

SCOUTING ARMY
Carrie Reilly lead the Black Knights with a .347 batting average last season and also recorded the team's most RBI (28) and hits (52) while notching four home runs. Army went 26-28 overall and 10-8 in Patriot League play last season.

SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE STATE
The Gamecocks come to Macon following a strong 2018 season that saw them go 35-25 and 16-6 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Jacksonville State later clinched the OVC Tournament title and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament Tallahassee Regional. Taylor Beshears returns with a team-best .363 batting average along with 74 hits, 11 home runs and 42 RBI.

Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Softball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerUSoftball (Twitter), /MercerSoftball (Facebook) and @MercerUSoftball(Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.

Bears to Host Season-Opening Mercer Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Megan Lane

Stella Preston

Micayla Rood

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