Mercer Softball Opens SoCon Play this Weekend

Friday, March 29

Macon, Ga.

5 P.M.

Mercer University

Western Carolina

Photo by: Mitch Robinson

Mercer Softball Opens SoCon Play this Weekend

3/28/2019 10:48:00 AM | Softball

Watch - Game 2 Watch - Game 3

Bears will host Western Carolina in three-game series

By: Gerrit W. Van Genderen

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer softball team will open its Southern Conference schedule with a weekend series against Western Carolina at Sikes Field on March 29-30. First pitch of the series will be at 5 p.m. Friday, followed by a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 and 3 p.m.

Live stats will be provided for all three contests. Saturday's doubleheader will feature a pair of live broadcasts on ESPN+.

WEEKEND LINEUP
Teams: Mercer (13-20, 0-0 SoCon) vs. Western Carolina (10-17, 0-3 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Sikes Field
Friday: March 29 | 5 p.m. | Live Stats
Saturday (Game 1): March 30 | 1 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
Saturday (Game 2): March 30 | 3 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
Twitter Updates: @MercerUSoftball

QUICK HITS

The Bears will play their first SoCon series of the season this weekend.
The series was moved up to Friday-Saturday due to expected inclement weather on Sunday.
Mercer's most recent win was a 6-0 shutout of Georgia State last Wednesday.
Mercer ranks second in the SoCon with 1.38 stolen bases per game. Micayla Rood (11) and Allie Jones (10) are among the top four in the league in stolen bases.
Danielle Castleberry is the SoCon's leader in hits (38) and on base percentage (.491). She owns Mercer's top batting average at .392.
Rood leads the league in runs scored (32).
Freshmen pitcher Bailey Pattison and Lynn Gardner lead the team in wins with seven and six, respectively. Pattison owns 44 strikeouts and Gardner has 42. Both have tossed at least 84 innings.

SERIES HISTORY
Mercer leads Western Carolina, 9-4, all-time. The Bears defeated Western Carolina, 8-7, in last year's SoCon Tournament. Mercer also took two of three regular-season games against the Catamounts last season in Cullowhee, N.C.

SCOUTING WESTERN CAROLINA
The Catamounts enter the weekend with a 10-17, 0-3 SoCon record, having been swept by fellow conference foe, ETSU. Western Carolina is led by Hunter Gibbons, who has a .296 batting average, 24 hits, 17 RBI and four home runs. Kinsey Liscio is the Catamounts' top arm and has six wins and 40 strikeouts.

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.