Mercer Opens NCAA Athens Regional on Friday

Friday, May 31

Athens, GA

7 p.m.

Mercer University

Georgia

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Photo by: Gwinn Davis

5/30/2019 11:14:00 AM | Baseball

Athens Regional Bracket Listen Clear Bag Policy Parking Map Live Stats

Fourth-seeded Bears to play host and top-seeded Georgia on Friday night

By: Gerrit W. Van Genderen

MACON, Ga. – Fourth-seeded Mercer will open the 2019 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship in the Athens Regional against No. 1 Georgia at 7 p.m. (ET) on Friday at Foley Field.

The Bears (35-27), who are making their fourth NCAA appearance of the decade, are coming off a seven-game run to the Southern Conference Championship title and will take on the host Bulldogs (44-15) for the first time since 2017.

Mercer and Georgia are joined by No. 2 FAU (40-19) and No. 3 Florida State (36-21) in the double-elimination regional. All games will be played May 31 through June 3. Friday's contest will be aired on the SEC Network with Tom Hart and Kyle Peterson on the call. Rick Cameron, the Voice of the Bears, will have the radio call on Sportsmic.

NCAA Athens Regional Details

Dates: May 31-June 3
Teams: No. 1 Georgia (44-15), No. 2 FAU (40-19), No. 3 Florida State (36-21), No. 4 Mercer (35-27)
Location: Athens, Ga. | Foley Field | Parking Map | Clear Bag Policy
Brackets: NCAA Tournament | Athens Regional
Tickets: GeorgiaDogs.com
Live Stats (Friday): NCAA.com
Watch (Friday): SEC Network
Listen: Sportsmic
Projected Starters (Friday): LHP Tanner Hall vs. RHP Tony Locey
Game Notes: Mercer

Batting Practice

Mercer is making its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2015. All four appearances have been in this decade (2010, Atlanta; 2013, Starkville; 2015, Tallahassee).
Mercer is 1-6 overall in its previous three NCAA appearances. The Bears' lone NCAA win was a 13-7 victory over Elon in the 2010 Atlanta Regional.
Mercer's highest seeding in the NCAA Tournament was a No. 3 seed at the 2013 Starkville Regional.
Since 2010, Mercer is the winningest of seven NCAA Division I baseball programs in the state of Georgia. The Bears have averaged 38.1 wins per season in that span.
Mercer is one of just four NCAA Division I programs to win at least 35 games in each of the past 10 seasons (since 2010), joining the elite company of LSU, Florida State and Vanderbilt.
The Bears won their second Southern Conference Tournament title last weekend in Greenville, S.C., going 6-1 with five consecutive wins over a three-day period while facing elimination.
Mercer has faced one of its three regional foes previously in the postseason. The Bears dropped a 5-4, 10-inning loss to Florida State in the 2015 Tallahassee Regional.
Friday night's pitching matchup will be between Mercer's Tanner Hall and Georgia's Tony Locey. The junior pitchers were teammates at Houston County High School in Warner Robins, Ga., and led their team to a pair of 5A state titles in 2014 and 2016.
Mercer has won six of its last eight games against Georgia dating back to the 2011 season.
Mercer most recently swept the Bulldogs in a home-and-home series in 2017.
The Bears faced Florida State on March 1-3 in Tallahassee., suffering a three-game sweep.
Mercer and FAU are former ASUN Conference rivals. The two teams have faced one another 27 times (FAU leads, 16-11). Their last meeting was in 2006.
Kel Johnson is the only Bear to have played in a NCAA Tournament before. He played in the 2016 Gainesville Regional with Georgia Tech and batted .263 (5-for-19) with two RBI and one run scored.

Mercer at the NCAA Tournament

2010 Atlanta Regional (1-2)
- June 4 | Georgia Tech 10, Mercer 0
- June 5 | Mercer 13, Elon 7
- June 6 | Alabama 5, Mercer 3
2013 Starkville Regional (0-2)
- May 31 | South Alabama 9, Mercer 4
- June 1 | Central Arkansas 6, Mercer 5
2015 Tallahassee Regional (0-2)
- May 29 | #10 Florida State 5, Mercer 4 (10 innings)
- May 30 | Auburn 1, Mercer 0

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.