Mercer Readies for Midweek Test at Georgia Southern

Wednesday, February 12

Statesboro, Ga.

6 PM

Mercer University

Georgia Southern

Photo by: Alex Keller

Mercer Readies for Midweek Test at Georgia Southern

2/11/2020 3:01:00 PM | Softball

The Bears kick off a six-game road trip on Wednesday in Statesboro

By: Kraig Doremus

MACON, Ga. – For the first time this season, the Mercer Bears will hit the road as they travel to Georgia Southern on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. contest.

Mercer is seeking its fourth consecutive win over the Eagles. The Bears own just a 17-47 overall record vs. Georgia Southern but took both games of a doubleheader in 2014 and won a nail biter, 5-4, in Macon last season.

GAMEDAY OUTLOOK
Date: Wednesday, February 12
Location: Statesboro, Ga. | Eagle Field
Teams: Mercer (1-4) at Georgia Southern (3-1)
Live Stats: GSEagles.co/livestats
Video: True Blue TV
Twitter Updates: @MercerUSoftball

QUICK HITS

Mercer enters tomorrow's contest with a record of 1-4 having handled Wright State, 10-2, before dropping close contests to Tennessee Tech, Dayton, Tulsa and EKU.
Two milestones were reached during the opening weekend as Micayla Rood and Danielle Castleberry recorded their 100th career hits.
Rood leads the Bears in batting average, hitting an impressive .563 (9-for-16) with three RBI and three runs scored. Her nine hits rank second in the Southern Conference and 17th nationally.
Abby Walsh (5 walks), Allie Jones (3 stolen bases) and Kenlie Harvey (2 sacrifice bunts) stand alone atop the leaderboard in the respective statistical categories among SoCon players.
Castleberry and Amanda Schwartz both hit home runs during the first weekend of the season. Kylie Helm, Elisa Rosado, Jones and Walsh also recorded extra-base hits.
Bailey Pattison impressed in the circle last weekend, striking out seven in a pair of appearances and earned the win over Wright State.

SERIES HISTORY
This is the 65th all-time meeting between the two schools. The teams first met back in 1986, and Mercer earned its first victory in the series the following season. The Bears are looking for the 18th triumph over the Eagles and fourth in a row.

SCOUTING GEORGIA SOUTHERN
The Eagles boast a 3-1 overall record entering the contest. Georgia Southern hosted Army West Point, Hartford, ETSU and Rutgers in the Bash in the Boro last weekend. The Eagles entered the final day of the tournament with wins over Hartford (10-2), ETSU (9-3) and Rutgers (9-1), but fell to Army in their final game of the weekend, 7-5.

Georgia Southern is led by Shayla Smith who has a .600 (6-for-10) batting average with three extra base hits and five RBI. Mekhia Freeman, a Second-Team Preseason All-SunBelt selection, is second on the team with a .583 (7-for-12) average, three extra base hits and a pair of runs batted in. A different pitcher has been credited with the win in each of the Eagles' victories.

Georgia Southern was picked seventh in the Sun Belt preseason poll and is led by third-year head coach Kim Dean. Dean has a record of 54-54 record at the helm of the Eagles and a 92-68 overall record.

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