Softball Travels to Midwest for Mizuno Classic

MACON, Ga. – For the second consecutive weekend, the Mercer Bears will depart Macon, Ga. and travel to a non-conference tournament. This time, the Bears will head to the state of Oklahoma to participate in the Mizuno Classic.

The Bears will play five games against four different opponents over the three-day event. The event is co-hosted by Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Mercer will begin play on Friday in Norman, Okla. against Utah (1:00 p.m.) and will conclude the day with a game against No. 6 Oklahoma (3:30 p.m.). Mercer will make the 90-minute drive to Stillwater, Okla. on Saturday to play Utah (1:00 p.m.) and No. 14 Oklahoma State (3:30). The Bears will finish the tournament on Sunday with a 11:00 am. game against the Murray State Racers.

TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK
Date: Friday, Mar. 6 – Sunday, Mar. 8
Location: Norman and Stillwater, Okla. | Marita Hynes Field (OU) and Cowgirl Field (OSU)
Teams: Mercer (9-12), Murray State (11-6), No. 6 Oklahoma (16-4), No. 14 Oklahoma State (13-5), Utah (12-2)
Live Stats (Mercer's games): Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5
Video: Mercer vs. No. 14 Oklahoma State
Twitter Updates: @MercerUSoftball

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
To view Mercer's games, click here

MERCER QUICK HITS

Mercer has been idle since last weekend's Black & Gold Tournament at Alabama State due to inclement weather postponing the Bears' doubleheader with Auburn.
Danielle Castleberry was named the Softball Player of the Month by the Southern Conference yesterday.
Castleberry became the first Bear to earn the honor since Riley Carter did so in March of 2015.
Castleberry led the SoCon with 26 hits in the month of February and had a streak of eight games from Feb. 16-28 where she recorded two or more hits in each contest.
The Ellenwood, Ga. naïve leads the Bears with a .415 (27-for-65) batting average. Eight of her hits have gone for extra bases. She is 28th nationally with seven doubles.
In Mercer's last game, a 5-1 win over Southern Miss on March 1, Allie Jones recorded her 100^th career hit.
The Bears are ranked 23rd nationally with 33 doubles, which is the most in the SoCon.
Mercer ranks in the top-50 in the country in two additional statistical categories: Stolen bases per game (34th) and doubles per game (48th).

SCOUTING MURRAY STATE
Murray State is off to an 11-6 start this season and has gone 8-4 in neutral site contests. The Racers have yet to play on their home field. Sierra Gilmore leads Murray State with a .412 (21-of-51) batting average and 10 extra base hits. She is a threat to send the ball deep as five of her 21 hits have gone over the outfield wall. The Racers have rallied behind an impressive pitching staff which has a team ERA of 2.39. Three of Murray State's four pitchers have an ERA below 2.50. Hannah James is 5-2 in the circle with three shutouts and four complete games. Despite a losing record of 3-4, Jenna Veber has a mere 2.17 ERA and boasts the second-best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the nation. Kara Amundson is in her eighth season at the helm and is only the second head coach in program history. She is 208-190 overall.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA
The Oklahoma Sooners are ranked sixth in the country and have gotten off to a scorching 16-4 start. Oklahoma's four losses have been to Long Beach State, Washington, Wisconsin and North Texas respectively. The Sooners have dropped just one game on their home field and are led by Kinzie Hanson at the plate. Hanson is hitting .448 (30-for-67) through 20 games. Hanson has also batted in 23 runs. Jocelyn Alo leads the Sooners with seven home runs. Shannon Saile paces the Sooners with 16 wins on the season. She has also recorded five saves and has struck out a team-best 75 batters. Macy McAdoo is second on the team with five wins. She is currently undefeated and has held opposing batters to a .224 batting average through 19.1 innings in the circle. Head coach Patty Gasso has won 1,276 games in 26-year career at Oklahoma while losing just 337 times.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE
No. 14 Oklahoma State is 13-5 overall with all five defeats coming to teams that are currently ranked or at one time found themselves in the NFCA Coaches Poll. Alysen Febrey paces Oklahoma State with a .365 (19-for-52) batting average. She has hit four doubles and has blasted seven home runs while batting in 22 runs. In the circle, Carrie Eberle is 7-1 with two saves and a stellar 0.48 ERA. Eberle has allowed just four earned runs and fanned 49 batters in 10 appearances. Kelly Maxwell (4-3) and Logan Simunek (2-1) have also contributed heavily in the circle. Oklahoma State's staff boasts a 1.26 ERA, which is second among all NCAA Division I teams. Kenny Gajewski is in his fifth season with the Cowgirls and is 167-95 in his first head coaching job.

SCOUTING UTAH
The Utah Utes enter the Mizuno Classic with a 12-2 mark with their only losses coming to Texas and Tennessee. The Longhorns are currently third in the NFCA Coaches Poll while the Volunteers dropped outside the top-25. Utah has won six consecutive games are led by Alyssa Barrera and Ellessa Bonstrom at the plate. Barrera is batting .442 (19-for-43) while Bonstrom is hitting an equally impressive .436 (17-for-19). Both players have hit three home runs and batted in 12 runs. Sydney Sandez has won 10 contests and has a stellar 2.12 ERA. She has started seven games and has better than a 5:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Mary Beth Feldman is 2-0 with a 2.04 ERA. Halle Morris has earned the start in only two of her eight appearances but has a 2.74 ERA with two saves. Amy Hogue has been the head coach of the Utes for 13 seasons and has amassed 347 victories.

Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Softball 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.

Softball Travels to Midwest for Mizuno Classic

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Players Mentioned

Danielle Castleberry

Allie Jones

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