Mercer Prepares for Troy Invitational

Friday, February 19

Troy, Ala.

4:30 p.m. (ET)

Mercer University

Troy

Photo by: Ben Murray

2/18/2021 7:43:00 PM | Softball

Mercer enters the tournament with a 2-0 record

By: Stephen Waldman

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer softball team hits the road for the first time this season as they will be in Troy, Ala., this weekend for the Troy Invitational from Friday to Sunday.

Due to impending weather, the tournament schedule has been adjusted. Mercer's updated dates and times are listed below.

TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK
Date: Friday, Feb. 19 – Sunday, Feb. 21
Location: Troy, Ala. | Troy Softball Complex
Teams: Mercer (2-0), Austin Peay (0-0), Troy (4-1), Western Carolina (2-2)
Tournament Central: TroyTrojans.com
Twitter Updates: @MercerUSoftball

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, Feb. 19
Mercer at Troy, 4:30 p.m. (ET) (Live Stats)

Saturday, Feb. 20
Mercer vs. Austin Peay, 4 p.m. (ET) (Live Stats)

Sunday, Feb. 21
Mercer vs. Austin Peay, 12:30 p.m. (ET) (Live Stats)
Mercer at Troy, 3 p.m. (ET) (Live Stats)

Home teams in BOLD

MERCER QUICK HITS

Mercer played for the first time in more than 11 months on Tuesday as the Bears swept its season-opening doubleheader against Wesleyan, 6-5 and 6-0.
Diamond Williams and Sophie Sumner blasted the first home runs of their careers in game two against the Wolves.
Danielle Castleberry recorded a team-high three hits, including a pair of doubles.
Castleberry was named one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award.
In the circle, newcomers Ashlyn Donner and Madi Joice combined for the shutout in the night cap.
Donner and Riley Hickok earned their first wins with the Bears, while Joice notched her first career save.

SCOUTING AUSTIN PEAY
Austin Peay will play its first games of the 2021 season this weekend after going 11-12 in the COVID-shortened season last spring. The Governors were starting to hit their stride when the season was canceled, winning 7-of-their-last-10 games. Austin Peay was picked to finish sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference Preseason poll, and junior third baseman Lexi Osowski was named an OVC Player to Watch. The San Diego, Calif., native hit .434 (33-for-76) with 10 doubles, five home runs and 25 RBI to go along with a conference-leading 33 hits in 2020. Brooke Pfefferie was swinging a hot bat for the Governors last season as well, going 22-for-67 (.328 avg.) with four doubles, four home runs, 14 RBI and a team-leading 19 runs scored. In the circle, the duo of Harley Mullins and Shelby Harpe combined to throw 133.2 of Austin Peay's 147.2 innings last year. Mullins posted a 6-5 record with a 4.62 ERA and threw six complete games. Harpe went 4-6 with a 6.96 ERA and tallied the team's only save of 2020.

SCOUTING TROY
Troy had a successful opening weekend at its Trojan Classic, going a perfect 4-0 with wins over Ole Miss (5-2, UAB (8-0, 5 Inn.) on Friday. The Trojans defeated Belmont in their other two games with scores of 3-1 on Saturday and 8-0 (5 Inn.) on Sunday. Troy dropped its first game of the season on Wednesday in a midweek contest against Liberty, 3-1. Logan Calhoun is the Trojans leading hitter with a .500 average (6-for-12) with a team-high six runs, while Katie Webb leads the squad with seven hits in 15 at-bats (.467 avg.). Webb has driven in five runs in as many games to lead the team in RBI. Kelly Horne, who is hitting .357 (5-for-14) has a team-high three doubles, while Jade Sinness slugged the Trojans lone home run of the season thus far. In the circle, Troy has the luxury of choosing between three strong arms in Leanna Johnson, Libby Baker and Brianna Bailey. Johnson has seen the most action in the early going with 17.0 innings pitched under her belt and owns a 1.65 ERA with a team-high 29 strikeouts. Baker and Bailey are both 1-0 with complete game shutouts.

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.