Bears Set to Host Western Carolina in SoCon Play

Saturday, April 17

Macon, Ga.

1 p.m.

Mercer University

Western Carolina

Photo by: Mitch Robinson

Bears Set to Host Western Carolina in SoCon Play

4/16/2021 1:46:00 PM | Softball

Mercer will take on the conference-leading Catamounts at Sikes Field this weekend

By: Stephen Waldman

Macon, Ga. – Mercer softball returns to action this weekend to host the Western Carolina Catamounts in a three-game SoCon series.

The Bears will open the series against the Catamounts with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The series finale is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Teams: Mercer (18-15, 3-3 SoCon) vs. Western Carolina (16-18, 7-1 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Sikes Field
Saturday (G1): April 17 | 1 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)
Saturday (G2): April 17 | 3 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)
Sunday: April 18 | 1 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)
Twitter Updates: @MercerUSoftball

Quick Hits

Mercer enters its series against Western Carolina having won six of the last eight games.
The Bears lead the Southern Conference and rank 40^th nationally in stolen bases, averaging 1.7 per game. Senior Allie Jones leads the conference with 16 stolen bases, while senior Micayla Rood ranks second with 12 and sophomore Elisa Rosado is third with nine.
Senior Danielle Castleberry has swung a hot bat this season, ranking second in the conference with 35 hits and fourth with a .354 batting average.
Freshman Madi Joice boasts the fourth-lowest ERA in the SoCon at 3.08 and the lowest among all freshmen in the conference.
Sophomore pitcher Ashlyn Donner has won four of her last five outings and leads the Bears with six wins this season.
Senior Amber Byrd leads Mercer's pitching staff with 47 strikeouts and a .251 opponent batting average.

Series History
The Bears own a 15-6 all-time record versus the Catamounts. The last meeting between the two was in the Southern Conference tournament on May 10, 2019 which saw Mercer down Western Carolina, 7-4. The Bears fell behind early but made a strong comeback in the bottom of the fourth inning with a five-run stretch that saw them past the Catamounts.

Scouting the Catamounts
Western Carolina is 16-18 this season and have won 11 of its last 13 games after two losses in a doubleheader against Presbyterian on Wednesday. The Catamounts are led by starting pitcher Savannah Rice who has nine wins this season as a starter. A player to watch out for is junior infielder Bailey Huneycutt who leads the Southern Conference in batting average (.400), on base percentage (.526), and slugging percentage (.722). Another player to keep an eye on is infielder Kailey McNeil who has a team-high of 25 runs batted in for the Catamounts.

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.