Mercer Returns to OrthoGeorgia Park on Wednesday

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Bears return to the friendly confines of OrthoGeorgia Park on Wednesday night when they welcome the Georgia State Panthers for an in-state battle.

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Teams: Mercer (20-15, 8-4 SoCon) vs. Georgia State (10-27, 6-6 Sun Belt)
Location: Macon, Ga. | OrthoGeorgia Park
Wednesday: April 21 | 6 p.m. | Live Stats

Projected Rotations
Wednesday: RHP Jackson Kelley vs. RHP Joseph Brandon

Batting Practice

The Bears have won 20 games and are 20-15 overall.
Mercer has won 15 of its last 21 contests.
RJ Yeager is currently a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award and on the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List
Yeager has started 175 consecutive contests at shortstop since arriving on campus as a freshman.
The Orange & Black have recorded 344 hits, the most in the Southern Conference. Bill Knight is third in the conference with 44 hits.
The Bears have hit 68 doubles, the most in the SoCon and 25^th best total in the NCAA.
Mercer's 44 home runs rank 19^th nationally.
The Bears have been impressive in the field in 2021. Their .980 fielding percentage leads the conference and is 14^th among all NCAA Division I schools.
On the mound, Garett Delano has a team best 3.18 ERA which ranks fifth in the SoCon. His teammate, Jackson Kelley, is seventh in the conference with a 3.40 ERA.
Taylor Lobus (.225) and Delano (.228) are both holding batters under a .250 batting average.
Luke Sutko has been called upon in relief often this season. His 17 innings pitched out of the pen are the third most in the Southern Conference.
Mercer was picked to finish second in the 2021 Preseason SoCon Coaches and Media Polls. The Bears were picked behind Samford in both polls.
Mercer is one of just four NCAA Division I programs to win at least 35 games in each of the past 10 full seasons, joining LSU, Florida State and Vanderbilt.
Since 2010, the Bears are the winningest Division I baseball program in the state of Georgia. The Bears have won 401 games, five more than Georgia Tech which is second on the list.

Series History
Series: Mercer leads the all-time series, 69-52
First Meeting: 1958 – Mercer 14, Georgia State 2
Last Meeting: 2021 – Mercer 5, Georgia State 1
Streak: W1

Scouting Georgia State
Georgia State is 10-27 overall and 6-6 in Sun Belt play. In non-conference play, the Panthers have picked up wins against a trio of ranked opponents – West Virginia, Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt. Georgia State is coming off a 17-15 win over Troy in 10 innings on Sunday and will host the 17^th-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Tuesday before traveling to Macon.

At the plate, Will Mize leads the Panthers with a .308 batting average and joins Griffin Cheney as one of two players to start all 37 contests. Cheney is third on the team with a .284 average trailing only Mize and Josh Smith (.304). Elian Merejo is batting .263 and leads the team in home runs (6) and runs batted in (23). He is also tied for the team lead with eight two-base hits.

Ryan Watson has started a team high nine games and is 2-4 overall with a 7.85 ERA. Cameron Jones has made eight starts and has an ERA of 5.31 to go along with an 0-5 record. Trey Horton has been impressive with a team best 15 appearances, 12 of which have come in relief. Horton has an ERA of 3.58 with 21 strikeouts. Rafael Acosta has made the most of his limited appearances. He holds a 1.35 ERA and has fanned 11 batters.

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.

Mercer Returns to OrthoGeorgia Park on Wednesday

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Players Mentioned

Garett Delano

Jackson Kelley

Bill Knight

Taylor Lobus

Luke Sutko

RJ Yeager

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