Saturday, May 1
Macon, Ga.
1 p.m.
Mercer University
vs
UNCG
Photo by: Stephen Waldman
Mercer Hosts UNCG for Senior Day
4/30/2021 3:40:00 PM | Softball
The Bears will honor their six seniors prior to Saturday’s series opener
Macon, Ga. – The Mercer softball team will close out its home slate for the 2021 season as it welcomes UNCG to Sikes Field this weekend.
The Bears will open the series against the Spartans 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+.
Prior to the series opener, Mercer will hold a senior day ceremony where it will recognize seniors Amber Byrd, Micayla Rood, Bree Comer, Allie Jones, Danielle Castleberry and Sydney Tucker.
BEAR NECESSITIES
Teams:Â Mercer (20-18, 5-6 SoCon) vs. UNCG (26-14, 9-3 SoCon)
Location:Â Macon, Ga. | Sikes Field
Saturday (G1):Â April 17 | 1 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)
Saturday (G2):Â April 17 | 3 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)
Sunday:Â April 18 | 1 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)
Twitter Updates:Â @MercerUSoftball
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Quick Hits
Series History
The Bears are 7-11 against the UNCG Spartans all-time. The last meeting between the two clubs took place in Chattanooga, Tenn., on May 10, 2019 in the Southern Conference Tournament when the Bears fell to the top-seeded Spartans, 7-9, in the last of three games on the day.
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Scouting the Spartans
The Spartans are 26-14 this season following their 10-2 victory over Charlotte on Wednesday. As a team, the Spartans have hit a program-record 67 home runs in 40 games this season with nine players slugging at least five homers. UNCG is among the nation's best teams in terms of home runs per game (1.68) and doubles (65), ranking seventh and 13th, respectively. Senior Makenna Matthijs powers the UNCG offense from the leadoff spot as she leads the squad in batting average (.353), slugging percentage (.647), hits (48), runs (36), RBI (36) and home runs (10). Redshirt junior Jordan Gontram and junior Samantha Lagrama follow closely behind with nine and eight long balls, respectively, while sophomore Maycin Brown is hitting .338 on the year with 12 of her 26 hits going for extra bases (seven doubles, five home runs).
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In the circle, sophomore Morgan Scott has been one of the top arms in the SoCon as she leads the conference in ERA (2.26), wins (14), opponent batting average (.204), innings pitched (133.1), strikeouts (156) and strikeouts looking (46). She has gone the distance in 14 of her 23 starts and shut out the opposition on four occasions. The Spartans No. 2 pitcher is Alina Varga who boasts a perfect 8-0 record on the season having thrown 61.1 innings.
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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.
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The Bears will open the series against the Spartans 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+.
Prior to the series opener, Mercer will hold a senior day ceremony where it will recognize seniors Amber Byrd, Micayla Rood, Bree Comer, Allie Jones, Danielle Castleberry and Sydney Tucker.
BEAR NECESSITIES
Teams:Â Mercer (20-18, 5-6 SoCon) vs. UNCG (26-14, 9-3 SoCon)
Location:Â Macon, Ga. | Sikes Field
Saturday (G1):Â April 17 | 1 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)
Saturday (G2):Â April 17 | 3 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)
Sunday:Â April 18 | 1 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)
Twitter Updates:Â @MercerUSoftball
Â
Quick Hits
- With two weeks remaining in the regular season, Mercer is fifth in the SoCon standings and one game behind Chattanooga for the final playoff spot.
- The Bears lead Southern Conference in triples (10) and stolen bases per game (1.55), ranking 30th and 56th in the nation, respectively.
- Senior Amber Byrd owns the fifth-best opposing batting average in the SoCon, limiting the opposition to a .249 average.
- Senior Micayla Rood has scored the eighth-most runs in Mercer history throughout her career, having crossed home plate 107 times.
- Senior Bree Comer has been one of the most disciplined hitters in the conference this season, drawing a team-high 18 walks to rank fifth in the SoCon.
- Senior Allie Jones ranks first in the Southern Conference for stolen bases with 17 bases stolen.
- Redshirt senior Danielle Castleberry leads the Bears in multi-hit games (12) and multi-RBI games (6) in 2021.
- Redshirt junior Sydney Tucker held opponents to a .200 batting average in 2020 without allowing an extra-base hit.
- Sophomore Elisa Rosado leads the team in runs having crossed home plate 24 times this season.
- Sophomore Ashlyn Donner's 19 walks issued are the fewest in the SoCon this season.
- Rookie Madi Joice has the lowest ERA among freshmen in the SoCon at 3.34.
Series History
The Bears are 7-11 against the UNCG Spartans all-time. The last meeting between the two clubs took place in Chattanooga, Tenn., on May 10, 2019 in the Southern Conference Tournament when the Bears fell to the top-seeded Spartans, 7-9, in the last of three games on the day.
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Scouting the Spartans
The Spartans are 26-14 this season following their 10-2 victory over Charlotte on Wednesday. As a team, the Spartans have hit a program-record 67 home runs in 40 games this season with nine players slugging at least five homers. UNCG is among the nation's best teams in terms of home runs per game (1.68) and doubles (65), ranking seventh and 13th, respectively. Senior Makenna Matthijs powers the UNCG offense from the leadoff spot as she leads the squad in batting average (.353), slugging percentage (.647), hits (48), runs (36), RBI (36) and home runs (10). Redshirt junior Jordan Gontram and junior Samantha Lagrama follow closely behind with nine and eight long balls, respectively, while sophomore Maycin Brown is hitting .338 on the year with 12 of her 26 hits going for extra bases (seven doubles, five home runs).
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In the circle, sophomore Morgan Scott has been one of the top arms in the SoCon as she leads the conference in ERA (2.26), wins (14), opponent batting average (.204), innings pitched (133.1), strikeouts (156) and strikeouts looking (46). She has gone the distance in 14 of her 23 starts and shut out the opposition on four occasions. The Spartans No. 2 pitcher is Alina Varga who boasts a perfect 8-0 record on the season having thrown 61.1 innings.
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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.
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