Bears Picked Second In SoCon Preseason Poll

MACON, Ga. – With the release of the SoCon baseball preseason poll, Mercer is picked to finish second by both the preseason coaches poll and media poll. Individually, five Bears were selected to the preseason All-SoCon team.

Mercer is coming off of a 35-22 season, that saw them go 18-9 in SoCon play. Since 2010, Mercer is one of three teams to win 35 or more games each year. Mercer is in elite company with Vanderbilt and LSU being the other two teams to accomplish this feat.

Bill Knight, Angelo DiSpigna, David Burke, Colby Thomas, and Luke Sutko are the five Bears who received preseason recognition.

Bill Knight | OF | First Team
Bill Knight has been named to first team preseason All-SoCon. Last season, Knight started all 57 games for the Bears, batting .325 with 16 doubles, two triples, and ten homeruns. He compiled a .405 on base percentage and a .544 slugging percentage while recording 24 multi-hit games. Knight was named second team All-SoCon by both the coaches and media for his performance last season.

Angelo DiSpigna | 1B | Second Team
Angelo DiSpigna has been named second team preseason All-SoCon. Last season, the Bears first baseman hit .266 with 14 doubles and a team high of 15 homeruns. DiSpigna recorded a .563 slugging percentage and a .391 on base percentage. He would start all 57 of the Bears' contests during his 2021 campaign.

David Burke | 3B | Second Team
David Burke has been named second team preseason All-SoCon. Last season, Burke played in 39 games, making 19 starts for Mercer. He recorded a .309 batting average while hitting five doubles and a trio of homeruns, totaling eight RBIs on the season. He posted a .515 slugging percentage and .378 on base percentage while recording a perfect fielding percentage.

Colby Thomas | OF | Second Team
Colby Thomas has been named second team preseason All-SoCon. During his freshman season campaign, The Bears outfielder was named to the SoCon All-Freshman team. The power-hitting outfielder hit .247 with 37 RBI in 53 contests. He hit 10 homers and had 12 doubles. and an on-base percentage of .356. Once on base, he stole nine bases.

Luke Sutko | RP | Second Team
Luke Sutko has been named second team preseason All-SoCon. He will close out games for Mercer this season. Sutko earned 12 saves for the orange and black last season. He struck out 58 batters in his 48 innings of work. Last season, Sutko was named second team All-SoCon by the coaches for his work as a relief pitcher.

Mercer opens the season against Eastern Kentucky on February 18 at 6 P.M. in OrthoGeorgia Park.

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Players Mentioned

David Burke

Angelo DiSpigna

Bill Knight

Luke Sutko

Colby Thomas

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