Prepping for the Panthers

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer baseball team returns to action on Tuesday when it returns home to face Georgia State for an in-state showdown. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. from OrthoGeorgia Park.

You can purchase tickets here. The first 200 fans will receive a plunger as the Bears look to "plunge the Panthers for the last 'Tidy Tuesday'" game of the year.

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Teams: Mercer (20-5) at Georgia State (15-9)
Location: Macon, Ga. | OrthoGeorgia Park
Tuesday: March 29 | 6 p.m. | Statbroadcast
Watch: ESPN+

Projected Starters:

Tuesday: LHP So. Fred Wilson (2-0, 5.02 ERA) vs. RHP R-So. Dylan Matela (0-0, 6.61 ERA)

Batting Practice

The Bears enter the contest with a 20-5 record. This will be the first of two meeting between Bears and Panthers this season.
The Orange and Black are just one of five programs in Division I baseball to have 20 wins on the year.
The Bears are coming into the game as 26 in this week's RPI. The next closest SoCon team is Wofford at 54.
Mercer has slugged 48 home runs in 25 games during the 2022 season, the second-most in the nation. Colin Price leads the Bears with nine home runs, while Colby Thomas has eight and the freshman Treyson Hughes follows with seven.
Jackson Kelley led the Bears' pitchers this week as he made two appearances in relief and tallied a win against Utah on Friday night. In his two appearances of relief, he pitched 5.0 innings, allowed two hits, one walk, and fanned eight.
The Bears are second in the Southern Conference with 49 doubles. 12 different Bears have hit a double, led by Colby Thomas' 12 two-base knocks, which leads the SoCon. Bill Knight is right behind Colby Thomas with nine and second in the conference in doubles.
Mercer earned a 2-1 series win against Pac-12 opponent Utah this past weekend. The Bears earned a 6-4 win on Friday night but fell to the Utes on Saturday. During the rubber match, Mercer took an early lead and came away with a 11-5 victory.
Mercer leads the Southern Conference with 269 strikeouts this season. Mercer led by Josh Harlow, who has 43 this season. Jackson Kelley is right behind him with 38. Mercer has 12 pitchers that have at least double-digit strikeouts on the year.
The Bears have 32 stolen bases on the year on 33 attempts. Bill Knight and Colby Thomas are tied for fifth in the conference with eight apiece.
Mercer was picked to finish second in the 2021 Preseason SoCon Coaches and Media Polls. The Bears were picked behind Wofford in both polls.
Mercer is one of just three NCAA Division I programs to win at least 35 games in each of the past 11 full seasons, joining LSU and Vanderbilt.

Series History
Series: Mercer leads the all-time series, 71-52
First Meeting: 1958 – Mercer 14, Georgia State 2
Last Meeting: 2021 – Mercer 7, Georgia State 4
Streak: W5

Scouting Georgia State
Georgia State enters the contest with the Bears with a 15-9 mark on the season. The last time the Panthers took to the field was on March 27 when won final game of a three game series against Sun Belt opponent ULM , 8-5. This will be the first meeting of the season between these two programs. Mercer will play Georgia State again in Atlanta on Tuesday, May 10.

As a team, the Panthers are hitting .295 with 34 home runs. Griffin Cheney and Max Ryerson lead the team with 8 homers. Griffin Cheney leads the team with a .439 batting average in 66 at-bats and is second on the team with 17 RBI . Max Ryerson is batting .313 on the year leads the team with 19 RBI and has nine doubles on the year with his eight home runs.

The Bears will face righty pitcher Dylan Matela on Tuesday night. Matela has made five starts this season with 0-0 record on the season. He has posted a 6.61 ERA in 16.1 innings pitched. His last appearance was on March 20 against Little Rock when he threw 3.0 while giving up a pair of runs and striking out a batter.

Chad Treadway leads the team with 10 appearances out of the pen. Treadway has thrown 14.2 innings and has an ERA of 1.84. The Panthers post an ERA of 4.82 as a team and opponents are hitting .249.

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.

Players Mentioned

Josh Harlow

Treyson Hughes

Jackson Kelley

Bill Knight

Colby Thomas

Fred Wilson

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