Conference Opener in OrthoGeorgia

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer baseball team returns to action on Friday when it returns home to face The Citadel Bulldogs for its first SoCon showdown. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. from OrthoGeorgia Park.

You can purchase tickets here. These matchups will be the SoCon home openers for the Bears.

SERIES LINEUP
Teams: Mercer (24-5) at The Citadel (17-10)
Location: Macon, Georgia | OrthoGeorgia Park
Friday: April 8 | 6 p.m. | Live Stats
Saturday: April 9 | 2 p.m. | Live Stats
Sunday: April 10 | 1 p.m. | Live Stats

Projected Rotations:

Friday: RHP Josh Harlow (4-1, 3.93 ERA) vs. RHP Cameron Reeves
Saturday: RHP Ryan Lobus (2-1, 2.84 ERA) vs. LHP Fisher Paulsen
Sunday: RHP Josh Farmer (4-0, 2.12 ERA) vs. RHP Ben Hutchins

Batting Practice

The Bears enter the contest with a 24-5 record.
The Orange and Black have the third highest win percentage in the NCAA as they are sitting at .828
The Bears are coming into the game as 31 in this week's RPI. The next closest SoCon team is Wofford at 35.
Mercer has slugged 53 home runs in 29 games during the 2022 season, the eight-most in the nation. Colby Thomas lead the Bears with 12 home runs, Collin Price with nince and the freshman Treyson Hughes follows with eight.
The Bears are second in the SoCon with a team .303 batting average right behind ETSU at .305
Mercer leads the SoCon with the lowest ERA of 3.47.
Mercer currently sits in fourth in the league with 234 Ks this season. Mercer led by Josh Harlow, who has 50 this season. Jackson Kelley is right behind him with 42. Mercer has 12 pitchers that have at least double-digit strikeouts on the year.
The Bears have 37 stolen bases on the year. Bill Knight is sixth in the conference with nine successful steals.
Mercer leads the conference in multiple categories such as hits, RBI, runs scored, OBP, walks and home runs.
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: 24-15
First Meeting: 1959; L, 6-3
Last Meeting: 2021; L, 8-7
Streak: L1

Scouting The Citadel
The Bulldogs are 17-10 on the year and are currently on a 3-game losing streak after being swept by Creighton. After starting the season 5-0, the Bulldogs have yet to sweep a series since.

The Bulldogs lineup is hitting a collective .269, led by Ryan McCarthy's .356 mark. Graduate student Devin Beckley leads The Citadel with four wins on the year in 10 appearances and four starts. Among those that have started for the Bulldogs, Beckley holds the second best ERA with 2.48 behind the another graduate student Jordan Beatson 1.96.

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.

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Players Mentioned

Josh Farmer

Josh Harlow

Treyson Hughes

Jackson Kelley

Bill Knight

Ryan Lobus

Collin Price

Colby Thomas

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