VMI for Home Finale

Friday, May 13

Macon, Ga.

6 P.M.

Mercer University

VMI

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Photo by: Mitch Robinson

5/12/2022 3:26:00 PM | Baseball

Mercer to host Keydets for last home series

MACON, Ga. – By welcoming VMI this weekend, Mercer will salute its six graduating members – Le Bassett, Will Bowdoin, Tanner Hall, Beau Healy, William Mapes and Luke Sutko – for the final homestand of the season.

The Bears have been treated well at the friendly confines of OrthoGeorgia Park and look to keep up the positive play against VMI in the final home series of the season. For the fourth time in the last five full seasons, Mercer collected 20 or more wins at home

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Teams: Mercer (36-12, 9-6 SoCon) vs. VMI (15-33, 5-10 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. | OrthoGeorgia Park
Friday: May 13 | 6 p.m. | Live Stats
Saturday: May 14 | 2 p.m. | Live Stats
Sunday: May 15 | 1 p.m. | Live Stats

Projected Starters:

Friday: Ryan Lobus (RHP) vs. Trey Morgan (LHP)
Saturday: Josh Farmer (RHP) vs. Tyler Kaltreider (RHP)
Sunday: Josh Harlow (RHP) vs. TBD

Batting Practice

Mercer enters the contest with a 36-12 overall and 9-6 SoCon record after an 11-5 midweek win at Georgia State
The Bears have belted 90 home runs in 48 games during the 2022 season, the most in the conference and eighth-most in the nation. Colby Thomas leads the squad and league with 17 homers which is the 16th-best in the country.
Thomas also leads the league in slugging percentage with .728.
Mercer leads the SoCon with the lowest ERA of 4.75. Jackson Kelley leads the team with a 1.68 ERA.
Mercer currently leads the conference with 469 strikeouts this season. Mercer is led by Josh Harlow and Kelley, who both have registered 69 Ks. 13 pitchers have tallied double-digit punchouts on the year.
The Bears' 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings ranks 33^rd in the country
The Bears' arms have held their conference opposition to just a .259 average, which leads the league.
Mercer leads the conference in multiple categories such as ERA, slugging percentage, runs scored, RBI, home runs, plate appearances and base-on-balls.
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.

A Look at the Series
Mercer holds a 19-8 advantage over VMI and has won five of the last nine regular season meetings but was swept in the 2021 series. The last time these sides met in Macon, the Bears took two-of-three in April 2019.

Series: Mercer, 19-8
Last Meeting: April 17, 2021 (VMI, 10-0)
Streak: VMI, W3

Scouting VMI
The Keydets are looking for their first series win since taking a mid-April one over The Citadel in Lexington. Idle in the midweek, VMI dropped two-of-three on the road to UNCG last weekend. Will Knight's 60 hits and Brett Cook's 11 homers leads the Keydet offense. Justin Starke's .350 average at the dish and .634 slugging percentage places him 10^th and fifth, respectively, in the league.

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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