Mercer Preps for SoCon Tournament

MACON, Ga. – After a 39-16 regular season that featured a pair of upsets over top 10 opponents, Florida State and Georgia Tech, Mercer will enter the Southern Conference Baseball Tournament as the second seed. The tournament will be held at Greenville, S.C.'s Fluor Field. As a result of their play, the Bears earned a double-bye to Friday's 12:30 p.m. game against a team to be determined following Thursday's action.

Batting Practice

For the 12^th consecutive year, the Bears will head to the SoCon tournament with 35 or more wins.
The Bears slugged 102 home runs in the 55 games played, which ranked 11^th in the country. Mercer's 102 were 27 more than the next closest school (ETSU).
Mercer arms have limited opposition to just a .264 average at the plate – a mark that is tops in the league.
On 522 occasions, the Bears have fanned batters in the box, which also leads the league.
Thirteen pitchers have recorded double-digit totals in strikeouts: notably Josh Harlow (81), Jackson Kelley (75) and Ryan Lobus (64).
Kelley, the league's Pitcher of the Month in April, made 24 appearances and registered a 6-0 record behind allowing just 29 hits and nine runs – all earned in 52.2 frames.
Harlow brings a 7-2 mark into postseason play, has ceded the second fewest amount of hits in the league with 56 and is one of just a pair to not have allowed a triple.
Mercer has been quite efficient on defense, making plays 97.2% of the time.
Colby Thomas' .728 slugging percentage is the leading mark in the league. Collin Price (.644) and Bill Knight (.628) follow, placing fifth and sixth in the conference, respectively.
A trio – Knight, Price and Treyson Hughes – are in the top 10 for runs batted in. Knight's 60 leads the SoCon while Price has plated 57, placing him fourth, and Hughes sits at sixth with 52.
Knight's 78 knocks ranks him third in the league, just four hits shy of the top spot.
Three Bears occupy the top four in longballs – Price's 18 lead, Thomas' 17 are in second and Knight rounds out the four spot with 15.
Price and Mapes have taken advantage of free passes to first – the pair hold the top spots in the conference rankings with 48 and 36, respectively.
Price has made the most putouts of any defensive player in the league with 441.
Mercer is just one of three teams to win 35 or more games in each of the past 11 full seasons, joining LSU and Vanderbilt. In 2022, Mercer won 39 while LSU tallied 37 and Vanderbilt 35.

Tournament Outlook
The tournament features all eight programs and starts with the bottom four seeds in win-or-go-home games for the right to play in the double elimination portion of the bracket on Wednesday, May 25.

With a double-bye, second-seeded Mercer is waiting for its first opponent for the Friday 12:30 p.m. matchup. Sixth-seeded Western Carolina and seventh-seeded VMI will meet on Wednesday afternoon for the right to play third-seeded Samford on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. Due to anticipated inclement weather, no games will be played on Thursday.

The Bears will then face the winner of the Wednesday night contest on Friday afternoon.

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.
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Josh Harlow

Treyson Hughes

Jackson Kelley

Bill Knight

Ryan Lobus

Collin Price

Colby Thomas

Footer