Mercer Opens Conference Play at The Citadel

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Mercer baseball program (14-8, 0-0) will begin Southern Conference play on the road at The Citadel (13-7, 0-0) beginning on Friday, March 24 at 6 p.m. Saturday's game will start at 2 p.m., and the series will conclude on Sunday at 1 p.m. All games will be played at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.

FRIDAY, March 24 | 6 p.m.
MER: RHP Ryan Lobus (2-1, 4.24 ERA)
CIT: RHP Sam Swygert (2-0, 3.38 ERA)
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SATURDAY, March 25 | 2 p.m.
MER: RHP Josh Farmer (1-2, 4.74 ERA)
CIT: RHP Ben Hutchins (3-1, 4.13 ERA)
ESPN+ | LIVE STATS

SUNDAY, March 26 | 1 p.m.
MER: TBA
CIT: TBA
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Mercer leads the all-time series with the Bulldogs, 28-15. The Bears swept The Citadel at home last season and added another win in the Southern Conference Tournament. Mercer is 25-6 against The Citadel under head coach Craig Gibson.

SCOUTING THE CITADEL
The Bulldogs have swept three opponents this season, took two games against Kansas, and only lost one weekend series. After finishing last in the SoCon in 2022, The Citadel started this year 13-7 overall heading into conference play. All but three games have been at home for the Bulldogs to start the season.

Friday starter Sam Swygert has made only two starts this season with four other appearances out of the bullpen. He threw a season-high 5.1 innings in the Bulldogs' win over Kansas last Friday, posting nine hits, three runs, one walk, and two strikeouts. Right-hander Ben Hutchins has logged a start every weekend so far this season, including throwing five scoreless innings against Holy Cross and striking out five while only allowing one run against Kansas.

The Citadel seldom hits beyond the outfield wall, but the team has logged 53 other extra base hits besides the nine home runs this season. Travis Lott leads the team in on-base percentage at .578 with 27 hits, 15 walks, and 10 HBP. Noah Mitchell has a team-high 25 RBI this season.

RECENT ACTION
The Bears nearly took down Georgia Southern on Wednesday, falling 12-11 after five home runs scored 10 of Mercer's runs. Jackson Cherry and Ty Dalley each hit two over the fence, and Treyson Hughes launched a three-run blast in the ninth to bring the score within one. Hughes has reached base safely in 28-straight games, dating back to the 2022 season.

Mercer currently ranks ninth in the country and first in the Southern Conference in fielding percentage at .981. Only 29 schools in Division I are fielding .980 or better. The Bears are 9-1 this season when committing zero errors.

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

Jackson Cherry

Ty Dalley

Josh Farmer

Treyson Hughes

Ryan Lobus

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