Mercer to Face ETSU

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer baseball program (21-13, 3-3) returns to Southern Conference play against ETSU (15-15, 2-4) beginning on Friday, April 14 at 6 p.m. at OrthoGeorgia Park. The teams will play on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. to complete the series.

It is Monroe County Weekend at OrthoGeorgia Park, and anyone who presents an ID with a Monroe County address is eligible for $2 tickets. Fans can stick around after the game on Saturday for an on-field extravaganza where kids and parents can go on the field to run the bases, play catch, and get autographs.

FRIDAY, April 14 | 6 p.m.
MER: LHP Colton Cosper (2-2, 4.44 ERA)
ETSU: RHP Landon Smiddy (3-5, 6.47 ERA)
ESPN+ | LIVE STATS

SATURDAY, April 15 | 2 p.m.
MER: RHP Josh Farmer (3-2, 4.97 ERA)
ETSU: LHP Austin Emener (1-3, 4.45 ERA)
ESPN+ | LIVE STATS

SUNDAY, April 16 | 1 p.m.
MER: RHP Ryan Lobus (3-3, 6.51 ERA)
ETSU: RHP Nathanial Tate (4-2, 3.97 ERA)
ESPN+ | LIVE STATS

The Bears lead the all-time series with the Buccaneers, 39-16. Mercer has not lost a three-game series to ETSU as a member of the SoCon, and has swept ETSU six times in series history.

SCOUTING ETSU
ETSU has not swept or been swept by any opponents this season. In the SoCon, the Bucs lost series 2-1 to Samford and Wofford. ETSU gave up 45 runs to Samford alone. On Tuesday, the Buccaneers posted a ninth-inning comeback against Radford to walk it off, 6-5.

After starting a mixture of weekend and midweek games, Landon Smiddy has become the consistent Friday starter. He has not been the winning pitcher of record in over a month. Austin Emener has pitched in every Saturday game this season for ETSU and averages four innings per outing. Sunday's starter, Nathanial Tate, was named SoCon Pitcher of the Week twice in March.

Nick Iannantone has recorded a hit in 13 of the last 14 games and ranks second in Division I for batting average at .474. Cameron Sisneros and Garett Wallace are tied for the team-lead in RBIs with 29.

RECENT ACTION
Mercer hit a skid on Wednesday against Kennesaw State after one poor defensive inning. The Bears took a three-game series against CSUN, 2-1, last weekend. It has been two weeks since Mercer faced a Southern Conference opponent.

IN THE NUMBERS

Trevor Austin ranks seventh in Division I among active players for games played (214) and 27th for hits (220).
Mercer is sixth in the nation for fielding percentage at .985. The national leader currently sits at .986, and only 15 schools in Division I are fielding .980 or above.
The Bears have turned 31 double plays this season which ranks seventh in Division I.
Treyson Hughes ranks first in the SoCon for runs scored with 41.
Wesley Franklin ranks seventh in Division I and first in the SoCon for saves with seven this season.

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

Trevor Austin

Colton Cosper

Josh Farmer

Wesley Franklin

Treyson Hughes

Ryan Lobus

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