Thursday, May 18
Macon, Ga.
6 p.m.
Mercer University
vs
Samford University
Mercer to Play for Regular Season Title Against Samford
5/17/2023 4:21:00 PM | Baseball
MACON, Ga.  –  The Mercer baseball program (32-20, 13-5) enters the final weekend of the regular season against Samford (29-22, 12-6) vying for the Southern Conference regular season title. The series begins on Thursday, May 18 at 6 p.m. at OrthoGeorgia Park. Friday's game is also scheduled for 6 p.m. with Saturday's finale set for 2 p.m.
The Bears are currently in first place in the SoCon, one game ahead of Samford in second place. If Mercer wins two or three games in the series, Mercer claims the regular season championship and earns the first seed in the Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases. If Samford sweeps the series, Samford wins the regular season championship and is the first seed in the SoCon tournament. If Samford wins two games, Mercer and Samford are regular season co-champions, and Samford takes the first seed in the SoCon tournament.
It is an exciting weekend at the ballpark with many opportunities for fans to get involved. Thursday features $2 tickets, Friday is Top Gun Night with an aviator giveaway, and Saturday is Senior Day with an on-field extravaganza after the game.
The seniors who will be celebrated this weekend are: Trevor Austin, Josh Farmer, Holton McGaha, Alex McKay, Jozsef Rohrbacher, Blake Schmitt, Avery Stephens, Walt Thomas, and Eric Toth.
THURSDAY, May 18 | 6 p.m.
MER: LHP Colton Cosper (4-4, 5.95 ERA)
SAM: RHP Jacob Cravey (8-2, 3.28 ERA)
ESPN+ | LIVE STATS
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FRIDAY, May 19 | 6 p.m.
MER: RHP Josh Farmer (5-3, 5.91 ERA)
SAM: RHP Brody Westbrooks (3-3, 5.72 ERA)
ESPN+ | LIVE STATS
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SATURDAY, May 20 | 2 p.m.
MER: LHP Fred Wilson (1-3, 5.14 ERA)
SAM: RHP Will Lynch (3-4, 6.31 ERA)
ESPN+ | LIVE STATS
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Mercer leads the all-time series with Samford, 47-42. The two teams are familiar with facing each other in high-stakes moments as the two programs have met eight times in the SoCon tournament. Mercer has not played Samford at home since 2019 in a series which the Bears took two games en route to an NCAA Regional appearance in the postseason.
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SCOUTING SAMFORD
The Bulldogs have been a bit of a surprise in the league after being picked to finish fourth in the preseason coaches poll and third in the media poll. Samford posted similar results to Mercer in Southern Conference play. The only conference series Samford dropped this season was against Wofford, who Mercer just swept.
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Samford's pitching is clearly led by Jacob Cravey who ranks fourth in the nation in strikeouts with 105 and 18th in victories with eight wins this season. Cravey, who was named to the College Baseball Foundation Pitcher of the Year Semifinalist List, has thrown three complete games and holds a 3.28 ERA. A solid reliever for the Bulldogs is Ben Petschke who has recorded 11 saves this season, ranking sixth in the country.
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Designated hitter John Anderson has been the biggest producer on offense for Samford with 18 home runs and 51 RBI. He leads the way with a .665 on-base percentage followed by Lucas Steele at .617 who is the only other player with double figure home runs with 12.
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RECENT ACTION
The Bears came away with a win on Tuesday night in 5 ½ innings after weather halted play against Georgia Tech with Mercer in the lead, 7-6. Mercer added five home runs to the season total with a pair of back-to-back shots by Eric Toth and Carter Sanford in the second followed by three consecutive blasts in the fifth by Jozsef Rohrbacher, Toth, and Sanford.
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Most recently in the SoCon, Mercer posted an impressive sweep of Wofford, handing the Terriers their first SoCon sweep since 2016 in the Bears' first sweep of Wofford since 1997. Jackson Cherry was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week for his performance, batting .600 with three home runs, four runs, and five RBI. The pitching staff also had an excellent weekend, striking out 28 batters combined.
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IN THE NUMBERS
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.Â
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The Bears are currently in first place in the SoCon, one game ahead of Samford in second place. If Mercer wins two or three games in the series, Mercer claims the regular season championship and earns the first seed in the Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases. If Samford sweeps the series, Samford wins the regular season championship and is the first seed in the SoCon tournament. If Samford wins two games, Mercer and Samford are regular season co-champions, and Samford takes the first seed in the SoCon tournament.
It is an exciting weekend at the ballpark with many opportunities for fans to get involved. Thursday features $2 tickets, Friday is Top Gun Night with an aviator giveaway, and Saturday is Senior Day with an on-field extravaganza after the game.
The seniors who will be celebrated this weekend are: Trevor Austin, Josh Farmer, Holton McGaha, Alex McKay, Jozsef Rohrbacher, Blake Schmitt, Avery Stephens, Walt Thomas, and Eric Toth.
THURSDAY, May 18 | 6 p.m.
MER: LHP Colton Cosper (4-4, 5.95 ERA)
SAM: RHP Jacob Cravey (8-2, 3.28 ERA)
ESPN+ | LIVE STATS
Â
FRIDAY, May 19 | 6 p.m.
MER: RHP Josh Farmer (5-3, 5.91 ERA)
SAM: RHP Brody Westbrooks (3-3, 5.72 ERA)
ESPN+ | LIVE STATS
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SATURDAY, May 20 | 2 p.m.
MER: LHP Fred Wilson (1-3, 5.14 ERA)
SAM: RHP Will Lynch (3-4, 6.31 ERA)
ESPN+ | LIVE STATS
Â
Mercer leads the all-time series with Samford, 47-42. The two teams are familiar with facing each other in high-stakes moments as the two programs have met eight times in the SoCon tournament. Mercer has not played Samford at home since 2019 in a series which the Bears took two games en route to an NCAA Regional appearance in the postseason.
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SCOUTING SAMFORD
The Bulldogs have been a bit of a surprise in the league after being picked to finish fourth in the preseason coaches poll and third in the media poll. Samford posted similar results to Mercer in Southern Conference play. The only conference series Samford dropped this season was against Wofford, who Mercer just swept.
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Samford's pitching is clearly led by Jacob Cravey who ranks fourth in the nation in strikeouts with 105 and 18th in victories with eight wins this season. Cravey, who was named to the College Baseball Foundation Pitcher of the Year Semifinalist List, has thrown three complete games and holds a 3.28 ERA. A solid reliever for the Bulldogs is Ben Petschke who has recorded 11 saves this season, ranking sixth in the country.
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Designated hitter John Anderson has been the biggest producer on offense for Samford with 18 home runs and 51 RBI. He leads the way with a .665 on-base percentage followed by Lucas Steele at .617 who is the only other player with double figure home runs with 12.
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RECENT ACTION
The Bears came away with a win on Tuesday night in 5 ½ innings after weather halted play against Georgia Tech with Mercer in the lead, 7-6. Mercer added five home runs to the season total with a pair of back-to-back shots by Eric Toth and Carter Sanford in the second followed by three consecutive blasts in the fifth by Jozsef Rohrbacher, Toth, and Sanford.
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Most recently in the SoCon, Mercer posted an impressive sweep of Wofford, handing the Terriers their first SoCon sweep since 2016 in the Bears' first sweep of Wofford since 1997. Jackson Cherry was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week for his performance, batting .600 with three home runs, four runs, and five RBI. The pitching staff also had an excellent weekend, striking out 28 batters combined.
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IN THE NUMBERS
- Mercer ranks 12th in Division I and first in the SoCon in home runs with 97 this season.
- Jozsef Rohrbacher ranks second in the Southern Conference in home runs with 17. Eric Toth is third with 16, and Ty Dalley is tied for fourth with 15.
- Mercer is 20th in Division I for fielding percentage at .979.Â
- Treyson Hughes ranks 13th in Division I and second in the SoCon for runs scored with 66. He also has the third-best on-base percentage in the SoCon at .498.
- Wesley Franklin ranks 31st in Division I and second in the SoCon for saves with eight this season.
- Ryan Lobus has struck out the fourth-most batters of all SoCon pitchers this season with 72 K's.
- Ty Dalley ranks second in the SoCon for fielding double plays with 37.
- Trevor Austin ranks 10th in Division I among active players for games played (230) and 36th for hits (234).
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.Â
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