Bears Migrate South To Take On Indiana, No. 10 Florida

MACON – The Mercer softball team will snap the lid on a nearly month-long stretch away from home this weekend when the Bears load the bus and head to Gainesville, Fla., for a trio of matchups at the University of Florida's Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.

Mercer (9-12) will play a pair of games on Friday in central Florida, kicking off the day with a 3:30 p.m. contest against Indiana (20-4) before locking horns with the 10^th-ranked Gators (22-4) in a 6 p.m. tilt. The Bears will close out their stay in Gainesville with a high noon rematch with the Hoosiers on Saturday.

Fans unable to make the trip to Gainesville can still follow all three games for free via live statistics links provided by the UF athletics department. Friday evening's contest with the Gators is also scheduled to be streamed live on ESPN+.

Mercer is fresh off a 6-4 comeback loss at Kennesaw State on Wednesday. MU pushed across a trio of runs in the fourth inning to stake claim to a 3-1 advantage, but the Owls came screeching back with three runs of their own in the fifth before closing out the contest. Freshman Taylor Rogers tallied a pair of hits in that outing, while Tori Hedgecock added to her Southern Conference-leading home run total with her 10^th long ball of the campaign.

Despite the recent run of bad luck, Mercer will still tote one of the league's top all-around squads into Gainesville this weekend. MU ranks fourth among the SoCon's eight softball-playing institutions in both team batting average (.274) and earned run average (3.79), while also boasting the SoCon's third-best fielding club (.963).

SCOUTING INDIANA

The Hoosiers will ride a 10-game win streak into sunny Florida after posting a perfect 4-0 record at the Indiana Invite over the weekend. Indiana outscored foes 31-3 over the four-game stretch, including an 8-1 rout of Dayton on Monday. Three of IU's four losses this season have come to opponents ranked inside the top 20, while their fourth setback came at the hands of Gardner-Webb in mid-February.

Indiana will showcase a multi-tooled attack in Gainesville this weekend, but its biggest strength comes from the circle where the Hoosiers boast NCAA Division I's 10^th-best team ERA (1.49) led by junior Brianna Copeland who has compiled an 11-3 clip and a 1.24 ERA in 16 appearances so far. Sophomore Sophie Kleiman is 6-0 with a 0.68 ERA in 16 appearances as well.

SCOUTING #10 FLORIDA

The Gators have now captured three of their last four outings following an abbreviated 11-2 win over visiting Stetson on Wednesday. UF had an 11-game win streak broken with a 10-2 mercy loss to Michigan on March 2 – their second loss to the Wolverines this season – but also have suffered setbacks to both then-No. 6 Oklahoma State in mid-February and a 3-0 defeat at then-No. 10 Alabama on Monday.

Florida leads the nation in scoring at 8.92 runs per game through 26 outings, but also boast NCAA Division I's third-best team ERA (1.11). Freshmen right-handers Keagan Rothrock (9-3, 0.73 ERA) and Ava Brown (10-1, 1.41) lead the way for UF in the circle, while redshirt senior Skylar Wallace has compiled a .479 batting average with 17 extra-base hits (6 HR), 30 RBI and 36 runs scored.

ON DECK FOR MERCER

The Bears will return home for the first time since February 25 on Wednesday when they suit up to battle cross-state rival Georgia State (8-15) in a 6 p.m. contest at Sikes Field. That outing will mark the final tune-up for MU before opening up SoCon play, March 23-24, against Wofford (9-7) in Macon.

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Fans can help support the Mercer athletics department by making a gift to the Mercer Athletic Foundation. To find out more information about the Mercer Athletic Foundation, visit S upportMAF.com or email maf@mercer.edu.

Bears Migrate South To Take On Indiana, No. 10 Florida

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Tori Hedgecock

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Bears Migrate South To Take On Indiana, No. 10 Florida

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