Saturday, April 27
Greensboro, N.C.
1 p.m.
Mercer University
at
UNC Greensboro
Bears Travel To UNC Greensboro For SoCon Showdown
4/25/2024 7:19:00 PM | Softball
MACON – The Mercer softball team will put its perch atop the Southern Conference regular season standings in the ante on Saturday and Sunday when the Bears head to western North Carolina to battle UNC Greensboro in a three-game series at the UNCG Softball Stadium.
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The squads will open the weekend series with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, and close out the set with a lone game on Sunday at 1 p.m. Fans unable to make the trip to Greensboro can still follow the games in progress for free via live statistics links provided by the UNCG athletics department. All three games are slated to be streamed live on ESPN+ as well.
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The Bears (21-23, 10-5 SoCon) are fresh from taking the second and third games of a weekend set at then-league-leading Chattanooga last weekend. The series win – Mercer's fourth SoCon series win of the season – vaulted the Orange & Black into a first-place tie with the Mocs atop the league's latest regular season standings. MU rode the strong right arm of redshirt sophomore Hannah Pitts for eight innings on the way to a 1-0 triumph in the middle game of the set, and then tacked up 10 hits, including a 3-run homer in the 7th inning, on the way to a 6-4 victory in Sunday's rubber game.
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Pitching and defense has been the story for Mercer in its success inside league play this season. Through their first 15 league outings, the Bears have limited opponents to a paltry .213 batting clip while also amassing a 2.66 earned run average in 102-2/3 innings pitched. Defensively, MU has posted a .974 fielding percentage against SoCon competition, and has committed just 11 errors across that 15-game span as well. Mercer has played error-free in eight of its 15 SoCon contests, and has committed just one error in four other outings.
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Emma Dorval continues to pace the Bears with a .356 batting average this season, while also registering on-base and slugging percentages north of the .400 plateau. From a power perspective, fellow junior Tori Hedgecock heads into the weekend still sporting league bests in both home runs (17) and RBI (49), while senior Alyssa Woods is hitting .348 with team-bests in both the triples (3) and runs (40) columns.
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Pitts (5-7, 3.28 ERA) is yielding just 3.7 hits per 7 innings over her last seven appearances, while also registering a 3-2 record and a 2.02 ERA over that stretch. Sophomore Grace Taylor (10-10, 3.40) has tallied wins in five of her last eight appearances, including two victories amid a relief role.
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The squads will open the weekend series with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, and close out the set with a lone game on Sunday at 1 p.m. Fans unable to make the trip to Greensboro can still follow the games in progress for free via live statistics links provided by the UNCG athletics department. All three games are slated to be streamed live on ESPN+ as well.
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The Bears (21-23, 10-5 SoCon) are fresh from taking the second and third games of a weekend set at then-league-leading Chattanooga last weekend. The series win – Mercer's fourth SoCon series win of the season – vaulted the Orange & Black into a first-place tie with the Mocs atop the league's latest regular season standings. MU rode the strong right arm of redshirt sophomore Hannah Pitts for eight innings on the way to a 1-0 triumph in the middle game of the set, and then tacked up 10 hits, including a 3-run homer in the 7th inning, on the way to a 6-4 victory in Sunday's rubber game.
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Pitching and defense has been the story for Mercer in its success inside league play this season. Through their first 15 league outings, the Bears have limited opponents to a paltry .213 batting clip while also amassing a 2.66 earned run average in 102-2/3 innings pitched. Defensively, MU has posted a .974 fielding percentage against SoCon competition, and has committed just 11 errors across that 15-game span as well. Mercer has played error-free in eight of its 15 SoCon contests, and has committed just one error in four other outings.
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Emma Dorval continues to pace the Bears with a .356 batting average this season, while also registering on-base and slugging percentages north of the .400 plateau. From a power perspective, fellow junior Tori Hedgecock heads into the weekend still sporting league bests in both home runs (17) and RBI (49), while senior Alyssa Woods is hitting .348 with team-bests in both the triples (3) and runs (40) columns.
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Pitts (5-7, 3.28 ERA) is yielding just 3.7 hits per 7 innings over her last seven appearances, while also registering a 3-2 record and a 2.02 ERA over that stretch. Sophomore Grace Taylor (10-10, 3.40) has tallied wins in five of her last eight appearances, including two victories amid a relief role.
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| SERIES HISTORY |
| UNC Greensboro leads the all-time series, 19-9, and has captured eight of the last nine matchups with the Bears. The Bears captured the opening game of last season's series in Macon, but the Spartans rebounded by taking the last two games of the weekend set. |
| SCOUTING UNC GREENSBORO |
| The Spartans (27-22, 9-6) have done what is needed to keep pace with league leaders in the race for the 2024 SoCon regular season crown. UNC Greensboro took the first two games of its weekend set at Western Carolina last weekend, and head into Saturday's doubleheader with the Bears just one game out of first place. The Spartans tacked up 27 hits across the three-game series with the Catamounts, but yielded 11 runs in the first three innings of Sunday's finale on the way to a 13-5 mercy-rule setback. Â The Spartans roll into this weekend's boasting NCAA Division I's 12th-best home run-hitting ball clubs. UNC Greensboro has already hit a league-best 68 home runs this season, including 20 inside SoCon play, and ranks sixth, nationally, with 195 walks this season as well. UNCG also sports SoCon-best numbers in both doubles (65) and triples per game (0.24). Â Senior infielder Brookelyn Maxwell has carried the torch for the UNCG offense so far this season, and enters the series with Mercer showing a .393 batting average to go along with 32 extra-base hits (14 HR), 37 RBI and 49 runs scored. Maxwell has tallied 21 multiple-hit games in 2024 as well. Junior Grace Loftin has shown impeccable power numbers as well as evidenced by 19 extra-base hits (12 HR) and 33 RBI. Â Four pitchers have registered 20 or more appearances from the circle for UNC Greensboro this season, with redshirt junior Maddie Spell (8-7, 3.35 ERA) and sophomore Ryann Jones (4-4, 3.51) logging a bulk of the starts. |
| UP NEXT FOR THE BEARS |
| Mercer will close out the regular season at home next weekend, May 4-5, with a three-game series against Southern Conference rival Samford at Sikes Field. |
| STAY CONNECTED |
| Follow Mercer Softball on Twitter and Instagram and "Like" Mercer Softball on Facebook. |
| SUPPORT THE BEARS |
| 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 SupportMAF.com or email maf@mercer.edu. |
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
OF
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