Baseball To Play Last Road Series Of Regular Season At Western Carolina

Friday, May 10

Cullowhee, N.C.

5 p.m.

Mercer University

Western Carolina

Baseball To Play Last Road Series Of Regular Season At Western Carolina

5/9/2024 12:11:00 PM | Baseball

SoCon Game Notes Mercer Game Notes

By: Makenzie Jones, jones_m@mercer.edu

MACON – Mercer (26-22, 5-9 SoCon) travels to Cullowhee, N.C. this weekend to play Western Carolina (23-23, 8-7 SoCon) with one week of the regular season remaining.

Friday's first pitch will be at 5 p.m. and will be aired locally on CW62 and streamed on ESPN+. Saturday's and Sunday's games will be on ESPN+ at 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. respectively.

The Bears have a better record against the Catamounts in Cullowhee (8-5) than in Macon (4-8). They have won just one game of the last six against the Catamounts.

GAMEDAY INFO

Mercer (26-22, 5-9 SoCon) vs. Western Carolina (23-23, 8-7 SoCon)
Friday, May 10 | 5 p.m. EST
Cullowhee, N.C. | Hennon Stadium
LIVE STATS: All Games
TV: ESPN+: Friday | Saturday | Sunday

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BEARS

On Tuesday, Mercer trailed Kennesaw State 7-1 in the fifth inning but scored 12 unanswered runs to win the game 13-7. Ty Dalley led the way with three RBI, and Parker Lester, Jackson Cherry, and Max Kops all recorded two. Freshman Cade Cosper started on the mound and struck out his first three batters. Bryant Olson and Bryce Hawkins pitched two innings each to close out the game, allowing no hits and combining for seven strikeouts.

Mercer was on the road against conference-leading Samford last weekend and picked up one win. Friday's first pitch was delayed one hour due to lightning in the area. Samford opened up the game with a home run in the first inning and headed into the second with a 5-0 lead. The Bears scored one run in the sixth and ultimately lost 9-1. Saturday was Mercer's highest scoring and longest game of the season and resulted in a solid win for the team. Thirty five runs were scored and six home runs hit that afternoon. Bradley Frye knocked out a 3-RBI homer in the second inning to put the first points of the day on the board. After reaching a 4-4 tie in the third inning, the Bears took a lead they never relinquished. Ty Dalley hit two home runs, and Noah Best and Jackson Cherry each added another. Dalley finished the game with six RBI, helping Mercer grab a 20-15 win. On Sunday, freshman Ely Brown put the Bears up 1-0 with his first collegiate home run in the second inning. Jackson Cherry and Parker Lester homered back-to-back in the third to bring the Bear's advantage to 4-0. Samford took a one-run lead in the sixth when severe weather caused a delay of over three hours. After the break, the game resumed at the end of the sixth inning with a score of 6-5 in Samford's favor. The Bears did not score another run while the Bulldogs doubled theirs and took a 12-5 win.

SCOUTING REPORT

Western Carolina is currently one spot ahead of Mercer in the Southern Conference standings at fifth. In conference play over the last month, WCU lost back-to-back games 15-11 against UNCG then won the third game 7-6. The Cats handed Samford their second conference loss in a week, joining ETSU as the only two teams to beat Samford until Mercer did so last weekend. Western Carolina lost a series at Wofford to end April. In the batter's box for the Catamounts, Zach Ketterman has a team-leading .346 batting average. Nate Stocum is tied for second in the conference with 17 home runs and leads the team in RBI (48) and slugging percentage (.678).

LOOKING AHEAD

Mercer will travel to Georgia Tech on Tuesday, May 14 for the final midweek game of the season.

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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 S upportMAF.com or email maf@mercer.edu.