Mercer University
East Tennessee State
Bears Welcome Bucs For Crucial SoCon Series
4/16/2025 1:10:00 PM | Baseball
| Mercer vs. East Tennessee State | Thursday, April 17 - Saturday, April 19 | 6 PM, 6 PM, 1 PM ET | ||
| Site | Location | OrthoGeorgia Park | Macon, Ga. | |
| Links | Thursday, 6 p.m. ET: Live Stats | TV: ESPN+ Expected Pitching Match-Up: MER LHP Colton Cosper (4-1, 4.28 ERA) vs. ETSU RHP Carter Fink (6-1, 4.23 ERA) Friday, 6 p.m. ET: Live Stats Expected Pitching Match-Up: MER RHP Jeb Johnson (3-2, 4.70 ERA) vs. ETSU RHP Jace Hyde (5-0, 4.21 ERA) Saturday, 1 p.m. ET: Live Stats Expected Pitching Match-Up: MER LHP Jess Ackerman (4-2, 4.15 ERA) vs. ETSU RHP Michael Harpster (4-3, 3.86 ERA) |
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Notables
> This weekend's series has major implications in the SoCon title race, with the two sides being separated by one game in the conference standings. ETSU sits one game back of first place at 6-3 in league play, while Mercer's 5-4 conference record puts them two games back of first
> This weekend features a battle of two of the most prolific home run hitting teams in the country. ETSU ranks fifth in the country with 81 home runs, while Mercer's 56 round trippers rank 30th nationally
> Freshman Eli Stephens continued to impress on Tuesday against Georgia Southern, coming off the bench in the top of the ninth for a pinch-hit go-ahead single. Stephens has started at DH in four of the last six games and and is five for his last 11 at the plate with a home run and five RBI
> Catcher Zack Thompson stayed hot on Tuesday, recording two hits to run his hitting streak to eight games. In that stretch, Thompson has five multi-hit performances and has raised his batting average by 83 points
> Third baseman Brant Baughcum has been on a tear over his last nine games, hitting .500 (19-for-38) since April 4. Baughcum has strung together three consecutive multi-hit games and now ranks second on the team with a .326 batting average.
Scouting ETSU
Thursday marks the 59th all-time meeting between the Bears and Buccaneers. ETSU brings a 25-10 record into the weekend, including a 6-3 mark in SoCon play. The last time out for the Bucs came on Tuesday, a, 11-4 loss to Virginia Tech.
The Bucs have been one of the most prolific offensive teams in the country this season, ranking among the nation's leaders in runs, home runs and slugging percentage. Grant Gallagher leads the country in home runs with 18, while Cooper Torres ranks second in the SoCon with 14 big flies. ETSU pitching has also been excellent this year, leading the SoCon with a 4.35 team ERA.
