Saturday, April 26
Macon, Ga.
1 p.m.
Mercer University
vs
UNC Greensboro
Bears Cap Home Schedule Against SoCon-Leading UNC Greensboro
4/25/2025 1:46:00 PM | Softball
MACON – The Mercer softball team will put the finishing touches on the home portion of its 2025 regular season schedule on Saturday and Sunday when the Bears lace up to battle Southern Conference-leading UNC Greensboro in a weekend set at Sikes Field.
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The squads will open up the series with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, and close out the weekend on Sunday with a 1 p.m. series finale. Admission to all three games is free. Fans unable to make the trip to Macon can still follow all of the action for free via live statistics links provided by the MU athletics department.
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The Bears (26-22, 6-8 SoCon) have now captured seven of their last eight outings after posting a series sweep of visiting Western Carolina on Friday and Saturday in Macon. The Orange & Black pounded out 27 hits across the two-day series, including 13 in a mercy-rule series finale, to tack up its second-straight league series win.
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Mercer will ride a season-longest four-game home win streak into the weekend – its longest winning skein at home since bridging February and March of last season with five consecutive triumphs at Sikes Field. MU's pitching staff has excelled at Sikes Field this season, registering an impressive 2.30 team earned run average while limiting opponents to a .233 batting average in its 20 home games. The Bears have allowed six or fewer hits in 11 of their last 14 outings in Macon, and have limited opponents to just a .214 batting clip over that span as well.
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Freshman infielder Hannah Rivers has carried the torch, offensively, for the Bears in their recent run of success, hitting .364 (8-for-22) with three extra-base hits, six RBI and five runs scored over the last eight games. Senior Emma Dorval and junior Laura Vigna have compiled .294 and .286 batting clips, respectively, over that same span.
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The squads will open up the series with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, and close out the weekend on Sunday with a 1 p.m. series finale. Admission to all three games is free. Fans unable to make the trip to Macon can still follow all of the action for free via live statistics links provided by the MU athletics department.
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The Bears (26-22, 6-8 SoCon) have now captured seven of their last eight outings after posting a series sweep of visiting Western Carolina on Friday and Saturday in Macon. The Orange & Black pounded out 27 hits across the two-day series, including 13 in a mercy-rule series finale, to tack up its second-straight league series win.
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Mercer will ride a season-longest four-game home win streak into the weekend – its longest winning skein at home since bridging February and March of last season with five consecutive triumphs at Sikes Field. MU's pitching staff has excelled at Sikes Field this season, registering an impressive 2.30 team earned run average while limiting opponents to a .233 batting average in its 20 home games. The Bears have allowed six or fewer hits in 11 of their last 14 outings in Macon, and have limited opponents to just a .214 batting clip over that span as well.
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Freshman infielder Hannah Rivers has carried the torch, offensively, for the Bears in their recent run of success, hitting .364 (8-for-22) with three extra-base hits, six RBI and five runs scored over the last eight games. Senior Emma Dorval and junior Laura Vigna have compiled .294 and .286 batting clips, respectively, over that same span.
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| SERIES HISTORY |
| UNC Greensboro leads the all-time series, 22-9, and has captured 15 of the last 17 meetings with Mercer dating back to the 2019 campaign. The Spartans came out on the better end of all three matchups last season in Greensboro to run their series win streak out to five games. Five of Mercer's nine wins in the series have come at Sikes Field, while two others have come in SoCon Tournament play. |
| SCOUTING UNC GREENSBORO |
| The Spartans (35-14, 11-4 SoCon) have now captured five of their last six road outings after Tuesday evening's 4-0 shutout of Longwood in Farmville, Va. UNCG tacked up all four of its runs in the fifth and sixth innings of that contest, while junior right-hander Salem Ward logged her 13th win of the season with a 5-hit shutout of the Lancers. Â UNC Greensboro will lug NCAA Division I's 9th-best home run total (75) into Macon this weekend, while also pacing the SoCon in seven other offensive statistical categories as well. The Spartans boast a .307 team batting average (2nd SoCon), but exude plenty of power throughout their batting order as evidenced by an impressive .543 slugging percentage (24th NCAA). Junior outfielder Kaylyn Belfield shows a team-best .426 batting average, but senior outfielder Grace Loftin has 29 extra-base hits (13 HR) to her credit already this season to complement a .384 batting clip, 49 RBI and 43 runs scored. Â The Spartans have been effective in the circle as well and will bring the SoCon's third-lowest team ERA (3.16) into Middle Georgia. UNCG is led by a pair of right-handers who boast double-digit victory totals, including Ward (13-5, 2.62 ERA) who has boasts team-best totals in both innings pitched (117.2) and strikeouts (83). Senior Jorde Chartrand is 10-5 with a 1.72 ERA and has limited opponents to a paltry .202 batting average. |
| UP NEXT FOR THE BEARS |
| The Bears will snap the lid on their regular season slate next weekend when they travel to Greenville, S.C., for a three-game series against Furman (14-31, 4-11 SoCon). |
| 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. |
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