Mercer University
Georgia State
Bears Look To Extend Win Streak At Georgia State
4/29/2025 12:56:00 PM | Baseball
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| Mercer at Georgia State | Wednesday, April 30 Â | 6 PM ET | ||
| Site | Location | Georgia State Baseball Complex | Atlanta, Ga. | |
| Links | Wednesday, 6 p.m. ET: Live Stats | TV: N/A Expected Pitching Match-Up: MER LHP Jess Ackerman (4-2, 4.56 ERA) vs. GSU RHP Quin McManmon (1-0, 6.59) |
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NotablesÂ
>  The Mercer pitching staff dominated last week to help the Bears post a perfect 4-0 record. As a staff, the Bears allowed only six earned runs in 36 innings, good for a 1.50 ERA. In the weekend sweep of UNCG, Mercer pitching held the Spartans to five runs, including their third shutout of the season on Friday night. Colton Cosper picked up the win, going seven scoreless. On Saturday, Jeb Johnson threw the first Bears' first nine-inning complete game of the season, holding UNCG to one run to clinch the series victory. In Sunday's series finale, the Mercer bullpen shut down the Spartans, holding them scoreless through the game's final six innings
>Â Â The weekend sweep of UNCG marked Mercer's second sweep of the season and their first SoCon series sweep since taking three games at Wofford in 2023
>Â Â Ty Dalley homered twice last week, moving his season home run total to 16, the third most in the SoCon. Dalley's next home run will be the 56th of his career, tying Mercer's career home run record held by Tim Smith (1980-83)
>Â Â Parker Lester was instrumental in the sweep of UNCG, homering twice while driving in five runs. With his team trailing 4-0 in the fourth inning on Sunday, Lester launched a three-run bomb with two outs to spark the comeback victory
>Â Â Since making the move to the bullpen, freshman Braydon Kersey has been dominant, posting a 2.63 ERA across nine outings. Kersey made three appearances last week and did not allow a run, striking out six in five innings pitched. On Friday against UNCG, Kersey picked up his first career save by retiring all six hitters he faced
>  Wednesday features a meeting of two of the most prolific home run hitting teams in the country. Georgia State has slugged 75 home runs so far this season, ranking 14th in the country, while Mercer's 66 round-trippers are good for 33rd in the nation. Catcher Colin Hynek leads the Panthers and ranks sixth in the country with 17 homers, while Dalley's 16 home runs lead the Bears and rank 14th nationally
Scouting Georgia State
Wednesday marks the 147th all-time meeting between the Bears and Panthers. Georgia State brings a 24-21 record into the week, including a 9-12 mark in Sun Belt play. The Panthers were on the opposite end of a sweep last weekend, dropping three games at Arkansas State.Â
Kaleb Freeman leads the Panthers at the plate with a .348 batting average and a 1.249 OPS, while ranking second in the country with 23 doubles. Hynek and Freeman have hit 17 and 13 home runs, respectively, to lead the team. Jesse Donohoe has also posted double digit home runs this season, coming in with 12 big flies. On the mound, Georgia State holds a 6.35 team ERA.
