Saturday, May 3
Greenville, S.C.
11 a.m.
Mercer University
at
Furman
Bears Finish Off Regular Season Schedule At Furman
5/1/2025 11:21:00 AM | Softball
MACON – The Mercer softball team will close out the regular season portion of its 2025 schedule on Saturday and Sunday when the Bears trek to Greenville, S.C., for a weekend series against Furman at Pepsi Stadium. The series will get underway with a 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon doubleheader, and the squads will close out the set with a 1 p.m. finale on Sunday.
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Fans unable to make the trip to the Palmetto State can still follow all of the action for free via live statistics links provided by the Furman athletics department. All three games are also slated to be streamed live on ESPN+.
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The Bears (28-23, 8-9 SoCon) have now captured nine of their last 11 contests after taking the last two games of their home series with league nemesis UNC Greensboro last weekend. The Spartans used a sixth-inning home run to grab a 5-2 win in the opener, but Mercer erupted for 17 hits and 15 runs behind sophomore right-hander Gabby Ellis to take games two and three.
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It has been a concerted effort amid MU's 11-game run of success that began with a 3-1 triumph over Kennesaw State on April 9. The offense has tacked up a .290 batting average and 5.4 runs per game over the span, while the six-armed pitching staff has posted a 2.27 earned run average and held opponents to a .245 batting clip. Defensively, the Bears have been just as stout, registering a .976 fielding percentage while turning in a quintet of error-free contests.
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Junior Parris Wiggs has compiled a .355 (11-for-31) batting average over the last three weeks to go along with five RBI and as many runs scored. Freshman Grace Jones and Tori Hedgecock have brought the power over that same stretch, combining for five homers and 23 RBI.
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Ellis has been a big key to the success as well. The reigning Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week has won three of her last four starts, striking out nine and yielding just four runs amid her last 22 innings of work. The Green Cove Springs, Fla., product has yielded just a .203 batting clip over that stretch as well.
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Fans unable to make the trip to the Palmetto State can still follow all of the action for free via live statistics links provided by the Furman athletics department. All three games are also slated to be streamed live on ESPN+.
Â
The Bears (28-23, 8-9 SoCon) have now captured nine of their last 11 contests after taking the last two games of their home series with league nemesis UNC Greensboro last weekend. The Spartans used a sixth-inning home run to grab a 5-2 win in the opener, but Mercer erupted for 17 hits and 15 runs behind sophomore right-hander Gabby Ellis to take games two and three.
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It has been a concerted effort amid MU's 11-game run of success that began with a 3-1 triumph over Kennesaw State on April 9. The offense has tacked up a .290 batting average and 5.4 runs per game over the span, while the six-armed pitching staff has posted a 2.27 earned run average and held opponents to a .245 batting clip. Defensively, the Bears have been just as stout, registering a .976 fielding percentage while turning in a quintet of error-free contests.
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Junior Parris Wiggs has compiled a .355 (11-for-31) batting average over the last three weeks to go along with five RBI and as many runs scored. Freshman Grace Jones and Tori Hedgecock have brought the power over that same stretch, combining for five homers and 23 RBI.
Â
Ellis has been a big key to the success as well. The reigning Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week has won three of her last four starts, striking out nine and yielding just four runs amid her last 22 innings of work. The Green Cove Springs, Fla., product has yielded just a .203 batting clip over that stretch as well.
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| SERIES HISTORY |
| Mercer leads the 28-year-old series with the Paladins, 26-16, and will ride a four-game series win streak into South Carolina this weekend. The Bears won all three games of a home series with Furman last year at Sikes Field, and took the bookends of a weekend set on their last trip to Greenville, S.C., in 2023. |
| SCOUTING FURMAN |
| Furman (15-34, 5-13 SoCon) has now dropped 12 of its last 14 contests following Tuesday evening's 10-2 setback at 14th-ranked South Carolina. The Paladins tacked up two runs in the top of the first inning to put the Gamecocks on their heels, but USC countered with a 6-run second inning before finishing off the mercy rule win with six runs in the sixth. Â The Paladins will tote a .240 team batting average (8th SoCon) into the weekend, while also sporting the league's 8th-best scoring offense (3.37 runs/game). Senior outfielder Caitlin Goldwait boasts a team-best .343 batting average to go along with 27 runs scored, while junior catcher Sylvia Burroughs has the best power numbers on the squad with 19 extra-base hits (5 HR) complementing a .328 average. Â In the circle, Furman will bring the SoCon's 7th-best team ERA (4.50) in the series, but has limited its opponents to a respectable .289 batting clip in 2025. Senior Emme Buzhardt (6-12, 3.90 ERA) ranks 10th among SoCon hurlers with 107-2/3 innings pitched across a team-high 27 appearances this season, while sophomore Angelina Ricciardi (6-9, 4.17) has 25 appearances and 90-2/3 innings pitched herself. |
| UP NEXT FOR THE BEARS |
| Mercer will begin its road in the postseason on Wednesday when it travels to Spartanburg, S.C., for the 2025 Southern Conference Championship at Wofford's Hope 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
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