Bears Host In-State Rival For Wednesday Night Matchup

Wednesday, February 18

Macon, Ga.

6 p.m.

Mercer University

Georgia State

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Bears Host In-State Rival For Wednesday Night Matchup

2/17/2026 1:18:00 PM | Baseball

By: Rylee Bamberger, Rylee.m.bamberger@live.mercer.edu

MACON – After a successful 2-1 opening weekend, the Mercer Bears prepare to take the diamond against a familiar foe, and in-state rival, Georgia State at OrthoGeorgia Park.

Mercer vs. Georgia State | Wednesday, February 18 | 6:00 PM EST

Claude Smith Field at OrthoGeorgia Park | Macon, Ga.

Last Meeting: Wednesday, April 30, 2025 | Mercer won 8-4

All-Time Series: 89-58 | 35-23 at home | 33-26 on the road | Streak: W2

Links: X | Instagram | Live Stats | Tickets

Expected Pitchers:
TBD

Notables:

Wednesday night's game between Mercer and Georgia State is the 148th meeting between these two programs. The series has been heavily in the Bears favor since 2020 with Mercer winning 10 of the last 13 games including a sweep of the Panthers last season. There have been 1,040 total runs scored in games between the two programs.
Mercer's 17-5 win in Game One of Saturday, February 14's doubleheader with the Troy Trojans had many firsts. The Bear's 17 runs were the most scored in a single game by Mercer since its 22-2 win over VMI on April 4, 2025. As a unit, Mercer tallied 17 hits, the most in a single game since the 13-4 win over VMI on April 5 last year. Logan Shepherd mashed Mercer's first lead-off home run since Jackson Cherry against Florida A&M on April 10, 2024. Shepherd and Eli Stephens both blasted two home runs, becoming the first Bear to pick up two or more homers in a game since Brant Baughcum on April 4, 2025.
16 different Bears took the mound for Mercer this past weekend. Caleb Hughes, Aidan Hayse and Michael Strickland all made their collegiate debuts while Dalton Biggs, Nick Staszak and Ismael Borrero appeared in their first games in a Mercer uniform.
Garrett Lambert pitched 4.1 innings of one-run ball in his return to the mound in nearly two years. The redshirt freshman picked up three strikeouts and limited opposing batters to a .143 average off him. Reid Fagerstrom also appeared for the first time since 2024, recording a strikeout against the only batter he faced to finish Mercer's run-rule win against Troy.

Peering at the Panthers:

Georgia State begins its season 3-0 after a solid weekend against New Orleans. The Panthers outscored the Privateers 27-14 in their three matchups.
LHP Jake Hembree had an amazing start to his season, hurling five shutout innings with eight strikeouts. The redshirt sophomore only allowed two hits and walked one batter in Georgia State's 5-4 win over New Orleans on Saturday.
Six batters on the Panthers' roster are hitting .300+ with freshman outfielder Wesley Bass leading the way. The Marietta, Georgia, native started all three games and went 4-for-9 (.444) from the plate with two doubles and a home run.
The Panthers play Jacksonville State tonight in Jacksonville, Alabama at 5:00 p.m. EST.