Mercer Heads To Birmingham For Highly Anticipated Conference Series

Friday, May 1

Birmingham, Ala.

1 p.m.

Mercer University

Samford

Mercer Heads To Birmingham For Highly Anticipated Conference Series

4/30/2026 3:56:00 PM | Baseball

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

MACON – After a mind-blowing comeback win over Georgia Southern this past Wednesday, the Mercer Bears (33-12, 7-5 SoCon) head to Birmingham, Alabama, for a three-game conference series against the Samford Bulldogs (23-19, 8-4 SoCon).

Mercer at Samford | Friday, May 1 – Sunday, May 3 | 1/5/2:00 PM EST

Joe Lee Griffin Field | Birmingham, Ala.

Last Meeting: May 24, 2025 | 5-1 L

All-Time Series: 59-60 overall | 12-21 on the road | Streak: L2

Links: X | Instagram | Live Stats | ESPN+

Projected Pitchers:

Friday: RHP Garrett Lambert (3-0, 4.09 ERA) vs. RHP Joseph Lee (3-0, 4.05 ERA)
Saturday: RHP Miguel Hugas (7-2, 5.79 ERA) vs. RHP Mason Blasche (3-5, 5.43 ERA)
Sunday: RHP Jeb Johnson (2-2, 5.06 ERA) vs. RHP Noah Berry (4-1, 2.61 ERA)

Notables:

The Bears will face off against Samford for the first time since the 2025 Southern Conference Tournament where the Bulldogs eliminated Mercer in the semifinal round. The Bears beat Samford in the regular season in two of the three games played at OrthoGeorgia Park.
Chris Katz and Eli Stephens delivered a sports memory that many Bears' fans will cherish for years to come. With Mercer trailing 9-5 after eight and a half innings, the Bears loaded the bases before Katz mashed a grand slam that tied the game. In the very next at-bat, Stephens blasted his 13th home run of the season to walk it off and secure the 10-9 comeback win.

Scouting the Bulldogs:

Samford was 13-14 heading into conference play. Since then, the Bulldogs have won 10 of their last 12 weekend games including nine straight over the likes of VMI, UNC Greensboro and USC Upstate.
Jake Souders leads Samford's offense with a .391 batting average, 1.099 OPS, 63 hits and 102 total bases. Luke Boykin leads the Bulldogs with 12 home runs and 42 RBI.
Samford's weekend rotation makes up 41.6% of the Bulldogs' innings (146 of 350.2) with 124 strikeouts. Noah Berry leads the team with a 2.61 ERA. Zak Spurrier serves as the Bulldogs' primary reliever with a team-leading 18 appearances out of the bullpen and a 3.96 ERA.