Brandon Barker

Height:
6-3
Weight:
190
Class:
Sophomore
Hometown:
Woodstock, Ga.
High School:
Etowah

2013 (Junior): Stepped into the Friday night starter role and developed into the unquestioned ace of the Bears pitching staff thanks to a career year on the mound … Tied for first in the A-Sun Conference with 17 games started and compiled a sparkling 7-2 record … Finished third in the A-Sun with 79 strikeouts, sixth with a 2.66 ERA and 10th in the league with a .257 opponents’ batting average … Threw a career-best 84.2 innings last season and finished with a 2.9-to-1.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio … Delivered eight quality starts of at least six innings pitched and three earned runs or less allowed and held opposing hitters to a microscopic .241 batting average with runners on base … Opened the season by allowing no earned runs on just four hits while striking out six in a 13-5 win in the second game of the Snowbird Baseball Classic against St. John’s (Feb. 16) … Went seven innings and allowed no runs on four hits to go along with eight strikeouts in an 11-5 win over Miami (OH) (March 1) … Threw 6.1 innings and allowed two runs on eight hits in the Bears 4-3 A-Sun Conference opening win over Kennesaw State (March 15) … Picked up the win after allowing no runs, striking out six and throwing a season-high 113 pitches in a 5-4 win at North Florida (April 5) … Earned another win by going six innings and tying his career-high with nine strikeouts in a 5-2 win over Lipscomb (April 20) … Was rewarded for his success both on the field and in the classroom when he was named the A-Sun Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year and voted onto the A-Sun All-Conference second team.

2012 (Sophomore): Was rotated between being a weekend starter to serving as the Bears closer all season long, but showed the potential to be one of the top starting pitchers in the A-Sun Conference for years to come ... Made 22 appearances, including 12 starts ... Had a 5-5 overall record with a 3.47 ERA ... Finished third on the team in both innings pitched (72.2) and strikeouts (57) ... Delivered arguably the best start of his career in Mercer’s 6-1 win at SEC power Mississippi Stat (March 10), throwing eight innings and allowing just one earned run on six hits ... Was recognized for his performance at Mississippi State by being named to the College Baseball 360 Weekly Honor Roll and voted the A-Sun Conference Pitcher of the Week ... Earned his only save of the season by allowing just one run in two innings of relief in the Bears 4-3 win at FGCU (April 7) ... Set career-highs in both innings pitched and strikeouts when he pitched a complete game shutout and fanned nine batters in a 6-0 win at Alabama State (April 24) ... Picked up his fifth win of the season when he struck out six and allowed just one run in eight innings pitched in a 12-1 victory over UNF (May 12).

2011 (Freshman): As a true freshman, evolved from a mid-week starter into a dependable weekend starter as the year progressed … Made 20 appearances on the season, including 10 starts … Finished his first collegiate season with a perfect 4-0 record and a 3.38 ERA … Struck out 51 batters in 53.1 innings … Led all starters on the squad with just over a 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio … Was especially stingy in tough situations, holding the opposition to a .218 batting average with runners on base … Started the season with four-straight scoreless relief appearances, allowing just five hits while striking out nine in eight innings … Got the start against in-state rival Georgia Southern (April 6) and threw a gem, picking up the win after allowing no runs on just one hit in five innings pitched … Put together his best start of the season, allowing no runs while striking out a season-high eight batters, in a 1-0 win over Jacksonville (May 27) in the semi-finals of the A-Sun Championship … Capped off his season by being named to the A-Sun All-Freshman Team.

High School: Was a two-year letterwinner at Etowah High School under head coach Greg Robinson … Led the Titans to back-to-back GHSA 5-AAAAA Regional Championships during his junior and senior seasons … Also earned a 5-AAAAA All-Region first team selection as a junior and senior.

Personal: Son of Harvey and Susan Barker … Has one younger brother, Brady … Plans to major in engineering at Mercer … Graduated from high school with honors and a perfect 4.0 grade point average … Born on August 20, 1992 in Panama, Panama … Lists The Hangover as his favorite movie and Mark Wahlburg as his favorite actor.