April 5, 2011

MACON, Ga. – In-state bragging rights are on the line for the Mercer baseball team as it is scheduled for a pair of road games against bitter rivals Georgia State and Georgia Southern this week.   

 

The Bears take on Georgia State in Atlanta on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. then travel to Statesboro on Wednesday night for a 6 p.m. start against Georgia Southern.   

 

Mercer leads the all-time series with Georgia State 59-44, and will get a chance to pick up its series with Georgia Southern since the squads last met back in 2008.

 

Last Time Out

 

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The Mercer baseball team used five home runs and 26 combined hits to sweep its doubleheader with Campbell on Saturday afternoon at Taylor Field.

 

Mercer (21-9, 8-6 A-Sun) won game one 12-3 and captured a closely contested night cap 9-5 to earn a three-game series sweep over the Camels.

 

Freshman DJ Johnson had a huge doubleheader, going 5-for-9 with a triple, three RBI and three runs scored.

 

Sophomore Evan Boyd finished the day with a team-high six hits while junior Jacob Tanis reached base in seven of his 10 at-bats to score five runs in the doubleheader sweep.

 

Scouting the Opposition

 

- Georgia State enters play on Tuesday with a 22-8 overall record after dropping two-out-of-three to fellow CAA member Delaware this past weekend. The Panthers returns 22 letterwinners and six starters from last year's squad that finished 34-23-1. The Panthers have been dominant at home this season, posting a 17-3 record at Panthersville Field. This is the second of three meetings between the two teams in 2011, with Georgia State winning the first meeting, 14-5. CAA Preseason Player of the Year Mark Micowski headlines the Panthers offense with a .358 batting average to go along with 44 hits and 25 RBI.

 

- Georgia Southern enters play this weekend with an 18-11 record after most recently sweeping a three-game series from fellow SoCon member The Citadel. Georgia Southern was selected to finish second by the Southern Conference coaches in their 2011 preseason coaches' poll. The Eagles are on a seven-game home winning streak and are 14-4 at JI Clements Stadium in 2011. Georgia Southern is paced offensively by sophomore Victor Roache who leads the team with 12 home runs and was recently named a Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week.