May 11, 2011

MACON, Ga. – After a 10-day lay-off for finals, the Mercer baseball team resumes play on Wednesday night when it travels to Athens to take on the University of Georgia at 5 p.m. at Foley Field.        

 

Georgia (25-23) has already posted an 8-6 victory over Mercer (29-17) on March 8, but the Bears are seeking their third win over an in-state power having already downed Georgia Tech twice this season.  

 

Wednesday night's game will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1670 AM with the "Voice of the Bears" Rick Cameron and Mercer Athletics Director Jim Cole calling the action. Click here for the live boradcast.

 

Last Time Out

 

ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Mercer baseball team's furious comeback attempted fell just short in a 7-6 defeat at Winthrop on Sunday afternoon at The Winthrop Ballpark.

 

Mercer was down six runs after the second inning, but the Bears bullpen shutout the Winthrop (21-24) bats over six scoreless innings of relief to keep the game close.

 

Senior Joe Winker continued his outstanding weekend at the plate on Sunday, going 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. In the series, the Orlando, Fla. native went a combined 11-for-15 with two RBI and four runs scored.

 

Senior J.T. Odom and junior Jacob Matthews each threw three scoreless innings of relief in a losing effort.

 

Scouting the Opposition

 

Georgia enters Wednesday night's contest after dropping two-out-of-three to SEC rival Auburn this past weekend. The Bulldogs have been struggling to get the bats going for much of the season, ranking 11th in the SEC with a .272 team batting average. Junior Levi Hyams paces Georgia at the dish leading the team with a .332 batting average and 12 doubles. Sophomore Patrick Boling will take the mound for the Bulldogs, entering the contest with an 0-2 record and a 6.61 ERA.

 

Quick Hits

 

- Mercer second baseman and right-handed pitcher DJ Johnson was one of just 25 players in all of college baseball named to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award watch list, as announced by the College Baseball Foundation on May 6. Johnson is hitting a respectable .271 with 18 RBI and 17 runs scored at the plate while compiling a 1-2 record and a 2.05 ERA in 26.1 innings pitched on the mound this season.

 

- Junior outfielder Billy Burns and junior third baseman Jacob Tanis were named to the Capital One Academic All-District III baseball team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on May 5. Burns garnered District III first team honors with a 3.85 grade point average, while Tanis was named to the second team with a 3.41 GPA.