April 12, 2012

MACON, Ga. – Looking to build on the momentum generated from winning its first Atlantic Sun Conference series last weekend, the Mercer baseball team is set to host Belmont for a three-game series starting on Friday night.

 

Game one of the Bears series against the Bruins is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday evening, with game two to be played on Saturday at 4 p.m. and game three set for Sunday at 1 p.m. at Claude Smith Field.

 

Fans can follow the action for all three games through live radio broadcasts on Fox Sports 1670 AM or with live stats on www.mercerbears.com.

 

Last Time Out

 

The Mercer baseball team broke out of an offensive slump in a big way with a 12-5 road win over Georgia State on Wednesday at the GSU Baseball Complex.

 

Mercer pounded out 16 hits, the most since totaling 14 base knocks against Florida A&M on March 21, to sweep the two-game season series from Georgia State (14-20).

 

Despite all the gaudy offensive statistics put up by Mercer in the game, the story of the night was on the mound in freshman reliever Morgan Pittman. The Newnan, Ga. product allowed no runs while setting career-highs with four innings pitched and eight strikeouts.

 

Redshirt sophomore Nick Backlund had a career-high five hits in the contest while junior Logan Gaines also set a career mark with five RBI in the win.

 

Scouting the Opposition

 

Belmont (24-11, 10-2 A-Sun) enters play this weekend the hottest team in the Atlantic Sun Conference, winners of eight out of its last 10 games. The Bruins have really picked it up in conference play of late; sweeping their last two league series against Jacksonville and USC Upstate. The defending A-Sun Conference champions have dominated its opposition this season due to its league-best pitching (3.02 ERA) and defense (.971 team fielding percentage). Senior Zac Mitchell leads Belmont offensively with a .336 batting average, 35 runs scored and 15 stolen bases.

 

Quick Hits

 

- The all-time series between Mercer and Belmont is currently tied at 17-17. Mercer has won the regular season series with the Bruins four years in a row going back to 2008, with Friday night's game being the first since Belmont topped the Bears in the 2011 A-Sun Championship title game last May.