MACON, Ga. – The Mercer baseball team wraps up its eight-game homestand when it takes on Miami (Ohio) for a three-game series starting on Friday night at Claude Smith Field.

Mercer (8-1) is currently on a five-game winning streak overall and has won 11-straight contests at home, which is the seventh-longest active home winning streak in the country.

The Bears eight wins in 2013 are tied for the fifth-most in the country due in large part to their offense that ranks 11^th in the nation averaging 9.6 runs per game.

Game one of the series is scheduled for Friday evening at 6 p.m. with games two and three to be played as part of a doubleheader starting on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Pitching Match-Ups

Friday

Mercer: RHP Brandon Barker (1-0, 2.53 ERA, 15 K's)

Miami (OH): RHP Brooks Fiala (0-1, 4.85 ERA, 15 K's)

Saturday (Game One)

Mercer: LHP Grant Papelian (1-1, 4.82 ERA, 8 K's)

Miami (OH): RHP Mac Thoreson (0-1, 3.27 ERA, 6 K's)

Saturday (Game Two)

Mercer: RHP DJ Johnson (1-0, 0.90 ERA, 7 K's)

Miami (OH): RHP Nathan Williams (1-0, 5.00 ERA, 4 K's)

Scouting the Opponent

Miami (Ohio) enters play this weekend with a 2-3 overall record after most recently capturing an 8-6 win over Michigan State on Feb. 24. The Redhawks were picked to finish third in the Mid-American Conference Preseason Coaches' poll after returning 15 letterwinners from a squad that finished last season with a 30-29 overall record. Miami is hitting just .200 as a team so far in 2013, but has drawn 18 walks in just five games played. Sophomore Max Anderson paces the Redhawks offense with a .300 batting average and a team-high five RBI.

Last Time Out

MACON, Ga. – Sophomore Ben Lumsden got his first career start on Wednesday evening and threw five scoreless innings to propel the Mercer baseball team to an 11-1 win over Florida A&M at Claude Smith Field. Lumsden had to shoulder the load for Mercer early on, as the Bears were only able to muster one run off Florida A&M starter Kelvin Singletary over the first three innings of play. The Dallas, Ga. native simply dominated on the hill, allowing just two hits to go along with three strikeouts in his five scoreless innings of work to pick up his third career win. The Orange and Black put the game out of reach with yet another big inning, this time going off for eight runs against the Rattlers in the bottom of the fifth. Six RBI singles, a bases loaded walk and an RBI double by junior Derrick Workman plated the runs in the frame to make the final score 11-1.