Mercer Bears Preview

Tech is finally getting to play the Mercer Bears 14-7 (2-1), which happens to be my little brother's current abode. Since he's been at Mercer, Mercer has failed to defeat Tech in any sport. They've come close and have played some crazy games against us (e.g. James Florence scoring 40 against us in hoops). I look forward to Tech continuing the streak on Tuesday night in Macon and Wednesday night in ATL. And for your information, Tech hasn't lost to Mercer since 1998 in baseball.

A quick look at Mercer's stats show us relatively little depth in the pitching staff (team ERA of 4.95). The Bears have a revolving door at pitcher as only two pitchers have pitched 20.0 innings all season on their staff. The Bears have kept opposing batters in check (opposing average of 0.271) but their stats are a little suspect as they've only played one legit squad in USF, which isn't saying much.

USF racked up 19 runs in Macon over three games and only allowed Mercer to score 9 runs. The Bears lone win in the series was due to the excellent arm of weekend ace Brandon Love despite the Bears' inconsistent offense. USF is batting 0.276 on the season yet managed to bat 0.333 against the Bears best pitching. Two of the Bulls measly seven wins...were against Mercer.

Look for Tech to roll in these two weekday match ups especially if Mark Pope and Buck Farmer pitch up to their potential.