Tuesday, February 09, 2010

MACON, Ga. - As the 2010 NCAA Baseball season approaches, the Atlantic Sun Conference takes a looks at each team leading up to the start of the season on Feb. 19. Today the Mercer Bears fall under the conference microscope.

Overview
Mercer finished 2009 with an overall record of 23-23 and 12-15 conference mark to finish fifth in the A-Sun standings. The Bears return seven starters from a season ago and a total of 21 letter-winners. Mercer enters its sixth season under head coach Craig Gibson. The Bears holds a 162-168 all-time mark under Gibson. The Orange and Black look to add to their three regular season and three A-Sun tournament titles.  

Top Returnees
Michael Langley posted a .358 batting average a season ago with 27 RBIs. The senior second baseman also pounded out seven home runs en route to a .559 slugging percentage. Langley also tied for the squad’s best hit streak with a run of 12 consecutive games with a hit. The Lilburn, Ga. native also led the Bears in multi-hit games with 21. Langley spent most of season in the two hole of the Mercer order. Langley started all 42 games in which he played at second base.

Jacob Tanis posted a solid freshman campaign and earned Freshman All-American honors from Louisville Sluggler. The Peachtree City, Ga. native led the Bears in homeruns with 11. Tanis made a good first impression in his Claude Smith Field debut, blasting two home runs and driving in four RBI in a 9-5 loss against Georgia State. Tanis ended the season with a .340 batting average, tied for third on the team. His .642 slugging percentage and .448 on-base percentage each ranked second on the squad while his 30 free passes led the team. 

J.T. Odom returns to anchor the back end of the Mercer bullpen after posting a 3.88 ERA a season ago in 48.2 innings pitched. The St. Mary’s Ga. native ranked seventh in the Atlantic Sun in ERA and tied for the conference lead in opposing batting average with MLB first round draft choice Rex Brothers. The junior ranked as one of the most used pitchers in the league making 32 appearances.

Newcomers
Evan Boyd: Was a three-sport athlete at Deerfield Windsor, lettering in baseball, basketball and soccer … garnered all-state honors in all three sports while graduating with honors and a 3.7 GPA … was named to the GISA-AAA All-State team as a junior and a senior … named the GISA-AAA Regional Player of the Year … set single season and career records for batting average at his high school.

Matt McCall: Lettered in both baseball and basketball at Lowndes High School … was named to the all-academic team as a junior and senior … led the Vikings to a regional championship and an Elite 8 appearance in his senior year … compiled a 10-3 record as a senior with a 2.67 ERA … allowed only 28 earned runs in 82 innings pitched.

Chris Newell: Played for two years at Middle Georgia Junior College under head coach Craig Young … led the Warriors to the 2009 JUCO World Series after earning a win over Georgia Perimeter College in the state final … went 8.1 innings in the contest, allowing just one earned run while striking out five ... tallied a 4-1 record with a 2.81 ERA in his final season at Middle Georgia ... struck out 24 batters in just 32.0 innings of work as a weekend starter for coach Young.  

Schedule
30 home games and non-conference series against 2009 NCAA Tournament participants Georgia Tech and Georgia State highlights the 2010 Mercer baseball schedule released on Thursday morning by head coach Craig Gibson.

The Bears, who have made four consecutive trips to the A-Sun Baseball Championships, tout a challenging 56-game schedule this season and feature four exciting Atlantic Sun Conference weekend home series.

Mercer opens its 2010 campaign by playing 14 out of its first 17 games at Claude Smith Field, starting on Feb. 19 with a four-game weekend series against Morehead State.

The Bears also face Evansville (Feb. 26-28), Chicago State (March 6-8) and University of South Florida (March 19-21) in non-league weekend series this spring. Mercer and Evansville will pick up their all-time series, which is tied at 2-2, for the first time since 1981. On the other hand, the Bears will take on Chicago State and USF for the first time in program history.

As always, Mercer’s non-conference schedule features midweek dates with a number of in-state opponents. They include 2009 NCAA Tournament participants Georgia State (March 3, April 13 and April 21) and Georgia Tech (March 10, March 24) as well as Savannah State (March 30-31, April 6). The Bears also take on Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) member FAMU in four midweek contests (Feb. 23, March 2, March 16-17) and Southern Conference member The Citadel (May 11).

The Bears kick off their 27-game A-Sun Conference schedule when they host Campbell in a three-game set on March 12-13. Mercer will also welcome Stetson (April 9-10), USC Upstate (April 23-24) and Belmont (May 20-21) to Macon for home league series in 2010.

Fun Fact
Jacob Tanis posted 16 multi-hit games in 2009 and the Bears were very successful in those contests. This provided a solid boost to the Bears offense as Tanis spent 32 games in the clean up spot. The Orange and Black own a record of 17-15 with Tanis in the four spot in the batting order. Even more surprising, Mercer owns a record of 10-6 when Tanis recorded two or more hits in a game including an upset win over then No.6 Ole Miss. But the Bears went 13-17 when the Peachtree City, Ga. native recorded fewer than two (includes four games in which Tanis did not play).  

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11 Days of Atlantic Sun Baseball Schedule
Feb. 4 – USC Upstate
Feb. 5 – Campbell
Feb. 8 – ETSU
Feb. 9 – Mercer
Feb. 10 – UNF
Feb. 11 – Belmont
Feb. 12 – Stetson
Feb. 15 – Lipscomb
Feb. 16 – Jacksonville
Feb. 17 – Kennesaw State
Feb. 18 – FGCU