Thursday, April 01, 2010

MACON, Ga. - FGCU looks to continue its charge up the conference standings, but Mercer wants stay in the conference title hunt in the Atlantic Sun Series of the Week.

The Eagles enter the weekend ranked second in the Atlantic Sun standing after a conference sweep of USC Upstate and taking two of three from both Stetson and Kennesaw State. Mercer comes into the weekend with a 4-2 A-Sun mark and tied for third in the standings. The Bears have taken two of three from both Campbell and Jacksonville.

FGCU features two of the top pitchers in the conference in Chris Sale and Riche Erath. The pair has allowed only 14 earned runs in 73.2 innings pitched this season with a combined record of 7-0. Sale, the A-Sun Preseason Pitcher of the Year, leads the conference in ERA and strikeouts, despite ranking tied for 10th in the league in innings pitched. The junior left-hander averages 1.38 strikeouts per inning and has allowed the fewest number of earned runs among conference pitchers with at least 1.0 inning pitched per team games played.

Mercer holds one of the top offenses in the conference. The Bears lead all A-Sun teams in batting average, runs scored, hits and RBIs. Jacob Tanis, the A-Sun Player of the Week, leads the Mercer offense and ranks as one of the top offense weapons in the conference. Tanis leads the A-Sun in runs scored, hits, doubles, total bases and RBIs. Tanis and ETSU’s Paul Hoilman stand as the only players in the conference’s top three in runs scored, RBIs and home runs.

FGCU welcomes to Mercer starting at 6:00 p.m. Friday at Swanson Stadium with a double header scheduled for Saturday.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.