CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel baseball team closes out the regular season this weekend with the final three-game Southern Conference series. The Bulldogs travel to Macon, Georgia to take on Mercer beginning Thursday, May 17 at 3 p.m. The series will continue on Friday, May 18 with a 6 p.m. first pitch and things will wrap up on Saturday, May 19 at 2 p.m.


Probable Weekend Pitching Matchups
Game 1: Thursday, May 17 – 3 p.m. – Live Stats
RHP Dylan Spence (3-5, 3.67 ERA, 14 APP, 13 GS, 83.1 IP) vs. LHP Austin Cox (6-3, 4.98 ERA, 14 APP, 14 GS, 72.1 IP)

Game 2: Thursday, May 17 – 6 p.m. – Live Stats
RHP Thomas Byelick (2-6, 4.53 ERA, 14 APP, 10 GS, 57.2 IP) vs. RHP Chase Burks (5-4, 5.29 ERA, 13 APP, 13 GS, 63 IP)

Game 3: Friday, May 18 – 6 p.m. – Live Stats – Live Video (ESPN+)
RHP Jordan Merritt (2-5, 7.74 ERA, 13 APP, 7 GS, 47.2 IP) vs. LHP Christian Vann (4-3, 3.34 ERA, 19 APP, 9 GS, 59.1 IP)

Mercer owns an all-time record of 15-11 over The Citadel since 1965. The Bears and Bulldogs are an even 5-5 in Macon and 1-1 in neutral site games. The Bears have claimed all three Southern Conference series the two have faced off in, including two of the three games in Macon in 2016. The last Bulldog win in the series came back on March 8, 2016 when the 'Dogs won 9-8 in Macon.

Mercer enters the final weekend of the regular season with a 34-18 overall record and a 10-11 mark in SoCon play. The Bears have won their last three games, sweeping a home series over Alcorn State last weekend after dropping all three games of a SoCon series at UNCG the weekend before. The Bears are 22-8 this season at home and 26-9 in games played in the state of Georgia. The Bears boast a 6-4 road win over No. 1-ranked Florida back on Tuesday, April 24 as well as a 6-2 road win over Georgia Tech. The Bears have claimed nine series on the year, including clean sweeps over UNC Asheville, Kennesaw State, Eastern Kentucky and ETSU. The Bears enter the weekend batting .300 as a unit with 166 extra-base knocks, including 68 home runs and 90 doubles. Mercer has scored 413 runs on the year and stolen 66 bases on 82 attempts. The pitching corps, which brings in a collective 4.78 ERA to the weekend, has held opposing batters to a .271 and boasts 557 strikeouts.

Offensively, four players are currently batting over .300 for the Bears, highlighted by Trey Truitt's .376 in 50 games played. Truitt boasts a team-best .639 slugging percentage and a .462 on-base percentage to go along with his 76 hits and team-leading 62 runs scored. He also leads the team with 16 doubles and is second with 11 homers and 13 stolen bases on the year. Behind him, RJ Yeager is batting .349, Jackson Ware is hitting at a .332 clip and Alex Hanson is batting .311. JT Thomas is not far behind with a .293 average. Ware has struck out just 18 times this season and has drawn 24 walks to go along with his 64 hits and Hanson leads the team with 22 stolen bases on 25 attempts. Both Yeager and Thomas boast 41 RBIs, but Le Bassett leads the way with 47 on the year and also leads the team with 13 home runs. Yeager is also slugging .508. After missing nearly a month of action, Brandon Michie has come on strong for the Bears over the last month and a half, batting .396 in 30 total games for the year to go along with a .729 slugging percentage, .535 on-base percentage and 37 runs batted in.

Mercer will send left-handed pitcher Austin Cox to the mound first on Thursday with right-hander Chase Burks getting the ball first on Friday and southpaw Christian Vann starting the game on Saturday. Cox boasts the best record of the trio with a 6-3 mark to go along with a 4.98 ERA in 72.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 105 batters compared to giving up just 37 walks and will be making his 15th start on the year. Burks is scheduled to make his 14th start of the year and has pitched 63 innings, walking just 17 batters compared to striking out 57. Vann will be making just his 10th start on the year as he has made 19 appearances already, including a pair of saves. Vann boasts the trio's best ERA at 3.34 and has held opposing batters to a .208 average. He has struck out 73 batters. Nick Spear has seen the mound 29 times already this season, all out of the bullpen and he brings five saves into the weekend.

UP NEXT
Following the series at Mercer, The Citadel will next head to Greenville, South Carolina for the 2018 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field. The Bulldogs are already locked into the Tuesday play-in game as the No. 8 seed and will face off against No. 9 seed Western Carolina at 10 a.m. to kick off the tournament. The winner will advance to the double-elimination portion of the tournament, taking on No. 1 seed UNCG at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 23.

2018 SOCON TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
TICKETS: Tickets for the 2018 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field can be purchased at SoConSports.com under the "Championships" tab by selecting "Baseball."

PARKING: Free parking is available at County Square, approximately a 10-minute walk from the stadium. For the convenience of the fans, a complimentary shuttle service runs from County Square to the Field Street Gate.

CLEAR BAG POLICY: The Southern Conference and Fluor Field will adhere to a strict "clear bag policy" for the tournament. Fans will be permitted to bring in one clear bag no larger than 12" x 6" x 12" or a one-gallon clear freezer bag (Ziploc or similar). In addition, fans may carry a small clutch bag or purse no larger than 6.5" x 4.5", with or without a strap. Each ticket holder, including children, may carry an approved clear bag and a clutch purse. Diapers and wipes may be carried in a clear bag, however diaper bags are not permitted. Additional clothing, blankets, etc. are permitted if carried loosely or in an approved clear bag. Blankets should be carried over the shoulder to be screened more quickly. Small cameras, binoculars and cell phones may be carried in loosely or in an approved clear bag. Seat cushions must not exceed 18 inches wide and contain no pockets, zippers or concealable areas.

For more information on The Citadel baseball team, please visit CitadelSports.com or follow @CitadelBaseball and @CitadelSports on Twitter.