Mercer baseball stadium open for good starting Friday

Mercer’s baseball fans got to enjoy OrthoGeorgia Park on Feb. 21 in a win over Georgia, but construction has continued around the program’s refurbished stadium.

Starting Friday, fans will get to sit inside their new park for good with a series against Bradley. The Bears and Braves start the series at 6 p.m. on Friday at OrthoGeorgia Park.

Mercer has won three straight games to sit at 11-3, and it is 8-0 at home.

Mercer is batting .318 and is averaging 9.6 runs per game with 24 home runs. Danny Edgeworth leads the offense with a .474 batting average, while Charlie Madden has six home runs and 19 RBI. Starting pitcher Ryan Askew is 2-0, and relief pitcher Nick Spear is 3-0.

On Thursday, Edgeworth was named the Southern Conference Player of the Month.

Keeping the streak going

Mercer’s men’s tennis team is off to a strong start to the season and on quite a winning streak. The Bears beat Jacksonville State on Thursday to improve to 14-2 overall with their 13th straight win.

The Bears, who are 8-0 at home, return home Saturday to host Appalachian State.

Just short of a title

Both of Fort Valley State’s basketball teams made it to the SIAC Tournament championship games last weekend in Birmingham, Alabama.

The men lost 64-62 to Clark Atlanta to finish their season with a 12-18 overall record. Clark Atlanta is headed to the NCAA Division II Tournament starting Friday.

The women lost lost 86-66 to Benedict to end up with a a 10-17 overall record.

Perfect at home

Georgia College’s baseball team carries a 10-0 home record into its Peach Belt Conference series against Montevallo this weekend. The two teams open the series at 6 p.m. on Friday.

The Bobcats are 11-6 overall but lost all three games of their first conference series to Flagler. Georgia College is averaging 8.5 runs per game and has 20 home runs.

Another streak

Georgia College’s softball team hosts Francis Marion on Saturday in Peach Belt play, and the Bobcats have plenty of momentum entering that three-game series.

Georgia College has won nine straight and is 15-9, including 2-0 in the conference.

Strong start

Middle Georgia State’s baseball team is playing well early in the season with a 19-6 record overall and a 12-4 record at home. The Knights host William Carey in a three-game series at starting at 3 p.m. on Friday.

This story was originally published March 9, 2017 at 4:52 PM with the headline "Mercer baseball stadium open for good starting Friday."