Mercer ready to open OrthoGeorgia Park

Mercer’s baseball team has had one of the top playing surfaces around for quite some time. And the Bears have played well enough on that surface to build a championship program.

Mercer is close to having a stadium that matches that playing surface and its program.

The Bears debut an almost-completed Claude Smith Field at OrthoGeorgia Park at 4 p.m. on Friday against Maryland-Eastern Shore.

“There’s a little buzz, to be honest, with you, a little buzz out here with the park and all the guys and all the activity we’ve had out here,” Mercer head coach Craig Gibson said. “Plus with the club we have, the chemistry has been great and all the returning guys and the quality new guys we’ve added. It’s been fun to be out here since we got back in school.”

In 2015, Mercer won the conference tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, the Bears’ third trip to the tournament. Mercer won the Southern Conference regular-season title last year but lost twice to Western Carolina in the conference tournament championship round.

Now, the Bears are ready to show off their new stadium and continue their tradition of success.

“We had a 300-seater stadium just last season and my freshman season, and to come to this, almost regional-eligible, it’s terrific,” junior Trey Truitt said. “We’re just ready for it to get done and get out there and play.”

This story was originally published February 12, 2017 at 11:39 AM with the headline "Mercer ready to open OrthoGeorgia Park."