The Chattanooga Mocs softball team is set to open up Southern Conference action this weekend by hosting the Mercer Bears for a three-game series on Saturday and Sunday at Jim Frost Stadium.
All three games will be streamed LIVE on ESPN3 through the WatchESPN platform. Chattanooga is 300-127 (.703) all-time in SoCon games and leads all league members with 14 regular season titles, 13 tournament crowns and ten appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
Saturday's action features a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
before the series finale on Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase on GoMocs.com, on the schedule page or by calling the ticket office at (423) 266-MOCS.
Full series preview and notes can be found below. Follow @GoMocsSB for the most up-to-date information regarding Chattanooga softball.
Mercer enters the weekend with a 19-10 record and have recorded non-conference wins over Michigan State, Rutgers and Georgetown. They took two of three games from UTC last season and finished fifth in the league with a 9-9 record.
The Bears are led by junior Megan Lane and senior Meghan Rud. Lane ranks fourth in both batting average (.347) and slugging percentage (.600) while sitting second in runs scored (23). Rud has been nearly unstoppable on the base paths, going 14-for-15 in stolen base attempts this season. She is 104-for-114 for her career and has set numerous school records in the process.
Mercer carries a 2.88 staff ERA and features three pitchers with a sub-3.00 ERA in double-digit appearances. Megan Bilgri is 7-4 with a 2.84 ERA in a team-high 69.0 innings pitched while Jill McElderry has chipped in with a 6-2 record and a team-best 2.66 ERA in 52.2 innings. Stella Preston has tossed 50.1 innings and holds a 4-3 record with a 2.78 ERA.