Mercer baseball sweeps Southern Conference weekly honors

MACON, Ga. (MERCER ATHLETICS) – After leading the Mercer University baseball team to a perfect 4-0 record including a sweep of East Tennessee State in the program’s inaugural Southern Conference series, sophomore Kyle Lewis and senior Eric Nyquist were named the SoCon Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Mercer opened the week with a 16-4 triumph over Georgia at Claude Smith Field last Tuesday, before jumping to the top of the league standings with three-straight victories over ETSU to open up the program’s first season in the Southern Conference.

The Bears swept the weekly honors for first time as a member of the SoCon, after last accomplishing the feat during the 2013 season when DJ Johnson and Chesny Young were each recognized by the Atlantic Sun Conference. Mercer leads the league with four honorees in 2015, as Ryan Askew and Nyquist each garnered Pitcher of the Week recognition earlier this season.

Lewis put together multiple-hit performances in three of Mercer’s four victories en route to his first career weekly honor, after compiling a .562 batting average with four extra-base hits, six RBIs and seven runs scored during the week. The sophomore outfielder went 2-for-3 with two RBIs in the Bears’ 16-4 rout of Georgia on Tuesday, before continuing his tear in the program’s inaugural Southern Conference series. Lewis scored the game’s winning run in the series-opening win over ETSU and would close out the weekend with a walk-off home run to clinch the sweep of the Buccaneers.

The Snellville, Ga. native had a solo shot in each of the last two games to push his SoCon-leading home run total to nine. Lewis also tops the league in doubles (10), hits (43) and total bases (80).

Nyquist dazzled in his only appearance of the week, tossing a three-hit shutout in Mercer’s inaugural Southern Conference game, a 2-0 win over ETSU. Nyquist outdueled Buccaneers’ ace Jimmy Nesselt for his third win of the season, needing just 98 pitches to hold down one of the league’s top offenses. The 6-foot-2 right-hander only allowed one runner to reach second base, while striking out seven of the 31 batters he faced.

Nyquist, who has garnered a total of three weekly honors in his career, leads the league with a 1.17 ERA, while holding opponents to a conference-best .122 batting average.

Mercer returns to action tomorrow, March 24, when it travels to Athens, Ga. to wrap up its season series with Georgia. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at the Bulldogs’ Foley Field.