SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Mercer outfielder Bill Knight and ETSU right-handed pitcher Nathanial Tate have been named the Southern Conference player and pitcher of the week, respectively, for all games from March 22-28. The selections are made by the league office.
 
Knight led the Bears at the plate this week with a .438 batting average, seven RBIs and seven hits. He opened the series against Wofford going 3-for-3 with a double. In the first game of the doubleheader the next day, Knight went 3-for-5 with six RBIs, leading the Bears to the 13-7 win. In the same game, he hit a home run, double and single, only missing the cycle by a triple. The sophomore from Perkins, Georgia, has a total of 30 hits and 26 RBIs on the season, which are tied for second in the SoCon.
 
Mercer (13-10, 2-1 SoCon) will travel to No. 13 Florida on Tuesday, March 30, for its third game against a ranked opponent of the 2021 season. The weekend series against The Citadel (8-12, 1-4) is set to begin Friday, April 2, at 6 p.m., with the doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 3. 
 
Tate earned his second consecutive pitcher of the week honor of the season after recording his second quality start and his second win with a one-run outing at Samford (13-11, 5-1), handing the Blue Division leader its first conference loss of the season. He pitched 6 1/3 innings in the Bucs’ 5-1 win over the Bulldogs, allowing three hits and striking out seven batters. The junior didn’t allow an extra-base hit and did not allow a run until the seventh inning. This was his second straight start allowing one run or less, and he ranks second in the conference with only 10 runs allowed on the season. 
 
ETSU (13-9, 3-3) is scheduled for a 6 p.m. opening pitch against UNCG (13-10, 2-4) on Friday, April 2. Saturday’s doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m., with Game 2 following 45 minutes after Game 1.