When R.J. Yeager transferred over from Mercer to play 2nd base, the expectations were high. During his four seasons at Mercer, the Florida native hit for a career batting average of .291 with a .844 OPS and 28 home runs. Yeager’s experience earned him the leadoff spot on opening day, but he struggled and quickly saw himself moved down the order. After 11 games, he was sitting at a .188 batting average and was moved to the bench.

After spending four games on the bench, Yeager was inserted back into the starting lineup in Game 3 of the Princeton series. He began to heat up, hitting a single and a double with a pair of RBIs, but his breakout performance was last Monday against Binghamton.

The 6’3” 2nd baseman tapped into the power that he showed during his days at Mercer, dropping his first two “Yeager Bombs” in the Maroon and White. A solo shot in the fourth inning tied the ballgame up for the Bulldogs, and a 3-run blast in the eighth was the dagger in the win over the Bearcats.

"It was a good night," said Yeager. "It felt good to get that first one, and then the second one was just icing on the cake."

Yeager carried that momentum into SEC Opening Weekend at Georgia. While Mississippi State dropped the series, Yeager was a standout at the plate, going 6-14 with nine RBIs, raising his batting average to .286 with an OPS of .929. In Saturday’s loss, Yeager blasted a seventh-inning grand slam to get the Bulldogs back in the game, tying it up at 10-10, and a 3-run bomb in the eighth in Sunday’s win was the nail in the coffin for Georgia.

The resurgence of Yeager brings him to fourth on the team with four home runs, a great piece to have at the bottom of the batting order.