May 10, 2002

Final Stats

Johnson City, Tenn. - Western Carolina scored six runs in the top of the first and never looked back as the Catamounts (30-17, 19-9 SoCon) defeated East Tennessee State (19-29, 11-13 SoCon), 16-3, Friday night at Cardinal Park.

In the game, juniors Jared Burton and Alan Beck each reached milestones. Burton, who now has a streak of 13 consecutive scoreless innings pitched, struck out seven Bucs to give the right-hander 93 K's for the season and 200 in his career. Burton, who pitched six innings tonight, moved to 10th on the WCU all-time innings pitched list. He needs just two more strike outs to move to 10th on the WCU career list and just eight K's to enter the WCU single-season list. Burton improved to 7-4 on the season in pitching six scoreless innings versus ETSU. He only allowed four hits with a walk.

Beck was 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and three RBIs versus ETSU. The Hudson native now has 43 career doubles to rank 10th on the WCU all-time list. With his three RBIs, Beck is just two RBIs from entering the school's all-time leaders list.

Western set the tone early when leadoff hitter Rod Goldston walked. Freshman Alex Gary followed with a triple and later scored on a Ryan Schade single. Schade would eventually score on a wild pitch and Donovan Minero, who singled, scored on a single by Brian Sigmon. Goldston, who started the scoring, capped the scoring with a two-run single to center.

In the third, the Catamounts had consecutive singles by Todd Buchanan and Dan Woodley to start the frame. After a Todd Roper sacrifice bunt, Goldston plated Buchanan with a ground out. Gary followed with a walk and Schade had a two-run double to make the score 9-0.

In the fourth, Beck had the first of his two doubles. The Cats would load the bases after a Buchanan walk and a single by Woodley. Roper would clear the bases and make the score12-0 with a three-run double to left-center field. Western added a single run in the fifth to make the score 13-0. Schade had a one-out single and came around on Beck's second double in as many innings.

The Catamounts scored their final three runs in the seventh. Goldston started things with a solo home run to right, his second blast of the season. Pinch hitter Jimmy Cochran walked, setting the stage for Beck's two-run homer.

The Bucs were able to get on the board in the eighth, scoring two runs on four hits. ETSU scored its final run on a solo homer by Bryan Crouse.

In addition to Beck's three-hit performance, Schade went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Goldston, who finished with four RBIs, joined Sigmon and Woodley in getting two hits each. Every Catamount to get at least two at bats tonight collected a hit as WCU pinch hitters Rob Hoover and Chris Davis each went 0-for-1.

Western Carolina and East Tennessee State will return to action on Saturday. First pitch is set for 2 pm. The teams will conclude their three-game set on Sunday at 1 pm.