Box Score

Johnson City, Tenn. - Sophomore Matt Smith and junior Danny Bermudez both hit solo home runs in the top of the ninth inning to propel Western Carolina to a series-evening, 4-3, victory over East Tennessee State on Saturday afternoon in Southern Conference baseball action at Thomas Stadium.

The series rubber match is scheduled for 1:05 pm first pitch on Sunday. Coverage on the Catamount Sports Network begins at 12:45 pm online at CatamountSports.com.

For a second-straight day, Western Carolina (18-21, 9-8 SoCon) scored all of its runs on home runs. In addition to the two shots in the ninth inning, redshirt freshman Pierce Suttles belted his second homer in as many days, giving the Catamounts the early, 2-0, lead in the fourth inning.

Four Catamounts finished with multi-hit games with Matt Smith going 2-for-4 with a walk and Bermudez finishing 2-for-5 with an infield bunt single. Redshirt sophomore Jason Smith collected two hits in a 2-for-3 outing, tallying his sixth double of the season, while freshman Matthew Koehler was 2-for-4, also doubling down the first base line.

Suttles and freshman Brett Pope both added singles as WCU outhit ETSU, 10-to-6.

Following Suttles' two-run homerun in the fourth, the Bucs evened the game with a two-run shot of their own in the bottom of the sixth inning as catcher Hagen Owenby snuck one over the fence in left center to make it 2-2. ETSU then took a one-run lead in the bottom of the eighth as Jeremy Taylor led-off with a triple off the fence in left center, coming home on a RBI-double by Trey York, setting up WCU's ninth-inning heroics.

Senior closer Tyler Powell (2-1) picked up the victory in relief for the Catamounts, surrendering two hits in two scoreless innings out of the bullpen with a strikeout. Starter Bryan Sammons tossed a strong seven innings with a career-high eight strikeouts against three walks before coming out in the bottom of the eighth inning after Taylor's lead-off triple.

ETSU reliever Chris Cook (0-1), who started the game at shortstop, suffered the loss after allowing the home run to Bermudez in two thirds of an inning. Starter Jimmy Nesselt finished just two outs shy of a second-consecutive complete game for the Buccaneers, surrendering three runs on nine hits. Nesselt struck out seven with four walks.

Six Buccaneers (15-27, 4-10 SoCon) combined for ETSU's six hits on the day. York and Cook both doubled with Taylor legging out a triple and Owenby hitting the home run, his fifth of the season.

The series concludes on Sunday afternoon. Sophomore RHP Korey Anderson is scheduled to start for WCU with the Bucs countering with freshman RHP Ryan Simpler who is making his first weekend start.