Box Score |   

The Basics
Score: Western Carolina 10, Mercer 2 (6)
Records: Western Carolina 33-22, 9-9 SoCon, Mercer 21-33, 4-14 SoCon
Location: Catamount Softball Complex, Cullowhee, N.C.

CULLOWHEE, N.C. -- Western Carolina earned the Southern Conference series win over Mercer with a 10-2, in six innings, victory over the Bears Sunday, at the Catamount Softball Complex, to close out the regular season.

With the win, Western Carolina earns the No. 3 seed headed into the Southern Conference Championships set to begin May 11. The Catamounts will face No. 6 seed Chattanooga at 3 p.m. in Greensboro, N.C. on the campus of UNCG.

Turning Point
With Western Carolina trailing 1-0, headed to the bottom of the first inning, freshman Hunter Gibbons hit the first grand-slam of her Catamount career to give WCU a 4-1 lead. Western Carolina went on to outscore the Bears 6-1 in the ensuing five innings.

How it Happened
-Mercer took the early 1-0 lead with a run in the top of the first when Taylor Rodgers hit an RBI single.
- Western Carolina erased the Bears' lead with one swing of the bat scoring four runs in the bottom of the first. A single by Kara Salvo, a walk by Victoria Mariscal and a single by Crystal Cyr loaded the bases. After Salvo was thrown out at home on a fielder's choice by Courtney Price and a strikeout by Taylor Sigmon, the bases remained loaded with two outs. Gibbons fought off nine pitches by Mercer pitcher Maxine Rodriguez before she launched a grand-slam homerun over the centerfield wall to put WCU up 4-1.
- Mercer added its second run of the game, cutting the Catamount lead in half to 4-2, off an RBI single by Natalie Shiver in the top of the third.
- Western Carolina had its second four-run inning in the bottom of the third. Price led off the inning with a double. With one out, Gibbons hit her second homerun of the game sending a shot over the left field wall. Karley Harkey followed with a single up the middle. With two outs, senior Amber Kimrey hit the second homerun of her career sending a shot over the centerfield wall for two RBI -- scoring Harkey and herself.
- In the fourth inning, Western Carolina tacked on its ninth run of the game. Cyr drew a walk and Price was hit by a pitch to place runners on first and second. A double steal b Cyr and Price placed runners on second and third and Cyr scored on a ground-out RBI by Sigmon.
- Western Carolina shortened the game to six innings scoring the decisive 10th run in the bottom of the sixh. Mariscal led off the inning with a single up the middle, pushing her hit streak to seven straight game. Cyr was hit by a pitch to place runners at first and second. With one out, Sigmon singled up the middle to load the bases. Gibbons earned her seventh RBI of the game when she hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Mariscal and end the game.

Inside the Box Score
- Senior Taylor Sigmon got the start and earned her 13th victory of the season. She tossed six innings allowing two runs on five hits and struck out two.
- Western Carolina had nine hits in the game and allowed five to Mercer.
- Gibbons was 2-for-3 in the game with two runs scored and seven RBI.
- Mariscal, Cyr and Price also had two hits in the game.

News & Notes
- Gibbons hit the first grand-slam of her young career against Mercer ... She had two homeruns in the game.
- Sigmon and junior Courtney Buchanan each have 13 wins on the mound this season.
- Western Carolina ended the Southern Conference season with a 9-9 record - the most in the SoCon since 2013 when the team also had nine wins (however there were more teams in the SoCon at the time) ... Also the .500 record in SoCon is the first for WCU since the Catamounts had a winning record in the SoCon in 2006 when the Catamounts ended the season 16-4 and won the regular season.
- The third seed headed to the SoCon Championships is the highest seed for WCU since earning the No. 1 seed in 2006.
- Salvo was hit by a pitch for the 15th time this season breaking the WCU school record for being hit by a pitch ... In her career, she has been hit by a pitch 31 times ranking her second in the WCU record books -- if she is hit by a pitch three more times in her career she will take over first place. - Sigmon upped her career strikeout record to 398 - two more strikeouts will push her career total to 400 ... Should she reach the 400 mark she will be just the second pitcher in Catamount softball program history to have 400 or more strikeouts in a career.
- The Sunday victory over Mercer earned WCU its third SoCon series win of the season and marks the first time this season Western Carolina has recorded a win on a SoCon series Sunday.

Up Next
Western Carolina opens play in the Southern Conference Championships at 3 p.m. Wednesday as the No. 3 seed and will face No. 6 seed Chattanooga in Greensboro, N.C. The championships will be held on the campus of UNCG.

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