Box Score

Spartanburg, S.C. - Wofford made its three-run middle-inning lead stand-up on Saturday afternoon, holding off Western Carolina's latter inning rally attempt to complete the three-game series sweep of the Catamounts with a 3-2 victory at Russell C. King Field.

The Terriers (20-9, 4-2 SoCon) capitalized on their opportunities with two of the three runs scoring reaching on walks, and all three runs scoring without a base hit. WCU chipped away at the deficit, but twice stranded the would-be game-tying run at third base in both the sixth and seventh innings, settling for single markers in both frames.

The three-game series sweep was the first-ever for Wofford over Western Carolina on the baseball diamond.

Senior infielder Cameron Blaquiere extended his hitting streak to 10-straight games, finishing the game a team-best 2-for-5 with a pair of singles. Freshman Justice Bigbie drove a run-scoring double to left center in a 1-for-4 showing, with the remaining three WCU hits going to Matthew Koehler, Andrew Robinson, and Will Prater.

Redshirt junior starter Taylor Purus (1-6) continued the weekend trend of battling on the mound for the Catamounts, pitching around four walks and three hit batters with five strikeouts over six innings of work. The Hudson, N.C., native limited the Terriers to three runs on just four hits, but was saddled with the loss. Blake Therrian tossed the final two innings of two-hit, scoreless relief, striking out three with one walk.

Wofford (20-9, 4-2 SoCon) broke the scoreless deadlock in the bottom of the fourth inning as Brett Rodriguez reached base on a one-out walk. A wild pitch moved him to second before he stole third to move further into scoring position. Then, on a dropped third strike, the subsequent throw went to first to complete the out, but allowed Rodriguez to scamper home for the 1-0 lead.

In the fifth, the Terriers used a Colin Davis one-out double to center and a McClain Bradley walk to stretch the lead. Davis crossed home on a bases loaded HBP of Andrew Orzel, with what proved to be the game-winning run in Bradley scoring on a wild pitch.

Western Carolina chipped away at the deficit in the sixth and seventh innings with the best offensive outputs of the game. Luke Robinson led-off the sixth with a walk before taking second base. Bigbie then doubled to deep center allowing Robinson to rumble around third to trim the deficit to two, 3-1. A wild pitch moved Bigbie to third, all with nobody out. However, consecutive strikeouts and an inning-ending fielder's choice groundout stranded two on base.

An inning later, Prater reached on an infield single before Blaquiere singled to right to put runners at the corners. Andrew Robinson nearly beat-out a sacrifice bunt, but did manage to push a run across as Prater scored from third. Blaquiere eventually moved around to third, but for a second-consecutive inning the run was left at third base.

WCU was retired in order in the eighth before a two-out infield error prolonged the game in the ninth inning. But a ground out to short ended the game and the series.

Wofford starter Grant Byers (4-1) picked up the victory, tossing the minimum five innings while scattering four hits with just one run allowed. Byers worked around three walks with a strikeout. Reliever Anthony Garcia earned his second result of the weekend with a four-inning save -- his third of the season -- surrendering one run on two hits with a trio of strikeouts.

Rodriguez led the Terriers, reaching base three times in a 2-for-3 performance, adding a walk, while Bradley also reached three times with a pair of free passes in a 1-for-2 showing. Orzel collected the only RBI for Wofford on a hit batter.

Western Carolina (3-23, 1-4 SoCon) travels over the mountain in mid-week action on Wednesday to face mountain-rival UNC Asheville at historic McCormick Field in a game that will be televised on My40, WMYA-TV. The Catamounts host UNCG in league play next weekend in Cullowhee.