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Cullowhee, N.C. - Redshirt freshman starter Chase Walter limited a potent Mercer offense to just two runs on two hits over a seven-inning outing on Friday night, receiving timely offense that racked up 11 hits as Western Carolina halted a 14-game winless drought with an 8-4 win over the Bears Friday night in its Southern Conference series-opener at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.

While the victory halted a second, 14-game losing skid for the Catamounts, the loss handed Mercer its sixth-straight seasonal defeat. The win also represented WCU's fifth-consecutive triumph in the head-to-head series with the Bears dating back to 2016.

Walter (1-5) worked around four walks with five strikeouts to collect his first victory of the season on the mound, only surrendering singles in the first and seventh innings. He pitched out of his biggest jam of the night in the sixth inning, putting the first two hitters aboard with walks. The Peachtree City, Ga., native induced a fly ball out to center that left runners at the corners with one away. His defense continued to step-up as backstop Spencer Holcomb recorded his SoCon-leading 16th caught stealing in gunning down a would-be base stealer at second before Walter recorded a strikeout to end the frame and strand two runners.

Freshman Zach Franklin closed the game, allowing a pair of unearned runs on three hits with a strikeout in tossing the final two innings to seal WCU's win.

Six of WCU's starting nine recorded hits in the win with three posting multi-hit games as the Catamount offense came to life, finishing the day with 11 combined hits. Freshmen Justice Bigbie and Will Prater both had three-hit performances while Caleb Robinson belted a solo home run as a part of a 2-for-3 showing at the dish, collecting the game's only extra-base hit. Bigbie singled three times in extending his career-long hitting streak to 14-straight games, reaching base for a 20th-consecutive contest.

Holcomb drove in two in the winning effort, stretching his active hitting streak to six-straight games with a first-inning single, while redshirt sophomore Justin Sparks reached three times -- twice on walks and a streak-extending single as a part of the three-run, four-hit home half of the first inning.

Trailing by a run after Mercer manufactured the game's first score in the top of the first, WCU (4-32, 2-11 SoCon) sent eight batters to the plate in the home half to seize a 3-1 lead it would never relinquish. Bigbie delivered an RBI single to score Prater with Holcomb knocking in his first of two runs on a sharp single up the middle. Following a successful sacrifice bunt by Matthew Koehler that put runners at second and third, Sparks plated the third run on a single into right field.

An inning later, Mercer (26-14, 6-7 SoCon) closed the deficit to one, capitalizing on a lead-off walk with an infield throwing error bringing home the Bears' second run.

The margin hung at one until the Catamounts struck in back-to-back innings in the fourth and fifth with solo markers. Prater drove home Sparks on an infield single deep up the middle at second in the fourth with a pair of wild pitches moving Bigbie to third where he trotted home on the sacrifice fly by Koehler to make it 5-2 through five complete.

Consecutive singles to greet Mercer reliever Kevin Coulter put runners at the corners in the seventh before Holcomb delivered a productive out with a groundout to first that plated Blaquiere with Bigbie scoring for the third time in the game on a throwing error at second base as Sparks stole the bag.

Mercer pushed across a run in the eighth off on a Jackson Ware sacrifice fly to score David Posas, who reached on an infield error. But the Catamounts responded with a lead-off, first-pitch solo home run to left center by Caleb Robinson in the home half of the frame. The Bears capped scoring in the top of the ninth as Kyle Dockus reached on a fourth WCU miscue before scoring on a Posas single to right center field.

Lead-off hitter Alex Hanson paced the Bears with two of the team's five hits in a 2-for-5 showing, scoring one of the four runs on the day. Posas, Ware, and catcher J.T. Thomas each collected RBIs.

Mercer starter Austin Cox (6-2) suffered just his second defeat of the season, surrendering five runs -- four earned -- on seven hits, countering a pair of walks with eight strikeouts. A trio of bullpen arms closed the game for the Bears, combining to allow three runs on four hits with a strikeout over the final two frames.

Game two of the three-game SoCon series is scheduled for a 2:00 pm first pitch on Saturday afternoon in Cullowhee. The game will be broadcast locally on WMYA-TV, My40 with an online stream available through the SoCon Digital Network (free).