Cullowhee, N.C. – Looking to halt a three-game slide, Western Carolina travels to the Upstate of South Carolina for the 2020 First Pitch Invitational this weekend, hosted by Michigan State at Fluor Field at the West End – site of the Southern Conference Baseball Championship in May.
 
The Catamounts rekindle the series with Ball State on Friday afternoon at 5 pm to open their participation in the four-team event before facing tournament host, Michigan State, at 6 pm on Saturday in the third game of the day. WCU concludes tournament play with a 10 am start against Kansas on Sunday, March 1.
 
Other action includes Kansas vs. Michigan State at 1 pm on Friday; doubleheader between Ball State and Kansas at 10 am and 2 pm on Saturday; and Ball State facing Michigan State on Sunday afternoon at 1 pm. All told, the tournament features seven games over three days.
 
Fluor Field at the West End is the home of the Boston Red Sox Class A Affiliate Greenville Drive and features a replica of Fenway Park in Boston including a 30-foot tall "Green Monster" – just seven feet shy of the original found at Fenway. Fluor Field is the site of WCU's most recent Southern Conference baseball title, claiming the 2016 crown at the ballpark.
 
Catamount Game Notes:

• After opening the season by sweeping all four home games against first-time foe Chicago State, the Catamounts matched a program-best start with their fifth-straight win to start the season by upending Illinois, 9-2, in the first game of the Brittain Resorts & Hotels Invitational … However, the Catamounts have dropped three-straight including neutral field tournament meetings with Kennesaw State (12-0) and Saint Joseph's (9-2), and Wednesday night's extra inning defeat, 10-9 in 10 innings to Georgia State;
• WCU also opened the 2010 season under Bobby Moranda with five-consecutive victories as a part of an 8-1 opening and a 37-21-1 overall mark and a runner-up finish in the SoCon Baseball Tournament;
• Western Carolina enters the weekend ranked seventh in the SoCon in team batting average (.281) – but are fourth overall in base hits (78); third in doubles (18 – tied 25th nationally); and second with four triples, tied for 16th nationally;
• Junior transfer infielder Daniel Walsh ranks fifth in the SoCon in individual batting average at .481, just ahead of senior Luke Robinson in sixth at .471 … Walsh boasts a team-best .600 on-base percentage, third in the SoCon, just ahead of both Robinson and Immanuel Wilder at .500 … Junior Will Prater has legged out two triples this season, tied for first in the SoCon;
• Paced by SoCon and NCAA national individual-leader Immanuel Wilder with 10 HBPs, WCU paces the SoCon in hit by pitch with 22 – a mark that ranks WCU fourth nationally … WCU's single-season individual record is 25 set by Cameron Dullnig in 2010;
• Seventh in the league in overall strikeouts with 69, WCU ranks second with 27 strikeouts looking … Zebby Matthews leads WCU with six punchouts looking, tied for the second-most in the SoCon;
• Defensively, the Catamounts have turned a SoCon-leading nine double plays, tied for the seventh-most in the NCAA through Feb. 26;

Going Streaking – Active Hitting Streaks:

• Daniel Walsh – 5 games (10-for-19, .526 average during streak; four multi-hit games)
• Luke Robinson – 4 games (8-for-17, .471 average during streak; three multi-hit games)

*Snap* - Get on Base – Reached Safely Streaks:

• Daylan Nanny – 13 games – five-straight to end 2019, first eight of 2020
• Immanuel Wilder – 12 games – four-straight to end 2019, first eight of 2020
• Daniel Walsh – 8 games – every game this season
• Luke Robinson – 4 games – each game he's played this year

 

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Western Carolina (home) vs. Ball State
When: Friday, Feb. 28 | 5 pm
Where: Fluor Field at the West End | Greenville, S.C.
Coverage: Ball State Audio | Live Stats
Pitching Match-Up:
WCU – Soph. RHP Zebby Matthews (2-0, 4.09 ERA) vs. BALL – Sr. RHP John Baker (0-1, 3.72 ERA)
 
Scouting Ball State:

• The Cardinals enter the weekend at 2-4 overall including being swept by former WCU coaches Rodney Hennon and Alan Beck at Georgia Southern on Opening Weekend and then taking 2-of-3 at Houston Baptist in Texas … Both of Ball State's victories have come in extra innings;
• Ball State was picked third in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) by the league's head coaches … the Cardinals are coming off a 38-19 season last year with a runner-up regular season and tournament finish … According to Ball State, the squad returns 71% of its run production and 69% of the teams' hits from a season ago offensively;
• Ball State's projected starting pitcher John Baker was named a third-team preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball entering 2020 … Baker was named All-MAC and All-America following the 2019 season where he was drafted in the 29th round by the Miami Marlins … He is 17-9 overall in his career with a 3.36 ERA in 38 career starts with 270 career strikeouts, second in Ball State history;

Series History – Western Carolina vs. Ball State:

• Western Carolina and Ball State meet for the seventh time in series history with the Cardinals leading the series, 4-2 … Each series meeting has come since 2017 as the Catamounts took 2-of-3 in Muncie before Ball State swept a three-game series – including a pair of seven-inning games – in Cullowhee in 2018.

 Western Carolina vs. the Mid-American Conference (MAC):

• WCU has faced seven of the 11 current teams in the MAC, posting a 20-17 overall record: Akron, 1-0; Ball State, 2-4; Bowling Green, 3-0; Kent State, 6-7, Miami (Ohio), 5-2; Ohio, 3-0; Toledo, 0-4;

 

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Western Carolina vs. Michigan State (home)
When: Saturday, Feb. 29 | 6 pm
Where: Fluor Field at the West End | Greenville, S.C.
Coverage: Michigan State Live Stats
Pitching Match-Up:
WCU – R-Jr. RHP Chase Walter (0-1, 16.50 ERA) vs. Sr. LHP Jarret Olson (0-1, 1.93 ERA)

Scouting Michigan State:

• Much like WCU, Michigan State (5-3) was hot out of the gates, winning their first four against Morehead State at the Shipyard Park in Charleston, S.C., on Opening Weekend before suffering their first of three-consecutive losses to Merrimack in Greenville … the Spartans salvaged the fourth game against the NEC-member Warriors, 15-14, in 10 innings on Sun., Feb. 23, winning with a walk-off home run;
• Michigan State faces Kansas on Friday afternoon in the tournament opener;
• The Spartans landed three players on the preseason All-Big Ten team including redshirt junior pitcher Mason Erla, senior pitcher Jarret Olson – who the Catamounts face on Saturday night – and sophomore outfielder Zaid Walker … Only the top six teams in the Big Ten are ranked in the league's preseason poll;
• Michigan State returns five position starters and three starting pitchers from last season, finishing the 2019 season by winning three of their last four Big Ten series, two coming on the road … the Spartans also had three wins over Top 25 teams a year ago;

Series History – Western Carolina vs. Michigan State:

• Western Carolina and Michigan State have met three times previously on the baseball diamond with the Catamounts trailing, 1-2 … Each of the three meetings have come on a neutral field dating back to 2008;
• Last season, WCU rallied from a two-run deficit in the top of the ninth inning to force extra innings before scoring twice in the top of the 10th to upend the Spartans, 6-4, in the First Pitch Invitational … Chase Walter scored the victory out of the bullpen, tossing 2.2 scoreless relief innings behind starter Jack Snyder (2.0 IP) and Zach Franklin (5.1 IP);

 Western Carolina vs. the Big Ten:

• Michigan State is the second of two Big Ten foes the Catamounts will face in 2020 … WCU took advantage of five errors, three hit batters, and a pair of walks in a 9-2 victory over Illinois in the first game of the Brittain Resorts & Hotel Invitational in Myrtle Beach / Conway, S.C.
• WCU has faced nine of the current 13 members of the Big Ten all-time, posting a 22-14 overall record: Illinois, 3-1; Indiana, 1-2; Maryland, 0-1; Michigan State, 1-2; Nebraska, 3-1; Northwestern, 3-0; Ohio State, 7-5; Penn State, 1-0; Purdue, 3-2.

 

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Western Carolina (home) vs. Kansas
When: Sunday, March 1 | 10 am
Where: Fluor Field at the West End | Greenville, S.C.
Coverage: Kansas Audio | Kansas Live Stats | Live Stats
Pitching Match-Up:
WCU – Jr. RHP Ryan Mitschele (1-1, 3.18 ERA) vs. KU – R-Soph. LHP Eli Davis (2-0, 4.91 ERA)
 
Scouting Kansas:

• The Jayhawks enter the weekend at 4-3 with wins over Belmont and Charleston Southern on the road … Kansas has tournament games against Michigan State (Friday) and a doubleheader against Ball State (Saturday) before facing WCU;
• Senior shortstop Benjamin Sems was named to the 2020 Preseason All-Big 12 team .. Sems was a 2019 All-Big 12 second-team selection after batting .305 with 12 doubles, 39 RBI, four homers, and 14 stolen bases;
• Kansas finished the 2019 season fifth in the Big 12 with an overall record of 32-26 and 12-12 in Big 12 play. 

Series History – Western Carolina vs. Kansas

• Western Carolina and Kansas meet for the first-time on the baseball diamond;
• Ironically, WCU and Kansas have squared-off in the two other top men's collegiate sports – football and men's basketball … WCU visited Lawrence in football in 1993, falling 46-3 … the Catamounts and Jayhawks have played three times on the hardwood, each won by Kansas … WCU visited Lawrence to face No. 11 Kansas in January of the 1984-85 season (L, 79-62) and #7 Kansas in December of the 1985-86 season (L, 101-79) … the Jayhawks ventured to Cullowhee in 1987 in the infamous "yellow uniform game," as No. 16 Kansas escaped the Ramsey Center with a 68-63 victory;

Western Carolina vs. the Big 12:

• Western Carolina has only faced three of the nine baseball-playing schools currently in the Big 12 Conference, posting an overall record of 6-4 … the most-recent meetings came in Manhattan, Kansas, against the K-State Wildcats in 2016: Kansas State, 3-0; Oklahoma State, 2-2; West Virginia, 1-2.

 

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Up Next:
Following the weekend in Greenville, S.C., in tournament play, the Catamounts return home on Wednesday, March 4 to host rival Appalachian State at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. First pitch is slated for 4 pm in the first scheduled WCU-produced ESPN broadcast (ESPN3 or ESPN+, TBA). WCU will then face Northwestern and USC Upstate in Spartanburg, S.C., on Friday, March 6.
 
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