Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina clawed out of an early deficit to close to within one run on a pair of seventh inning solo home runs by
Seth Graves and
Justice Bigbie. However, Bryant scored six runs over the final two frames including a grand slam homer to sweep both ends of the nonconference midweek two-game set, claiming Wednesday's game, 11-5, at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
Catamount catcher
Kitt Capell singled three times as a part of reaching base a team-best total of four times – both career highs – as WCU had three players post multi-hit games. Graves reached three times in a 2-for-4 outing with the solo homer with one out in the seventh while
Immanuel Wilder plated two in a 2-for-4 performance with a single and a double.
Bigbie's lone hit was a two-out home run to right center field in the seventh inning, capping an impressive prolonged full-count at bat.
Andrew Bullock scored twice, tallying a pair of lead-off walks in the losing effort.
Freshman starting pitcher
Dawson Elder (0-1) shouldered the loss as the first of eight WCU arms to see action on the day. Elder tossed a team-long two innings with a pair of strikeouts, matched by classmate
Dylan Wheeler who struck out two in an inning and a third. Junior
Jacob Corn kept the Catamounts close by working out of a jam in the fourth, stranding two runners in scoring position while completing an inning and two-thirds.
Six of WCU's seven relievers recorded strikeouts including two by Wheeler and
Carson Lowder.
Four-consecutive, two-out hits in the top of the first put Bryant in front, 2-0, a lead the Bulldogs carried into the home half of the second. Bullock drew his first of two walks and was later plated on a run-scoring double by Wilder to cut the deficit in half, 2-1.
In the fourth inning, the visitors again lit the scoreboard for a pair, capitalizing on a one-out walk and three-straight hits that included a RBI single and a RBI double to push the lead to three, 4-1. The two teams traded runs in the sixth as Bryant used a Matt Woods walk and stolen base to light the scoreboard on a RBI-single by Derek Smith to pull ahead, 5-1. In the home half, Bullock jumpstarted the offense with a walk, scoring again on a base knock by Wilder on a single to left to make it 5-2.
Solo homers by Graves and Bigbie in the seventh made it a one-run game, 5-4, but it was as close as the Catamounts would get. Bryant responded by cashing in on a lead-off walk with the second of two triples by Jake Gustin to push the margin back to two, 6-4, before tacking on five in the ninth including the grand slam home run by James Ciliento, finishing the day 2-for-5 with five RBI.
Colin Bertsch capped scoring in a pinch hit role, reaching on a HBP before scampering home after a double-play on an infield single by
Daniel Walsh to provide the final tally, 11-5.
Redshirt freshman Luke Garofalo (2-0) scored the victory on the mound, scattering six hits over six innings of work and limiting WCU to just a pair of runs, countering three walks with a trio of strikeouts. The Bulldog bullpen surrendered three runs on four hits with one additional K.
Bryant (4-11) had six players post multi-hit games as the Bulldogs pounded-out 18 hits including six for extra bases. Shane Kelly doubled in a 4-for-5 outing while Gustin legged out a pair of triples in a 3-for-5 showing, driving in two.
The two teams combined for seven double-plays – four turned by Bryant and three by WCU.
Western Carolina (8-8) is scheduled to travel to Elon (7-10) this weekend for a three-game nonconference series against the Phoenix. Each game is slated to have live stats coverage through ElonPhoenix.com and CatamountSports.com. Any updates or schedule changes will be made online and through WCU's social media outlets including Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports) and Twitter (@catamounts, @WCUCatamountBSB).
