Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina baseball opens its highly-anticipated 2021 season this weekend, hosting the Towson Tigers out of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) for a four-game set at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium this weekend. Game one of the series has been bumped to a 2:30 p.m. start on Friday afternoon with Saturday's doubleheader set to begin at 2 p.m. The season-opening series concludes on Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch.
 
Friday's season-opener is slated to be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) as a part of WCU's plan to stream 19 home baseball games this spring on the online ESPN platform. Live stats will be available for each home game with links provided online at CatamountSports.com.
 
Friday's game is the first for WCU since the COVID-19 pandemic halted the 2020 season just 16 games deep. The Catamounts were off to an 8-8 seasonal start a year ago, sweeping Chicago State in the four-game season-opening series while also tallying neutral field victories over Big Ten foe, Illinois, and Big XII member, Kansas.
 
This weekend's series marks the first-ever meetings between WCU and Towson on the baseball diamond. Picked fourth out of four teams in the CAA's North Division, Towson is the first of three opponents the Catamounts will face out of the CAA. Next weekend, WCU travels in-state to face UNC Wilmington, picked to win the five-team CAA South Division, and will also visit former Southern Conference foe, Elon, which was tabbed third in the CAA South in the preseason.
 
Towson posted a 7-8 record in 2020 before the season was canceled last March, scoring nonconference series victories over High Point (2-1) and Lafayette (3-1). The Tigers won five of their final six games before the stoppage including three-straight wins.
 
Among the top returnees for Towson are outfielders Matt Arceo and Javon Fields as well as veteran starting pitcher Josh Seils. Fields, a sophomore who garnered 2019 CAA All-Rookie team honors, was a preseason honorable mention All-CAA selection while Arceo was batting a team-best .395 with a pair of doubles and seven RBI last spring. Towson has a combined five graduate students and seniors with eight juniors, while the bulk of their preseason roster consists of 14 true and redshirt freshmen.
 
Western Carolina was picked in a two-way tie for fifth in the SoCon preseason by the league's head coaches and sixth in the polling of voting media. Three Catamounts including two expected starters – fifth-year senior catcher Luke Robinson and junior outfielder Justice Bigbie – were tagged as preseason first-team All-SoCon selections, joined by right-handed reliever Zach Franklin.
 
Under the direction of head coach Bobby Moranda, who is entering his 14th season in Cullowhee, the Catamounts return seven position starters from a year ago, which are joined by an influx of talented newcomers. Among WCU's top returners is infielder Daniel Walsh, who was batting a team-best .386 through 16 games last spring with three doubles among his team-high 22 base hits and nine RBI. Junior middle infielder Will Prater was off to a career-best start with a .321 average including four extra base hits – two doubles and two triples. Bigbie had secured 20 hits – seven of which had gone for extra bases – while Daylan Nanny had four doubles among 12 base knocks.
 
Selected as this year's Leggett No. 7 Legacy, junior outfielder Immanuel Wilder boasted a .420 on-base percentage through 16 games, drawing 11 HBPs and seven walks. With 32 career HBPs, Wilder already ranks 12th in the Catamount record books and is just 12 shy of the school benchmark.
 
On the mound, the Catamounts return 13 pitchers including last year's Friday starter in local product Zebby Matthews. The Cullowhee native was off to a 3-1 start when the season ended a year ago with a 3.42 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He's flanked by Ryan Mitschele and Corey Bright, both with weekend starting experience, and a deep bullpen highlighted by Franklin who had a gleaming 0.79 ERA in 11.1 innings pitched in 2020. Fifth-year senior Jack Snyder, who made a team-high eight appearances last spring, is back to anchor WCU's relief corps.
 
WCU remains at home next Tuesday, Feb. 23 to host mountain-rival UNC Asheville in nonconference action at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. The mountain match-up is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with a 4 pm first pitch, though game times and broadcast schedules are subject to change.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount baseball and WCU Athletics through social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports), Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountBSB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountbsb).
 
Projected Starting Pitching Match-Ups:
Friday: RHP Zebby Matthews (WCU) vs. RHP Josh Seils (TOW)
Saturday Gm1: RHP Gavin Mortenson (WCU) vs. RHP Nick Janowicz (TOW)
Saturday Gm2: RHP Corey Bright (WCU) vs. LHP Danny Madden (TOW)
Sunday: RHP Ryan Mitschele (WCU) vs. RHP Nick Ramanjulu (TOW)