Cullowhee, N.C. – Southern Conference baseball standard-bearers Western Carolina and The Citadel renew their rivalry this weekend with a three-game conference series at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
 
The three-game set – which is to be played over a two-day window in 2021 as a part of the SoCon's cost-saving measures – was adjusted to work around unfavorable forecasts as the two teams shifted the doubleheader to Friday beginning at 2 p.m., with Saturday's series finale scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday's game is slated to be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available for each game online through CatamountSports.com. This weekend's series is presented by B.H. Graning Landscape & Supply.
 
WCU and The Citadel have combined to win 44 conference championships all-time including 26 regular-season crowns and a combined 18 tournament titles. The Catamounts have won 23 total conference championships – 13 regular season and 10 tournaments – while the Bulldogs have won a total of 21 banners including 13 regular season and eight tournaments. The two programs have both advanced to the SoCon Championship game a combined 29 times and have met for the title six times – 1988, 1990, 1994, 1999, 2004, and 2010 – with the Bulldogs winning five titles over WCU.
 
Western Carolina (11-4) is riding a six-game winning streak that includes sweeping Big East foe, St. John's, in its most recent action in Cullowhee. The Catamounts outscored the Red Storm 40-to-7 over the three-game series.  The Citadel (8-10, 1-2 SoCon) claimed its conference-opening game against Wofford last weekend in Charleston, splitting the opening-day doubleheader before falling in the series finale, 6-0, to drop the three-game set. The Bulldogs also fell in the midweek at South Carolina in the backend of the nonconference home-and-home with the Gamecocks.
 
The Catamounts enter the weekend batting a SoCon-best .300 that includes 30 doubles, two triples, and 18 home runs. WCU boasts the top three hitters in the SoCon with two – juniors Daniel Walsh (.407) and Justice Bigbie (.404) both batting over .400 while fifth-year senior Luke Robinson is hitting just below that threshold at .397.
 
WCU's pitching staff ranks second in the league in team ERA at a combined 3.82 over 132.0 innings of work. Friday game one starter Zebby Matthews currently leads the conference with a 2.08 ERA over 26.0 innings of work.
 
Friday and Saturday's games in Cullowhee represent the first road series for the Bulldogs this season as The Citadel has played just two games away from the friendly confines of Riley Park in Charleston. The Bulldogs won at Jacksonville, 7-6, back on March 3 and lost at in-state foe South Carolina, 8-3, earlier this week.
 
The Citadel is batting .284 collectively as a team – second in the SoCon behind WCU – and are fourth in the league with a team ERA of 4.83. Jeffrey Brown paces the Bulldogs with a .357 batting average, sixth in the SoCon, while Noah Mitchell has legged out a SoCon-high tying nine doubles – tied for sixth nationally.
 
Western Carolina and The Citadel have met 157 times on the baseball diamond with the Catamounts holding a 90-67 series edge. The Bulldogs have taken 2-of-3 games in the last two regular-season series meetings between the two squads in 2018 and 2019. Despite dropping the series, the Catamounts have managed to advance in SoCon Tournament play in both seasons, though, with a victory in the fourth meeting in the single-elimination portion of the postseason event. WCU's last series victory over The Citadel came in Cullowhee with a three-game sweep back in 2017.
 
Projected Pitching Match-Ups:
Friday (Gm1): WCU – So. RHP Zebby Matthews (3-1, 2.08) vs. CIT – Gr. RHP Jake Pilarski (2-1, 5.34)
Friday (Gm2): WCU – Fr. RHP Gavin Mortenson (2-0, 5.12) vs. CIT – Soph. RHP Cameron Reeves (2-1, 3.09)
Saturday: WCU – R-Jr. RHP Ryan Mitschele (3.86, 2-1) vs. CIT – Soph. RHP Lathan Todd (1-3, 6.75)
 
Additional Catamount Baseball Diamond Notes:

• Junior INF Daniel Walsh carries a team-best 10-game hitting streak into this weekend's series against The Citadel … Junior OF Seth Graves has hit in five-straight games as he's seen more time in the outfield with senior Luke Robinson also carrying a five-game hit streak into Friday's twinbill .. Classmates Justice Bigbie, Will Prater, and Daylan Nanny have also each hit in three-straight;
• Four Catamounts continue to have reached base safely in every game of the 2021 season … Including the final nine games of the abbreviated 2020 season and the first 15 of 2021, Justice Bigbie has reached base safely in 24-consecutive games … Daniel Walsh has reached in 16-straight including the final game before the COVID shutdown … Junior Daylan Nanny and freshman Pascanel Ferreras have both reached in 15-straight games;
• Western Carolina continues to rank second in the NCAA with an average of 9.5 runs per game, second only to UMBC which has 107 runs over nine games played …
• Even with missing four games last week, the Catamounts continue to lead the SoCon in being hit by a pitch with 39 HBPs on the year … Through 15 games, WCU has 39 HBPs, tied for the fourth-most in the NCAA this season;
• WCU's defense ranks tied for 22nd in the country in double-plays having turned 14 double-plays for an average of 0.93 per game this season;

 
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