Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina baseball opens a seven-game road swing this weekend, traveling to Johnson City, Tenn., to face mountain-rival East Tennessee State at Thomas Stadium. The series gets underway on Friday as officials at ETSU have moved the series to two games on the first day beginning at Noon due to the threat of rain on Saturday. The series will then conclude with a single game scheduled for Saturday (TBA).
 
Each game is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available through links online at CatamountSports.com and ETSUBucs.com. Game times and broadcast schedules are subject to change.
 
Western Carolina (20-10, 8-3 SoCon) currently leads the SoCon's Red Division after taking 2-of-3 from the league's Blue Division-leading Samford Bulldogs last weekend in Cullowhee. The Catamounts are ahead of both Wofford (10-5), which travels to VMI this weekend, and Mercer (8-4), which visits Samford this weekend after being swept by VMI last week.
 
ETSU (17-16, 7-8 SoCon) ranks second in the Blue Division behind the Bulldogs entering this weekend's interdivisional match-up, the only regular season meeting between the two squads.
 
Scouting the Buccaneers:

• ETSU enters the weekend having dropped its last two SoCon series, losing two of the three games at The Citadel last weekend and dropping two against Wofford in Johnson City on April 10-11 … Each of the last four losses for the Bucs have come by two-or-fewer runs including a pair of two-run and two, one-run defeats;
• ETSU is 11-7 in home games this season including a 3-3 record in SoCon play at Thomas Stadium;
• The Buccaneers put three players on the preseason All-Southern Conference teams with two – senior transfer DH Jake Madole (UNC Asheville) and senior infielder Jake Lyle – on the first team with senior reliever Matt Mercer on the second team … the Bucs were picked in a tie for fifth-place with WCU in the preseason coaches' poll and were also fifth in the media tabulation;
• ETSU enters the weekend ranked ninth in SoCon in team batting average at .236 … the Bucs have scored 173 runs over 33 games, averaging 5.2 runs per game while limiting opponents to 154 runs, an average of 4.7 runs per contest;
• Senior Ethan Cady has hit a SoCon-leading 10 home runs this spring and is third in the conference with 34 RBI … He is batting a team-best .307 on the season with 20 of his 35 seasonal hits going for extra bases adding nine doubles and a triple to his 10 round-trippers;
• On the mound, ETSU leads the SoCon with a collective team ERA of 3.98 over 33 games and 289.2 innings pitched … the Bucs have limited opponents to a .245 batting average against, second-best in the league, while limiting opponents to a league-lows of 154 runs on 269 hits … ETSU has 299 combined strikeouts to rank fourth in the SoCon … ETSU's bullpen has a combined 10 saves this spring;
• ETSU's Nathanial Tate along with WCU's Zebby Matthews are the only two pitchers in the league to earn two SoCon Pitcher of the Week honors … Tate collected the award in back-to-back weeks on March 22 and March 29.

Series History – Western Carolina vs. ETSU:

• Western Carolina leads the all-time series against ETSU, 68-39 … the Buccaneers have won the last three meetings against the Catamounts and have wins in seven of the last eight overall meetings dating back to 2017;
• WCU's last win over ETSU came in a neutral field meeting in the SoCon Tournament in May of 2018, an 11-8 victory at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C.;
• The Catamounts lead the series all-time in match-ups played in Johnson City, Tenn., 27-14 … ETSU swept WCU in 2019 in Johnson City in the most recent series meeting with WCU claiming all three meetings on the road in the series in 2017.

Projected Pitching Match-Up:
Game 1: WCU – Soph. RHP Zebby Matthews (5-1, 2.92) vs. ETSU – RHP So. Hunter Loyd (4-2, 2.92)
Game 2: WCU – R-Jr. RHP Ryan Mitschele (3-2, 5.13) vs. ETSU – LHP Jr. Colby Stuart (4-1, 2.98)
Game 3: WCU – Jr. RHP Tristen Campbell (2-0, 4.30) vs. ETSU – RHP Jr. Nathanial Tate (3-3, 4.22)
 
Additional Catamount Diamond Notes:

• Western Carolina enters the weekend ranked 41st in the nation in RPI as of Thursday morning … Seven of WCU's seasonal opponents continue to rank inside the top 100 nationally in RPI: Tennessee (3), Charlotte (18), Wake Forest (50), Samford (82), Wofford (92), UNC Wilmington (94), and Gardner-Webb (100);
• Western Carolina enters the weekend leading the SoCon with a .311 batting average (7th nationally), .465 slugging percentage (34th nationally), and a .435 on-base percentage (2nd nationally);
• WCU has a SoCon-leading 276 runs scored, ranking third in the NCAA with an average of 9.2 runs per game;
• Luke Robinson leads the SoCon with 36 RBI, one ahead of Justice Bigbie with 35 runs driven-in in second in the league … Daylan Nanny is tied for fourth in the SoCon giving WCU three of the top six in the conference among the RBI leaders;
• Junior Daylan Nanny extended his consecutive reached base safely streak to 30-straight games – every game of the 2021 season – reaching on a pair of HBPs in Tuesday's home loss to Wake Forest … Nanny saw his team-best hitting streak snapped, though, finishing 0-for-2 officially at the plate offensively;
• Junior Will Prater leads the SoCon in seasonal batting average among qualifying players with a .422 average, ranking ninth nationally entering the weekend … 34 of his 38 seasonal hits have gone as singles;
• Prater has reached base safely in 15-consecutive games including a six-game hitting streak while Robinson has reached in 14-straight riding a seven-game hit streak … Junior Seth Graves also has a seven-game hitting streak, tied for the longest active streak on the team … Freshman Zach Ketterman is riding a career-long 12-game reached base safely streak;
• WCU ranks seventh in the country in hit by pitch with a SoCon-leading 63 HBPs … Fifth-year senior Luke Robinson and junior Immanuel Wilder are tied with three others for the top spot in the SoCon with 11 HBPs this season … Wilder ranks 13th in the NCAA in HBPs per game (0.48) … With 43 career HBPs, Wilder ranks second in the program record book just ONE shy of matching record-holder Barrett Shaft (44, 2005-08) … Robinson has been plunked 37 times, currently seventh in the program record books;
• Western Carolina has turned a SoCon-leading 28 double-plays this season and rank tied for 15th nationally at 0.93 double plays per game … Freshman Pascanel Ferreras has been a part of a SoCon-leading 23 double plays this spring;

On Deck for the Catamounts:
Western Carolina continues its seven-game road swing with four-straight in the Piedmont Triad next week. The Catamounts visit former SoCon-foe Elon on Wednesday, April 28 (7 p.m.) ahead of a three-game SoCon series at UNCG April 30 and May 1. Game times and broadcast plans are subject to change.
 
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