Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina visits in-state Southern Conference foe UNCG for a three-game series in Greensboro this weekend. The teams are slated for a 4 p.m., first game on Friday afternoon with a Saturday doubleheader scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., preceded by UNCG's Senior Day celebration.
 
Each game is slated to be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available through UNCG.
 
Western Carolina (21-12, 9-4 SoCon) enters the weekend leading the SoCon's Red Division with the second-best seasonal winning percentage in the conference at .692. The Catamounts are just percentage points ahead of both Wofford (12-6, .667), which hosts Samford this weekend, and Mercer (10-5, .667), who hosts ETSU in Macon, Ga. UNCG (20-19, 6-12 SoCon) sits in a tie for third in the Blue Division, tied for sixth overall with a .333 winning percentage as it relates to the race to make the postseason conference tournament.
 
Scouting UNCG:

• UNCG was picked to finish tied for third in the Southern Conference by the league's head coaches and fourth by the voting media in the preseason polls … Three Spartans were dubbed preseason All-SoCon second-team in starting pitcher Austin Koehn, third baseman Zack Budzik, and outfielder Greg Hardison … Outfielder Corey Rosier was named SoCon Player of the Week back on March 8;
• The Spartans enter the weekend with a seasonal record of 20-19 overall and 6-12 in SoCon play but are winners of five straight including sweeping The Citadel at home last weekend and a pair of midweek nonconference wins over Triad foes N.C. A&T and High Point;
• UNCG ranks fifth in the SoCon in team batting average at .266, but are on the upswing with a .347 average amidst its current five-game win streak that includes an average of 11.8 hits and 9.4 runs per game … UNCG leads the SoCon in triples this season with 12;
• The Spartan pitching staff holds a team ERA of 4.88, tied for third in the league with WCU;
• Corey Rosier leads four Spartan regulars with a .300-or-better batting average at .358, having collected a SoCon-best 58 base hits including three triples … Infielder Hogan Windish has nine home runs for UNCG while Pres Cavenaugh has drawn 31 walks, second in the conference;

Projected Pitching Match-Ups:
Friday: WCU – RHP Zebby Matthews (6-1, 2.47) vs. UNCG – RHP Brendan Collins (3-2, 4.81)
Saturday – Gm1: RHP Ryan Mitschele (3-3, 5.91) vs. UNCG – RHP Austin Koehn (3-2, 4.91)
Saturday – Gm2: RHP #32 Tristen Campbell (2-0, 4.02) vs. UNCG – RHP Alex Hoppe (1-2, 5.40)
 
Series History – Western Carolina vs. UNCG:

• Western Carolina trails UNCG in the all-time series, 36-38, but has won four of the last five series meetings including taking two in Greensboro back in the 2019 season … the other two victories came in SoCon Tournament action in 2018 as the then ninth-seeded Catamounts twice upended the top-seeded Spartans to oust them from the event.

Last Time Out: Elon 4, Western Carolina 3:

• Elon scored a pair of unearned runs with two out in the bottom of the eighth inning to rally past Western Carolina 4-3 on Wednesday evening in nonconference action at Latham Park. The Phoenix used a pair of two-run innings to upend the Catamounts for a third-straight game dating back to 2019;
• WCU suffered the loss despite out hitting the Phoenix 11-to-5 with three going for extra bases. All but two of WCU's 11 hits came from the bottom half of the Catamount lineup as WCU stranded 11 runners on base. The Catamounts finished 1-for-14 (.071) at the plate with runners in scoring position;
• WCU's No. 1 through 5 hitters finished a combined 2-for-22 (.091) at the plate in the road loss.

Additional Catamount Diamond Notes:

• Western Carolina enters the weekend ranked 49th in the nation in RPI as of Thursday afternoon … Six of WCU's seasonal opponents continue to rank inside the top 100 nationally in RPI: Tennessee (6), Charlotte (11), Wake Forest (65), UNCW (85), Samford (92), and Gardner-Webb (100) … Two other seasonal opponents are just outside the top 100 in Wofford (107) with UNCG at 114;
• The Catamounts enter the weekend ranked fourth in the country in scoring with a SoCon-best 8.6 runs per game average – 283 runs over 33 games played – though WCU has been held below its seasonal average in its last four games (3.75 runs per game, 1-3 record) … WCU also leads the SoCon in team batting average (.307), on-base percentage (.427, 4th in NCAA) and hit by pitch (69, 6th in NCAA), while ranking second in slugging percentage (.453), runs scored (283), and RBI (248);
• Seven Catamount regulars enter the weekend batting over .300, led by Will Prater with a SoCon-leading .436 average – sixth-best in the NCAA: Justice Bigbie (.341), Luke Robinson (.338), Daylan Nanny (.336), Daniel Walsh (.333), Pascanel Ferreras (.307) and Seth Graves (.306);
• WCU also has six players with 22-or-more RBI this season led by Luke Robinson's 36, tied for second in the SoCon … the Catamounts have three of the league's top 10 RBI leaders and four of the league's top run-scorers paced by Justice Bigbie with 43 runs scored, second in the league;
• For Will Prater, 40 of his 44 seasonal hits have been singles, adding three doubles and a triple;
• Junior Daylan Nanny Carries a 33-game reached base safely streak into the week, continuing to have reached base in every game this season … Will Prater has reached safely in 18-straight while Luke Robinson has reached in 17-consecutive … Prater carries a team-best nine-game hitting streak into the weekend;
• Junior Immanuel Wilder matched the WCU program record for being hit by a pitch in last weekend's abbreviated series at ETSU … Wilder has been plunked 12 times this year – fourth-most in the SoCon (10th nationally at 0.48 HBP per game) – to give him 44 career HBP's, tying former Catamount Barrett Shaft (44, 2005-08) … Luke Robinson has been hit 13 times this season giving him 40 career HBPs, tied for fifth in WCU's record book;
• Weekend starter – and three-time SoCon Pitcher of the Week – Zebby Matthews ranks second in the SoCon in ERA (2.47) and is fifth in strikeouts (59) including 21 strikeouts looking, third in the conference;
• WCU ranks tied for third in the SoCon with a collective team ERA of 4.88 while limiting opponents to a .266 batting average against while allowing the fewest hits this season (295);
• Defensively, WCU has turned a SoCon-leading 30 double plays this season, 18th nationally with an average of 0.91 double-plays per game … Freshman Pascanel Ferreras has been a part of turning 25 double plays, the most among individuals in the SoCon … Ferreras was one of three SoCon players listed on the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List this season.

 
On Deck for Catamount Baseball:
Western Carolina returns home for back-to-back conference divisional series, hosting both Mercer (May 7-8) and Wofford (May 14-15) in Cullowhee at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. The Mercer series is now slated for a Friday (May 7) doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m., with a single-game on Saturday (May 8)
 
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