Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina wraps up the regular season this week, traveling to Charleston, S.C., to face The Citadel for a three-game Southern Conference series at Riley Park. The series is slated to open with a single game at Noon on Thursday and a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 10:30 a.m.
 
Each game of the three-game series is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available online through a link at CatamountSports.com.
 
Western Carolina (23-19, 11-11 SoCon) controls its destiny related to advancing into the 2021 SoCon Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases entering the final three games of the regular season. With two victories in Charleston, the Catamounts would automatically secure the final berth in the post-season tournament. WCU could also qualify for the tournament with one win over The Citadel coupled with at least one loss by ETSU at home against Blue Division leader Samford.
 
The Race for Greenville, S.C.:

• Both divisional winners from the regular season qualify for the four-team SoCon Tournament at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C. (May 27-30). Then, the two teams with the next two best records or winning percentage after that will also qualify, regardless of division. The seeds will be done 1-through-4 based on the best winning percentages among those four teams that qualify;
• Three teams have already clinched their berth in the post-season, double-elimination tournament: Samford, Mercer, and Wofford … Only one team has officially been eliminated: The Citadel
• Entering this week's play:
  • Blue Division Leader – Samford (19-8, .704) – at ETSU, May 20-21
  • Red Division Leader – Mercer (17-7, .708) – at Wofford, May 20-21
  • Clinched a Berth:
    • Wofford (19-8, .704) – vs. Mercer, May 20-21
  • Still in the Hunt:
    • Western Carolina (11-11, .500) – at The Citadel, May 20-21
    • ETSU (11-15, .423) – vs. Samford, May 20-21
    • UNCG (11-16, .407) – vs. VMI, May 20-21
    • VMI (11-16 (.407) – at UNCG, May 20-21

 
Scouting The Citadel Bulldogs:

• The Citadel (12-36, 4-22 SoCon) prevented a series sweep and halted a 15-game winless drought by rallying in the ninth inning to take the series finale at Mercer last Saturday, 8-7 … the Bulldogs dropped a 10-3 affair with crosstown rival, the College of Charleston, on Tuesday night in midweek action despite four players posting multi-hit games against the Cougars;
• The Citadel is batting .271 collectively on the season, fifth in the SoCon … the Bulldogs have scored 225 runs on the year, eighth in the conference, coming 432 base hits, including 72 doubles (7th), nine triples (3rd), and 33 home runs (6th);
• The Bulldogs are currently led offensively by Jeffery Brown, who is batting .344, ninth in the SoCon this season … Crosby Jones is batting .311 with 10 doubles while Ryan McCarthy is just below the .300 threshold at .291 and is tied for the team lead with 13 doubles, tied for 10th in the league;
• Jeffery Brown was named the SoCon Baseball Player of the Week, finishing 10-for-18 (.556) with a triple, three RBI, three stolen bases, and seven runs scored … He is the second Bulldog to earn weekly plaudits as OF Cole Simpson was honored back on March 15.

Series Projected Pitching Match-Ups:
Gm 1: WCU – RHP Jack Snyder (0-0, 4.18) vs. CIT – RHP Jake Pilarski (2-3, 6.22)
Gm 2: WCU – RHP Gavin Mortenson (2-0, 5.00) vs. CIT – RHP Cameron Reeves (3-10, 6.12)
Gm 3:  WCU – RHP Tristen Campbell (2-2, 6.49) vs. CIT – RHP Lathan Todd (2-7, 7.27)
 
First Time We Met This Year:

• Western Carolina won the previous two seasonal meetings over The Citadel in Cullowhee back on March 26, claiming the doubleheader 12-8 and 11-6 … the third game was canceled due to inclement weather and poor field conditions due to rain;
• Freshman Pascanel Ferreras hit his second career grand slam, and Justice Bigbie also homered in game one as the Catamounts jumped out to a 6-0 lead before the Bulldogs rallied back to tie the game at six in the fifth inning … An RBI triple by Will Prater put the Catamounts ahead for good as WCU pulled away for the 12-8 victory in game one;
• WCU scored runs in six of the eight innings it took swings in the Friday doubleheader nightcap, outslugging The Citadel, 15-to-13, in claiming the five-run, 11-6 victory … Tied at two through two complete, Luke Robinson belted a solo home run to put the Catamounts ahead for good in the third inning with a three-run fifth stretching the margin.

 
Series History – Western Carolina vs. The Citadel:

• Western Carolina and The Citadel have met 159 times previously on the baseball diamond, with the Catamounts holding a 92-67 series edge;
• Western Carolina has won three-straight over The Citadel entering this week, including the two meetings earlier this season in Cullowhee in 2021 and the single-elimination game in the 2019 SoCon tournament;
• The Bulldogs have won four of the last six meetings in the series in Charleston, taking 2-of-3 in both the 2018 and 2016 seasons
• 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.

 
Additional Catamount Diamond Notes:

• Catamounts with Active Streaks:
  • Reached Base Safely: Daylan Nanny (42), Luke Robinson (26), Pascanel Ferreras (7), Will Prater, and Justice Bigbie (3)
  • Hitting Streaks: Daylan Nanny (6), Will Prater, Justice Bigbie, and Pascanel Ferreras (3)
• Through games played on Tuesday, Western Carolina ranked 77th in the nation in RPI … Eight of WCU's previous seasonal opponents continue to rank inside the top 100 nationally in RPI: Tennessee (9), Charlotte (20), Mercer (56), Samford (57), Wofford (73), UNCG (72), Wake Forest (97), and UNCW (85) … Another seasonal opponent, Gardner-Webb (105), is just outside the top 100;
• The Catamounts enter the week ranked seventh in the country in scoring with a SoCon-best 8.1 runs per game average – 339 runs over 42 games played … WCU has scored eight-or-more runs in three of its last six games (1-5) … WCU also leads the SoCon in team batting average (.303, 18th in NCAA), and on-base percentage (.412, 8th in NCAA);
• Six Catamount regulars enter the week batting over .300, led by Will Prater with a .409 average, second in the SoCon and 14th -best in the NCAA): Justice Bigbie (.367), Luke Robinson (.337), Daylan Nanny (.327), Daniel Walsh (.317), and Pascanel Ferreras (.317);
• Junior Will Prater continues to pace the squad in seasonal batting average … Of his 51 seasonal hits, 46 have been singles as he has three doubles and two triples this season … Prater also leads WCU with a .481 (25-of-52) seasonal batting average with runners in scoring position (RISP);
• SoCon Freshman of the Year candidate Pascanel Ferreras assumed the team's home run lead over the weekend, the first Catamount to eclipse double-digits with a team-leading 11 home runs on the year … Ferreras ranks tied for seventh in the SoCon in home runs this season;
• Junior Daylan Nanny continues to have reached base successfully in every game this season, a streak that has reached 42-consecutive games this season … Nanny's 42-game streak current ranks as the eighth longest in the NCAA this season – and is currently the fifth-longest active streak entering the week … ECU's Connor Norby boasts the longest active reached base safely streak at 54 games including 47-straight this season … Liam Spence of Tennessee boasts the second-longest active streak of 52-straight, 49 of which have come in the 2021 season;
• Junior Immanuel Wilder matched the WCU program record for being hit by a pitch in the series at ETSU … Wilder has been plunked 12 times this year to give him 44 career HBP's, tying former Catamount Barrett Shaft (44, 2005-08) … Luke Robinson has been hit 14 times this season giving him 41 career HBPs, fifth in WCU's record book;
• WCU ranks fifth in the SoCon with a collective team ERA of 5.91 while allowing the second-fewest hits this season (406) … Opponents are batting .280 against WCU this season … the Catamount staff has 346 strikeouts on the season, including 113 looking;
• Defensively, WCU has turned a SoCon-leading 36 double plays this season, 26th nationally with an average of 0.86 double-plays per game … Freshman Pascanel Ferreras has been a part of turning 28 double plays, the most among individuals in the SoCon … Ferreras – a strong candidate for SoCon All-Freshman and the Freshman of the Year – was one of three SoCon players listed on the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List this season.

 
On Deck for Catamount Baseball:
The 2021 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases is scheduled for Thursday, May 27 through Sunday, May 30, at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C., home of the Greenville Drive minor league baseball team. The top four teams from the SoCon advance to the double-elimination tournament, with the winner claiming the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA Baseball Championship tournament.
 
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