Charleston, S.C. – Western Carolina swept both ends of Friday's Southern Conference doubleheader against The Citadel, outlasting the Bulldogs in 11 innings, 6-3, and exploding early in claiming a series sweep with a 21-0, seven-inning victory in the regular-season finale at Riley Park.
 
With its extra-inning win in game one of the twinbill, Western Carolina (26-19, 14-11 SoCon) qualified for next week's 2021 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases. The Catamounts will be back in action next Thursday, May 27, at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C.
 
Freshman Pascanel Ferreras collected a team-best six hits in the two games on Friday, finishing 6-for-11 (.545) with two home runs and six RBI. Senior Luke Robinson finished 4-for-5 in the series finale with three home runs and eight RBI, batting 5-for-9 in the two games, while Will Prater likewise collected four hits for WCU. Prater finished the regular season with a team-best .404 batting average.
 
Juniors Seth Graves and Daniel Walsh plated four runs and Justice Bigbie drove in three, collecting three hits apiece in the doubleheader.
 
Game One Recap – Western Carolina 6, The Citadel 3 (11 innings):
Seth Graves delivered a two-out, run-scoring single in the top of the 11th inning, with Pascanel Ferreras tacking on two more runs with a double in the frame as Western Carolina rallied past The Citadel, 6-3, in 11 innings to claim the series and game one of Friday's doubleheader.
 
Trailing 2-1 through seven innings, the Catamounts reclaimed the lead with a two-run top of the eighth inning. Justice Bigbie plated Seth Graves with the game-tying run, reaching on a fielder's choice with a throwing error keeping the inning alive. Daniel Walsh then pushed WCU in front, 3-2, with a sacrifice fly.
 
The Bulldogs rallied back in the home half of the eighth with an unearned run stemming from a dropped third strike and a subsequent throwing error, with Adam Colon delivering the game-tying, run-scoring single. WCU had the potential go-ahead run at third base in the top of the ninth but could not get pinch-runner Bryson Parks home.
 
Both teams put runners aboard in the 10th inning, with Bigbie singling before being stranded at second base, with The Citadel also moving a runner to second but no further.
 
In the top of the 11th inning, Parks lifted a one-out double down the right-field line before scoring on a two-out single into right by Graves to pull ahead, 3-2. Will Prater then singled through the right side and stole second base before Ferreras doubled to left field to plate two insurance markers.
 
Reliever Zach Franklin (6-4) then tossed a 1-2-3 home half of the frame to secure the victory. Franklin, the third arm used out of the bullpen, tossed four scoreless innings, working around one hit and a walk with four strikeouts.
 
In just his second start back from injury, freshman Gavin Mortenson matched his career-high with seven strikeouts over 4.0 innings. Jacob Corn struck out one against a walk in two innings of two-hit, scoreless relief, with Nick Hyde striking out three in an inning of work.
Bulldog reliever Lathan Todd (2-8) took the loss, giving up five runs – four of which were earned – on seven hits over 4.0 innings. Starter Cameron Reeves struck out six over seven innings, limiting WCU to one unearned run on four hits.
 
Colon led The Citadel with three hits, including a double in a 3-for-5 effort, collecting half of The Citadel's six hits on the day.
 
Game Two Recap – Western Carolina 21, The Citadel 0 (7 innings):
Luke Robinson homered three times and drove in eight runs, while Pascanel Ferreras homered twice with four RBI as Western Carolina exploded for 21 runs on 14 hits in completing the doubleheader and series sweep in the 21-0, seven-inning victory.
 
Robinson's first two hits in the series came in game three, belting home runs in the first and second innings of the regular-season finale as WCU plated 13 runs over the first three innings, including a four-run first, six-run second, and a three-run third. Ferreras homered in the third and again in the four-run seventh.
 
Paced by Robinson and Ferreras, four Catamounts posted multi-hit games with Will Prater (2-for-4) and Daniel Walsh (2-for-4) in the winning effort. Walsh and Seth Graves both drove in three runs
 
Tristen Campbell (3-2) tossed five shutout innings in the starting role, striking out five while working around three walks and three hits. Eric Wallington recorded a strikeout in an inning of relief work, inducing a double-play ball. Davis Tyndall also struck out one in an inning of one-hit, scoreless relief.
 
For The Citadel, starter Austin Blakely (0-1) took the loss after allowing four runs on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts, lifted after just one inning of work.
 
The Bulldogs finish the season at 12-39, 4-25 in SoCon play.