Greenville, S.C – Fourth-seeded Western Carolina will play for the 2021 Southern Conference Baseball Championship on Sunday afternoon at Fluor Field against the second-seeded Samford Bulldogs after ousting regular-season champion and top-seeded Wofford 11-6 on Saturday evening. The Catamounts must defeat the Bulldogs twice on Sunday to claim their SoCon-best 11th tournament title all-time, appearing in the title game for the first time since 2016.
 
Sunday's first championship game is slated for a Noon first pitch with an 11:45 a.m. air time on the Catamount Sports Network with live streaming audio online at CatamountSports.com. Fans can also follow the game through ESPN+ (paid subscription required).
 
Samford, which topped WCU 19-7 in seven innings earlier on Saturday to advance to the title game, needs just one win to claim its first crown since 2018. The squads will be meeting in the title tilt for the first time.
 
For a second time this week, WCU (28-20) jumped out to a big early lead and held on to down No. 1 seed Wofford in the SoCon Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases, with its 11-6 victory on Saturday earning the Catamounts a trip to the title game.
 
Seven different players recorded multiple-hit games for Western Carolina, which outhit the Terriers 16-7 on the evening. Justice Bigbie and Luke Robinson had three apiece and combined for five RBI, while Seth Graves was 2-for-4 with a triple and four RBIs. Pascanel Ferreras belted his third home run of the tournament and collected two RBI to lead the Catamounts.
 
Western Carolina jumped all over Wofford starter Dom Marcoccio, scoring four runs before the Terriers could record an out. Will Prater doubled down the left-field line on the first pitch of the game, and Pascanel Ferreras drove him in with a single to right-center. Bigbie followed with a two-run home run, and Robinson made it back-to-back homers with a solo shot to left-center that made it 4-0.
 
Marcoccio sandwiched a strikeout and a fielder's choice around a walk before a Tom Brosnahan single put runners on the corners, but Colin Davis made a nice catch against the centerfield wall for the final out of the inning to save at least one run.
 
The Terriers halved their deficit in the bottom half of the first, getting consecutive RBI groundouts from Lawson Hill and Trey Yunger. But Western Carolina gave itself some breathing room in the third when three hit batters loaded the bases for Graves, who cleared them with a tripled to center field to make it a 7-2 contest.
 
The Catamounts added a run in the fourth on Ferreras' leadoff homer and another in the fifth on Graves' sacrifice bunt as the lead ballooned to 9-2.
 
However, the Terriers would not go down without a fight, plating three runs in the bottom of the sixth to draw within four. A Jack Renwick double between a pair of walks loaded the bases for Brennen Dorighi, who singled to left to score Yunger. Pinch-hitter Ryan Galanie was then hit by a pitch to force in another run before Shane Lussier's fielder's choice scored John Dempsey.
 
Wofford crept even closer with another run in the bottom of the seventh, with Renwick knocking in Davis with a groundout to make it 9-6.
 
Western Carolina threatened to blow the game back open in both the seventh and eighth innings, loading the bases twice but could not score. In the eighth, WCU put three aboard with no one out to chase Clay Schwaner. Reliever Zach Byron, however, striking out the next three batters to get Wofford out of the jam.
 
The Terriers returned the favor in the bottom half, loading the bases on an infield single and two walks but failing to cash in when Jack Snyder induced a groundout to first to nip Lawson Hill at the bag as Daylan Nanny corralled the baseball and tossed to first from his backside.
 
The Catamounts added a pair of insurance run in the top of the ninth on Bigbie's bloop RBI single to right and Robinson's RBI groundout.
 
Zach Franklin (7-4), who pitched two innings in Thursday's 16-5 first-round win over Wofford, picked up the win in the starting role on Saturday, limiting Wofford to five runs on six hits and worked around five walks with a pair of strikeouts. Snyder collected his first save, tossing 3.0 innings with three strikeouts in his second appearance against the Terriers in the tournament.
 
Marcoccio (3-1), the first of six Wofford pitchers on the day, suffered his first loss of the season, allowing four runs on five hits and a walk in an inning of work.
 
 
May 27 (Thursday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
 (Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 1: No. 4 Western Carolina 16, No. 1 Wofford 5 
Game 2: No. 2 Samford 10, No. 3 Mercer 8

May 28 (Friday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
 (Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 3: No. 1 Wofford 8, No. 3 Mercer 7                      
Game 4: No. 4 Western Carolina vs. No. 2 Samford, suspended

May 29 (Saturday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 4: No. 2 Samford 19, No. 4 Western Carolina 7 (7 innings)
Game 5: No. 4 Western Carolina 11, No. 1 Wofford 6
 
May 30 (Sunday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 6: No. 2 Samford vs. No. 4 Western Carolina, Noon
Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser (If necessary), 40 minutes after the conclusion of Game 6

 
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