Catamounts Open 2022 at River City Lead-Off

Will face four teams in three-day tournament

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina softball opens the 2022 season this Friday on the road at the River City Lead-Off, a three-day tournament hosted jointly by Jacksonville University and the North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla.

The Catamounts kicks off the season on Friday with a 1:30 p.m. matchup with Winthrop. WCU will wrap up day one facing co-host Jacksonville at 7:30 p.m. The Catamounts open Saturday against Campbell at 1:30 p.m. and Jacksonville for a second time at 4 p.m. Western Carolina wraps up the tournament going up against N.C. State on Sunday at 10 a.m.

The 2022 squad is team No. 17 in program history.

Follow the Catamounts

Live stat links for each game can be found on the softball schedule at CatamountSports.Com
Follow @Catamountsoftball for live in-game updates
The game against N.C. State Sunday will have a live video stream

Series Breakdown

Winthrop

Winthrop leads the all-time series 12-9
Western Carolina has won five of the last six meetings
The two teams last met on Mar. 14, 2021, at the Mercer Bears Classic with Western Carolina winning on a grand slam 6-4
Western Carolina is 2-0 in neutral site games against the Eagles

Jacksonville

Western Carolina and Jacksonville have met twice with the series tied 1-1
The Dolphins won the last meeting in Jacksonville 8-3 on Feb. 23, 2018
The Catamounts' victory came on Mar. 5, 2016, winning 6-5 at the Georgia Softball Classic

Campbell | N.C. State

This will be Western Carolina's first meeting with Campbell and N.C. State

The 2022 Catamounts

Western Carolina was picked by the league coaches to finish second in the Southern Conference.
The Catamounts placed three on the SoCon preseason first-team led by 2021 Southern Conference Player of the Year in shortstop Bailey Huneycutt. Pitcher Jayme Eilers and outfielder Jeralynn Wells were also placed on the first team. WCU also put two players on the Southern Conference second team with pitcher Savannah Rice and designated player Anna-Paige Pelfrey earning nods.
Sixteen players return from the 2021 season including eight players from the infield and both starting pitchers (Eilers and Rice).
Six newcomers join the team for 2022 including five freshman and junior transfer Brooklynn Brewington from Charleston Southern.
The Catamounts were the runner-up in the 2021 Southern Conference Championships.

The Coaching Connection
Head Coach Jim Clift will face a familiar face on Saturday against the Camels. Campbell pitching coach Danielle (Glosson) Stenger was the associate head coach under Clift, at WCU, from 2012-17.

For the latest information on Catamount softball, follow @catamounts and @catamountsb on Twitter or go to www.catamountsports.com.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Jayme Eilers: P; 5' 6"; Junior; R/R

#35 Bailey Huneycutt: SS; 5' 10"; Senior; R/R

#2 Anna-Paige Pelfrey: UT; 5' 7"; Junior; R/R

#00 Savannah Rice: P; 5' 4"; Junior; R/R

#21 Jeralynn Wells: OF/UT; 5' 6"; Sophomore; R/R

#13 Brooklynn Brewington: IF; 5' 6"; Junior; L/R

Players Mentioned

#4 Jayme Eilers
: 5' 6"; Junior; R/R
: P

#35 Bailey Huneycutt
: 5' 10"; Senior; R/R
: SS

#2 Anna-Paige Pelfrey
: 5' 7"; Junior; R/R
: UT

#00 Savannah Rice
: 5' 4"; Junior; R/R
: P

#21 Jeralynn Wells
: 5' 6"; Sophomore; R/R
: OF/UT

#13 Brooklynn Brewington
: 5' 6"; Junior; L/R
: IF