Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina erupted for eight, two-out runs in the home half of the first inning on Sunday afternoon and then limited the Niagara Purple Eagles to two base hits, none after the second inning, in completing the four-game, season-opening series sweep with a 15-0 victory at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
 
WCU outhit the Purple Eagles 14-to-2 including six extra-base hits with three doubles and three homers as the Catamounts remained perfect in six all-time meetings against Niagara. Senior Seth Graves homered twice in his first two trips to the plate in a 3-for-4, five-RBI performance to lead four Catamounts with multi-hit games. Classmate Bryson Parks continued his strong start to the season with a 3-for-5 effort with a double and an RBI.
 
Sophomores Zach Ketterman and Pascanel Ferreras both collected two hits in the winning effort with Ketterman hitting his first collegiate home run. Sophomore Nate Stocum drove in two runs for the Catamounts on Sunday.
 
After the first two in WCU's lineup were retired in the home half of the first inning, the Catamounts sent 11 batters to the plate in the decisive eight-run frame. Junior transfer Jordan Starkes emptied the bases with a three-run double to left-center field in the inning with Graves hitting the first of his two homers with a three-run shot to highlight the inning.
 
WCU added a pair of three-run frames in the third and fourth innings with back-to-back homers down the right-field line from Graves and Ketterman opening scoring in the third. Ferreras doubled and eventually scored on Stocum's sacrifice fly. In the fourth, Starkes scored from third on a wild pitch and Graves plated freshman Caden Rector for the first two runs. Graves then recorded the third marker as Stocum drove him in on a bases-loaded HBP.
 
Ferreras capped the scoring in the sixth, racing home on a passed ball after reaching on a lead-off single.
 
Catamount starter Gavin Mortenson (1-0) was very efficient in earning his first victory of the season, strikeout out seven against two walks while blanking Niagara on two hits over 5.0 innings of work. Relievers Dawson Elder (2Ks), Dylan Wheeler (1 K), and Zach Franklin (2 Ks) combined for five strikeouts as WCU's pitchers managed to retire 14-consecutive Purple Eagles between the fourth and eighth innings.
 
Niagara starter Blake MacMillan (0-1) recorded a strikeout among the only two batters he faced but was chased after surrendering seven earned runs on four hits. Zach Cameron, the second of seven relievers for the Purple Eagles, struck out a team-best four over 3.0 relief innings.
 
The two hits for the Purple Eagles were by Cole Tucker (1-for-3) and Eli Selby (1-for-4). Niagara only managed eight base runners in the game, adding a pair of walks and four HBPs. Max Giordano led off with an HBP in the fourth but was stranded in third as Niagara's best scoring opportunity on the day.
 
Western Carolina (4-0) is scheduled to return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 23, with a nonconference road match-up with USC Upstate (2-1) at Harley Park in Spartanburg, S.C. The Catamounts are back at home for a three-game set against Illinois State (1-2), which upset No. 2 Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark., in Friday's season-opener.
 
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