Cullowhee, N.C. – With temperatures starting to slightly warm up mid-week, the Western Carolina Catamount baseball returned to Childress Field / Hennon Stadium for team practice on Tuesday afternoon as the Friday, Feb. 18 season-opening doubleheader against Niagara continues to grow larger on the horizon.
The squad worked through position drills including mass pitcher's fielding practice, infield foot and hands work on ground balls, as well as outfield tracking and wall fundamentals as a part of the team session. The afternoon session concluded in the early evening with a batting practice round as the squad worked through the cages, base running, and rounds in the turtle on the field.
Catamount head coach
Bobby Moranda – WCU's skipper since 2008, entering his 15th season – has been very pleased with his team's effort through the preseason. He feels that under the tutelage of one of his former recruits, pitching coach
Taylor Sandefur, the pitching staff has made a jump in velocity early in this preseason camp. Returning No. 1 starter
Zebby Matthews has continued to throw well through spring training – but more importantly, the staff has developed depth with many of the younger hurlers pushing the returners as roles, such as the opening weekend starters, are established heading into the beginning of the year.
Moranda continues to be impressed with the competition for positions across the field as the coaching staff tries to settle upon an opening-day lineup – though much of the roster could see action over the four-game opening series against Niagara (Feb. 18-20).
Overall, Moranda feels that staying healthy will be key for his 2022 squad, which has a solid mixture of returning veterans and talented newcomers.
Preseason excitement continues to ramp up later this week as
the official Southern Conference preseason poll and all-conference teams are slated to be unveiled on February 10. Practice for the Catamounts continues this week at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
Gallery: (2-8-2022) Catamount Baseball Preseason Continues
Additional Catamount Diamond Notes:
Raleigh Brothers to be Inducted into VPA Hall of Fame:
Brothers John, Todd, and Matt Raleigh – the latter two with ties to the Catamount baseball program –will be inducted into the Vermont Principals' Association Hall of Fame for their incredible high school athletic careers at Missisquoi Valley Union High School, according to the Saint Albans Messenger newspaper in Vermont.
Matt Raleigh (1989-92), a
2004 inductee into the Western Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame, played in a WCU-record 242 career games and scored a program-best 251 career runs that included belting a record 68 home runs. He was a 1992 second-team All-America selection and a three-time All-SoCon honoree, earning a spot on the SoCon's 100th Anniversary team. He continues to rank fourth in WCU's record books with 302 career base hits.
Todd Raleigh (1988-91) starred behind the plate for the Catamounts where he was a two-time All-SoCon selection. He returned to Cullowhee as an assistant coach in 1993 and later took over as head coach as a part of the Jack Leggett tree, leading the Catamounts from 2000-07. He was twice voted the SoCon Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2007, guiding WCU to a pair of regular-season SoCon crowns (2003, 2007), a tournament championship (2003), and a pair of NCAA berths including an at-large bid in 2007.
The VPA Hall of Fame class of 2022 will be formally inducted on Friday, May 20 at the Capitol Plaza Hotel and Conference Center in Montpelier, Vt.
Tyler White Signs MiLB Deal with Milwaukee Brewers
Former Western Carolina baseball standout Tyler White signed a minor-league contract agreement with the Milwaukee Brewers in mid-January.
White burst onto the MLB scene with the Houston Astros in 2016 before eventually being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019. He played in a few games in Korea in 2020 before spending the 2021 season in the Blue Jays minor league organization.
In four seasons in the majors, White has batted .236 including a career-best .276 average with 12 home runs and 42 RBI back in 2018.
Both 2022 season and single-game tickets are on sale now through the Catamount Athletics ticket office, located on the first floor of the Ramsey Center, by phone at (828) 227-2401, or
online at CatamountSports.com. Offering the best available deals, season ticket packages include general admission tickets for the upper grandstand bleacher areas, or reserved chairback seating options along the field level or directly behind home plate in the upper, covered seating areas.
WCU opens its
56-game schedule on Friday, Feb. 18 with doubleheader action against Niagara at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium in Cullowhee.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount baseball and WCU Athletics through social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports), Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountBSB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountbsb).
