Season Record: 4-4 overall (L-4)
 
Last Week:
Wed., Feb. 23 – L, at USC Upstate, 9-3 – Spartanburg, S.C.
Fri., Feb. 25 – L, vs. Illinois State, 5-2 – Cullowhee
Sat., Feb. 26 – L, vs. Illinois State, 14-8 – Cullowhee
Sun., Feb. 27 – L, vs. Illinois State, 9-5 – Cullowhee
 
The Week Ahead:
Western Carolina plays a neutral field nonconference midweek game on Wednesday afternoon against Middle Tennessee in Chattanooga, Tenn., before returning home to host Stony Brook in a third home weekend series at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
 
MTSU (3-5) hosts Lipscomb on Tuesday afternoon ahead of Wednesday's game at AT&T Field in Chattanooga, Tenn., the home of the Chattanooga Lookouts which are the Double-A minor league affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. General admission tickets for Wednesday's nonconference matchup against MTSU will be available at the gates for just $10.
 
The Catamounts and Blue Raiders have met just three times previously with a three-game series in Cullowhee back in 1989 won by MTSU, two games to one.
 
WCU and Stony Brook (1-5) have never met on the baseball diamond with the three-game series in Cullowhee representing the first meetings. The Seawolves are the preseason favorite in the America East Conference for a third-consecutive season after posting a 31-18 record including a 25-10 mark in league play a season ago.
 
Wed., March 2 – WCU vs. Middle Tennessee, 5 p.m. – AT&T Field | Chattanooga, Tenn. – MTSU Live Stats
Fri., March 4 – WCU vs. Stony Brook, 4 p.m. – Cullowhee – Live Stats
Sat., March 5 – WCU vs. Stony Brook, 2 p.m. – Cullowhee – Live Stats
Sun., March 6 – WCU vs. Stony Brook, 1 p.m. – Cullowhee – Live Stats
 
NOTE: Be sure to keep track of any weather-related schedule changes online at CatamountSports.com or through WCU Athletics' social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports) and Twitter (@Catamounts or @CatamountBSB).
 
Catamount Baseball Diamond Notes:

• Western Carolina's game Wednesday at AT&T Field in Chattanooga is its first of five neutral site games for the Catamounts during the regular season … WCU will also play three games at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C. – home of the 2022 SoCon Baseball Championship – as a part of Michigan State's First Pitch Invitational and will play Xavier at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio, for one game in the three nonconference meetings with the Musketeers to open April;
• The Catamounts did not play a regular-season neutral field game in 2021 and were 3-3 in the shortened
• Western Carolina enters the week with 90 runs scored through its first eight games this season, tied for the seventh-most active in the NCAA … WCU is one of just four non-Power Five Conference programs to rank among the Top 10 nationally in runs scored entering the week;
• WCU's 11.2 runs per game rank the Catamounts 16th nationally in run production entering the week … Sophomore Zach Ketterman leads the SoCon with 14 runs scored through the first eight games this season;
• Western Carolina was swept at home by a nonconference foe for the first time since Ball State took all three games of the series at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium back in 2018 … WCU batted just .252 on the week with 26 hits including 13 for extra bases … WCU hit .250 with runners in scoring position and stranded a combined 26 runners over the three-game set;
• Batting .335 collectively as a team this season, the Catamounts rank second in the SoCon …  WCU boasts seven starters with .300-or-better batting averages including two – Seth Graves (team-leading, .407) and Will Prater (.400) – above the .400 threshold … WCU's 11 team home runs have been spread between seven players with four players having hit two homers apiece;
• Western Carolina has a SoCon-leading 22 doubles through its first eight games this season, two ahead of second-place Mercer … Pascanel Ferreras ranks tied for the league-lead with 13 base hits including four doubles, also tied for first in the SoCon through the first two weeks of the regular season;
• Sophomore Drew Needham led WCU's offense last week, finishing 6-of-13 with five of his six hits going for extra bases including two doubles, a triple, and two home runs … the Liberty, N.C., native boasted a 1.231 slugging percentage on the week … Needham collected four RBI and scored five runs to lead the Catamount offense;
• Friday starter Zebby Matthews struck out a season-high nine in game one against Illinois State last week … WCU's pitching staff managed 23 Ks over the three-game set with reliever Zach Franklin striking out four in his two appearances … WCU ranks second in the SoCon with 75 team strikeouts including 17 strikeouts looking.

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