Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina travels to Fluor Field at the West End in Greenville, S.C., this Friday through Sunday for the First Pitch Invitational hosted by Michigan State. The Catamounts face Big 12-member Kansas, the host Spartans from the Big Ten, and the American Athletic Conference-member Cincinnati Bearcats over the three-day weekend tournament.
WCU is slated to face Kansas on Friday at 5 p.m., Michigan State on Saturday at 2 p.m., and Cincinnati on Sunday at 5 p.m. Each game is slated to be broadcast by the Greenville Drive through the team's YouTube page with Dan Scott and Scott Van Hoy on the call. Fans can also follow Friday's game online with a
Kansas audio broadcast and on
Saturday with live stats through Michigan State. Tickets for all three days are
available through the Greenville Drive ticket office.
The Catamounts (6-7) enter the weekend riding its first midweek victory since early April 2021, outslugging Presbyterian on Wednesday night, 15-2, in Clinton, S.C.
Davis Mortland tossed a team-long two innings in the starting role, the first of nine Catamount pitchers used in the road win with relievers
Jacob Corn,
Tristen Campbell, and
Corey Bright each striking out two.
Zach Ketterman paced four Catamounts with multi-hit games by going 3-for-6 with a double and three runs scored while
Will Prater drove in three in a 2-for-3, three-walk effort.
Western Carolina enters the weekend leading the Southern Conference in batting average at .304 collectively on the season while also boasting the league's best on-base percentage at .424. The Catamounts have scored a SoCon-leading 125 runs, ranking among the national Top 30 with a 9.6 run per game average. The Catamounts are fourth in the league in extra-base hits with 44 to date including27 doubles (3rd), four triples (1st-t), and 13 home runs (5th). WCU has also drawn 74 walks, third in the SoCon, and been hit by a pitch 29 times, the most in the league.
Friday evening's opponent Kansas (6-6) is riding a three-game winning streak that included a pair of road wins at Charleston Southern in the mid-week and a neutral field win over Illinois at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn., in the Minnesota Cambria College Classic last weekend. The Jayhawks were picked ninth in the nine-team Big 12 Conference and put one player on the NCBWA preseason All-America second team in reliever Johnah Ulane. Kansas enters the tournament batting .254 collectively as a team this season led by Maui Ahuna who is hitting .449 with 22 hits including five doubles, two triples, and two home runs with 11 RBI.
WCU won the only other series meeting between the Catamounts and Jayhawks on the baseball diamond back in 2020, a 5-3 win at Fluor Field in the same tournament.
Zach Franklin struck out five straight to end the game and score the save for starter
Ryan Mitschele who struck out seven over 6.2 innings of work. Among the Catamount returners from that 2020 meeting,
Will Prater went 1-for-5,
Immanuel Wilder was 0-for-4 with an RBI,
Seth Graves was 0-for-3, and
Bryson Parks pinch ran.
Michigan State (5-6) opened it's South Carolina stay with a 4-2 loss to the Clemson Tigers at Fluor Field on Wednesday night and play Cincinnati on Friday before facing WCU on Saturday afternoon. The Spartans have dropped five of their last seven on the season with wins over Kansas and West Virginia at the Minnesota Cambria College Classic in Minneapolis. Three Spartans were selected to the Big Ten Baseball Preseason Honors List.
WCU and Michigan State have split a pair of series meetings with both coming at Fluor Field. WCU won 6-4 in 10 innings back in 2019 and fell to the Spartans in 2020, 4-3.
In Sunday's tournament finale, WCU faces Cincinnati which enters the weekend at 6-5 overall with wins in four of its last six games. The Bearcats face Michigan State on Friday and Kansas on Saturday before they meet the Catamounts – the fourth all-time series meeting with WCU trailing, 1-2. Cincinnati was picked third in the 2022 American Athletic Conference preseason poll and is led by AAC Preseason Player of the Year, outfielder Paul Komistek as three Bearcat outfielders were named all-conference.
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).
Projected Pitching Match-Ups:
Friday, March 11 | 6:00 p.m.
Probable Starters:
Western Carolina – RHP
Zebby Matthews (0-2, 5.09 ERA, 17.2 IP, 26K, 2BB)
Kansas – RHP Cole Larsen (0-2, 6.06 ERA, 16.1 IP, 7K, 4BB)
Saturday, March 12 | 2:00 p.m.
Probable Starters:
Western Carolina – LHP
Eric Wallington (0-1, 5.06 ERA, 10.2 IP, 11K, 7BB)
Michigan State – LHP Nick Powers (1-1, 5.56 ERA, 11.1 IP, 10K, 5BB)
Sunday, March 13 | 5:00 p.m.
Probable Starters:
Western Carolina – RHP
Gavin Mortenson (1-2, 4.72, 13.1 IP, 14K, 5BB)
Cincinnati – RHP Garrett Harker (0-0, 7.27 ERA, 8.2 IP, 7K, 7 BB)
2022 First Pitch Invitational, hosted by Michigan State
Fluor Field | Grenville, S.C. | Tournament Schedule (subject to change):
