Cullowhee, N.C. – The mountain baseball rivalry renews on Tuesday evening as Western Carolina concludes a four-game homestand by hosting the UNC Asheville Bulldogs in midweek action at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. The front end of the nonconference home-and-home seasonal series is scheduled for a 5 p.m. first pitch.
 
Tuesday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available online through CatamountSports.com. In-game updates will also be available through social media on Twitter using the handle @CatamountBSB.
 
Winners of two straight, the Catamounts (10-10) have won five of their last eight games on the heels of having dropped seven of eight that included a six-game slide. UNC Asheville (5-13) dropped its series rubber match at Longwood over the weekend, falling in the series two games to one. Both teams are just 1-3 in their four-midweek games to date this season.
 
The return visit in Asheville is slated for Tuesday, April 12 with a 5 p.m. start.
 
About UNC Asheville:

• The Bulldogs come to Cullowhee at 5-13 overall on the season with losses in four of its last five including dropping its Big South Conference-opening series at Longwood last weekend;
• UNCA is just 1-11 away from home this season;
• Collectively on the season, UNCA is batting just .198 as a team with 114 hits including 24 for extra bases with 15 doubles, two triples, and seven home runs, three coming in the series finale at Longwood … the Bulldogs are scoring an average of 3.8 runs per game;
• Tylan Reece enters Tuesday's game riding a four-game hitting streak and batted .429 last week for the 'Dogs to raise his seasonal average to .346 (9-for-26) … Dylan Bacot has a team-best two homers with Dominic Freeberger leading UNCA with a .358 batting average (24-for-67, 6 doubles, 2 triples);
• The Bulldog pitching staff has a combined ERA of 7.47 over 153.0 innings pitched with 129 strikeouts against 106 walks … UNC Asheville is surrendering an average of 8.1 runs per game;
• Bulldog reliever Justin Honeycutt was selected as the Big South Conference Relief Pitcher of the Week, tossing 5.2 innings out of the bullpen with a 1-0 record and 0.00 ERA with seven strikeouts … UNCA's Blake Little claimed the honor on March 14 giving the 'Dogs back-to-back honorees;
• UNC Asheville and WCU have just one common opponent to date this season in Niagara … the Catamounts swept the Purple Eagles in a four-game set while UNCA won three of the four after dropping the series opener;
• UNC Asheville was picked ninth in the 11-team Big South Conference preseason poll with defending champion Campbell tabbed as the favorite;

 
About Western Carolina:

• The Catamounts enter Tuesday's game hitting .292 collectively as a team with 68 extra-base hits including 38 doubles, eight triples, and 22 home runs … WCU has scored 173 runs on the year, averaging 8.7 per game entering games this week;
• WCU enters the week 7-0 when scoring 10-or-more runs this season – and the Catamounts are 10-1 on the year when scoring six-or-more runs, but 0-9 when held to five-or-fewer … WCU has outscored its opponents 33-to-2 in the sixth inning this season;
• WCU's pitching staff has a collective ERA of 4.65, surrendering 120 runs – 92 earned – over 178.0 innings … the Catamounts are allowing an average of six runs per game …
• Sophomore Zach Ketterman has reached base safely in 14-straight games, the longest active streak for WCU … Nate Stocum and Will Prater share the squad's longest active hitting streaks at four games;

 
Western Carolina Against the Big South Conference:

• WCU is 1-1 against the Big South Conference this season with a road loss at preseason No. 2 USC Upstate (9-3) and a road win over preseason No. 4 Presbyterian (15-2);
• After Tuesday's meeting with UNCA, the Catamounts still have SIX combined games against Big South competition this season including the return home games from both Presbyterian (April 21) and USC Upstate (May 4), the road game at Asheville (April 12), and against  three games against Big South foe Gardner-Webb;
• The Southern Conference is 13-7 against the Big South Conference entering the week … In addition to WCU's game against Asheville, Wofford visits USC Upstate, Charleston Southern visits Mercer, and UNCG travels to High Point in other SoCon-Big South Tuesday matchups;

 
WCU-UNCA – Series History:

• Tuesday's match-up marks the 78th all-time meeting between the two mountain rivals on the baseball diamond with WCU holding a commanding 53-24 edge in the series;
• UNC Asheville has won seven of the last eight series meetings including two-straight, both in Cullowhee – 11-8 in 2019 and 10-4 in the most recent meeting in February of 2021;
• Western Carolina has won 30 of the 41 series meetings played in Cullowhee all-time – but has dropped four-straight in the series at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium dating back to 2015.

 
Projected Starting Pitchers:
WCU – #40 RHP Davis Mortland (1-0, 4.35 ERA – 10.1 IP, 9K, 8BB)
UNCA - #24 LHP Jacob Edwards (1-3, 3.08 ERA – 26.1 IP, 30K, 6BB)
 
About the Starting Pitchers:
Davis Mortland has four starts in his four appearances this season, most recently going two innings at Wake Forest back on March 15, factoring in a no-decision. He has averaged just over two innings of work in his four previous appearances with his longest outing of the season coming in a 4.1 inning start in the neutral field game against Middle Tennessee played at AT&T Park in Chattanooga, Tenn. A redshirt freshman from Cumming, Ga., Mortland struck out five against two walks with three runs allowed against the Blue Raiders.
 
Jacob Edwards has made five appearances with four starts on the year with a 1-3 record, claiming the win over Niagara back on Feb. 26 after striking out eight in eight innings of the 6-0 shutout victory. He has tossed at least 4.2 innings in each of his four starts  Edwards leads the UNCA pitching staff with 26.1 innings thrown and boasts a team-best 30 strikeouts against just six walks. The High Point, N.C., product earned a win over WCU in 2021 in the starting role, tossing just one inning. He surrendered five runs on five hits with a pair of walks in two innings of work in the start back in 2019, though the Bulldogs won the game, 11-8.