Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina baseball continues its seven-game road swing with its tallest task of the season to date as it travels to Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., to face the nation's top-ranked team, the Tennessee Volunteers. The first pitch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday's game will be broadcast on the SEC Network+ (
paid subscription required) with Roger Hoover and Chad Bell on the call. Fans can also follow the game with
coverage from the Catamount Sports Network with live streaming audio as well as
live stats available online at CatamountSports.com.
Western Carolina (11-13) enters the midweek having dropped three of its last four on the season, losing 2-of-3 in the road series at Houston last weekend. The Catamounts struggled with runners in scoring position in falling to the Cougars, batting just 3-for-30 (.100), and stranded 24 runners on base over the three-game set.
Number one rankings have followed the Vols squad most of the season. Tennessee (23-1) has only suffered one defeat on the season which came against the then-No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns at Minute Maid Park in the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic in Houston. Tennessee is coming off a three-game road Southeastern Conference series sweep of the previous number one team in Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss.
On Monday, the Volunteers climbed to the top spot in each of the national collegiate baseball polls, securing the unanimous number one ranking.
Tennessee leads the nation in team batting average at .338 which features an NCAA-leading 71 doubles and 64 home runs. The Vols are averaging 11.1 runs per game – second in the country – scoring in double figures 14 times, while WCU scoring an average of 7.7 to rank among the national Top 50. On the mound, the Vols rank fifth with an average of 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings and boast the top collective team ERA at just 1.89.
Wednesday marks the eighth time since 1993 that WCU has faced the nation's number one team, winning two of the previous seven meetings (2-5) – both coming against Georgia Tech. The last time the Catamounts went on the road to face a No. 1 squad, the 2005 team came away with an 8-5 victory over the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta.
Tennessee leads the all-time series against the Catamounts, 24-7, with seven-straight series victories coming on the heels of WCU winning three-straight in Knoxville from 2008-10 – three of its four road wins in the series (4-17).
WCU is expected to start junior RHP
Zebby Matthews (0-4), the squad's normal Friday starter, with the Cullowhee native expected to only work one inning on a staff day. The Vols will start sophomore LHP Zander Sechrist (2-0) on the mound against the Catamounts.
Following Wednesday night's game, the Catamounts travel to Ohio for a three-game nonconference series against Big East Conference foe, Xavier. The first game will be played on a neutral field at beautiful Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio, home of the Big East Conference tournament, before completing the series with the next two at Hayden Field on-campus in Cincinnati.
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