Cullowhee, N.C. – The Western Carolina Catamount baseball team dropped Sunday's Southern Conference series finale against the East Tennessee State (ETSU) Buccaneers 20-10 in eight innings at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
 
ETSU outhit the Catamounts 19-to-10 on Sunday with the Bucs collecting seven extra-base hits including two home runs apiece for Bryce Hodge and Noah Webb. Four of WCU's 10 base knocks went for extra bases with Bryson Parks legging out his 12th double of the season, Will Prater his second two-base hit, and Zach Ketterman recording his fifth triple of the campaign.
 
Ferreras (3-for-5) and Prater (3-for-4) led WCU, both with three hits and a combined five RBI. The squad's remaining four hits were spread between four players.
 
The Buccaneers (20-8, 3-0 SoCon) jumped out to a 12-1 lead through four innings on Sunday, homering twice in a three-run first and batting around in a seven-run fourth. WCU managed to claw back into the game with a six-run fifth inning that included Ketterman's run-scoring triple, an RBI single by Ferreras, a two-run pinch-hit single by Jordan Starkes, and a two-RBI double by Parks that made it 12-7 through five complete.
 
However, ETSU answered with a five-spot in the top of the sixth inning to reclaim a 10-run cushion at 17-10. Facing elimination in the seventh inning, the Catamounts scored three runs on a two-run single by Ferreras and Prater plating a run on a bunt single to push the game into the eighth. The Bucs responded with a three-run top half of the eighth inning on homers by Hodge and Webb before retiring the Catamounts in order in the home half to end the game on the conference series finale run rule.
 
Starter Gavin Mortenson (2-4) took the loss in the start for WCU, surrendering five runs on five hits with a walk and two strikeouts. Mortenson was the first of eight Catamount pitchers to toe the rubber in the finale. Dawson Elder struck out two over an inning and two-thirds with Lucas Hartman also fanning two.
 
Buccaneer reliever Nathan Hickman (1-1) earned the victory after starter Hunter Loyd was chased in the bottom of the fifth inning after enduring the long delays between trips to the mound as ETSU's offense scored seven in the fourth and sent six hitters to the plate in the fifth with a mid-inning pitching change. Hickman held WCU to two runs on five hits over two innings, countering two walks with a strikeout.
 
ETSU had six players post multi-hit games with Webb reaching base six times with a 5-for-5, two-homer effort with a walk and three runs scored. Hodge homered twice in a 3-for-4 effort with two walks, four runs scored, and five RBI. Ashton King doubled twice in a 3-for-5 outing with Tommy Barth (2-for-6), David Beam (2-for-5), and Garett Wallace (2-for-4) each collecting two hits as the Bucs swept the weekend series.
 
Western Carolina (14-18, 0-3 SoCon) steps away from Cullowhee for its only road game in an eight-game span, traveling to mountain-rival UNC Asheville (12-17) on Tuesday for a 5 p.m. first pitch at Greenwood Field in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required). The Catamounts then return home for a second four-game homestand, hosting the Samford Bulldogs for three in league play Thursday through Saturday before concluding the stand against Gardner-Webb on April 19.
 
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