Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina opens both the 2023 season and the Alan Beck era by welcoming the Akron Zips out of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) to Childress Field / Hennon Stadium for a four-game nonconference series this weekend.
 
Friday's series opener was moved up to a 2 p.m. first pitch with Saturday's doubleheader slated to begin at Noon. The second game of the twin bill to follow 45 minutes after game one with one of the two games scheduled for just seven innings – entering the weekend, game one will be a seven-inning affair unless it goes beyond seven to decide the victor which will alter the second game's scheduled length. The series concludes on Sunday afternoon with a 1 p.m. start time.
 
Each game of the season-opening series is slated to be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available online at CatamountSports.com.
 
Western Carolina enters 2023 under new leadership after Bobby Moranda, the longest tenured coach in program history at 15 seasons, retired from the collegiate game following the 2022 season. Alan Beck returned to his alma mater in June, hired as the 11th head coach in Catamount baseball program history dating back to 1951– and the fourth alum to lead the program since 1992.
 
Originally from Hudson, N.C., Beck was a three-time All-Southern Conference performer during his career at WCU, collecting SoCon Player of the Year honors as a senior in 2003. As a former assistant coach in Cullowhee, he helped guide Western Carolina through an era of dominance in the SoCon which included regular-season championships in 2013 and 2014 and helped recruit much of the team that won the 2016 SoCon tournament and advanced to the NCAA Clemson Regional.
 
WCU returns 21 letter winners including five starting position players and three pitchers with multiple starts a season ago. The roster also features 19 newcomers including 12 transfers – each of which will be counted on early in the campaign – with seven true freshmen.
 
The returners include pair a preseason All-Southern Conference selections including the preseason Player of the Year, infielder Pascanel Ferreras who claimed WCU's triple crown a season ago (.362, 15 HR, 60 RBI). He was joined on the preseason all-conference team by junior outfielder Nate Stocum (.288, 6 HR, 37 RBI). Those two are joined by returners in senior outfielder Jordan Starkes (.266, 18 RBI), junior infielder Zach Ketterman (.275, 12 HR, 35 RBI), junior infielder Drew Needham (.225, 7 HR, 22 RBI), and sophomore infielder Brandon Butterworth (.296, 9 RBI), each penciled in as opening day starters for WCU.
 
On the mound, WCU returns several arms – but many remain untested over the long-haul of a collegiate baseball season, many seeing limited innings of work over the past couple of seasons. Among the veteran returners are Gavin Mortenson, who was tied for the team lead with five victories a season ago; RHP Nick Hyde, Eric Wallington, RHP Corey Bright, RHP Cole Beverlin, and converted catcher, RHP Tom Brosnahan.
 
Among the top newcomers among transfers are junior catcher Kyle Harbison (State College of Florida), multi-purpose utility player and left-handed pitcher Kyle Riesselmann (Georgia State), and pitchers Jonathan Todd (Rockingham CC) and Dante Visconti (Florida Atlantic).
 
Western Carolina was picked sixth in the eight-team Southern Conference by both the league's head coaches and voting members of the media.
 
Akron is coming off a 15-41 season a year ago that included an 11-29 mark in Mid-American Conference (MAC) play. The squad endured a trio of 6-game or longer winless droughts including a 10-game slide in May. The Zips closed the year with consecutive wins over the Purdue University Fort Wayne Mastodons.
 
Akron likewise enters the 2023 season under new leadership as one-year assistant coach Tim Donnelly was elevated to the interim head coaching position after Greg Beals departed without coaching a game with the Zips, hired at Marshall in July. Donnelly, much like Beck, is in his first year as a head coach and spent time at Marshall where he earned Conference USA Assistant Coach of the Year plaudits in 2016.
 
Ball State, which won the MAC 2022 regular season title, is favored in the 2023 preseason coaches' poll.­­­ Akron was tabbed 11th in the 11-team league in the preseason polling.
 
Western Carolina and Akron have met just once on the baseball diamond – a 9-8 come-from-behind victory for the Catamounts in tournament action at McNair Field in Forest City, N.C., back in March 2011. WCU trailed 7-3 headed to the home half of the sixth inning before a four-run rally tied the game at seven apiece. The Zips pulled back in front in the top of the eighth only to see the Catamounts surge in front with a two-spot in the home half of the frame before former RHP Brandon Johnson worked a 1-2-3 ninth with a trio of ground ball outs to secure the victory.
 
Both season and single-game tickets for the 26-game 2023 home schedule at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium are on sale now through the Catamount Athletics ticket office, located on the first floor of the Ramsey Center, by phone at (828) 227-2401, and online at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets. Offering the best available deals, season ticket packages include general admission tickets for the upper grandstand bleacher areas, or reserved chairback seating options along the field level or directly behind home plate in the upper, covered seating areas.
 
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).
 
Game Day Reminders for Childress Field / Hennon Stadium:

• Fans must purchase a ticket to gain admission into the stadium seating and surrounding areas;
• WCU Athletics continues to adhere to a clear bag policy for all home athletics events. Only standard clear bags, 12-inches by 6-inches by 12-inches in size, small purses approximately 4.5-inches by 5-inches not including the strap, and clear gallon-size storage bags are permitted. Diaper bags (child must be present upon entry) and any medical-related bags will be allowed;
• Fans are reminded that in accordance with stadium policies, NO pets, umbrellas, coolers, or outside food and beverages are allowed within the stadium;
• Free game day parking for games in Cullowhee is available in the baseball parking deck behind the grandstand seating area, or beyond the outfield fence utilizing the access road that skirts the stadium to the left (Interactive WCU Campus Map)

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2023 Catamount Baseball – Opening Weekend: Western Carolina vs. Akron
Game 1: Friday, Feb. 17 | 2 p.m. | Buy Tickets Online | Coverage: ESPN+ | Live Stats
Projected Pitching Match-up:
WCU – Jr. RHP Jonathan Todd
Akron – Jr. LHP Sammy Tortorella
 
Game 2: Saturday, Feb. 18 | Noon | Buy Tickets Online | Coverage: ESPN+ | Live Stats
Projected Pitching Match-up:
WCU – Soph. RHP Matt Schepel
Akron – Jr. RHP Spencer Atkins
 
Game 3: Saturday, Feb. 18 | Approx. 4 p.m. | Buy Tickets Online | Coverage: ESPN+ | Live Stats
Projected Pitching Match-up:
WCU – Jr. RHP Dante Visconti
Akron – Jr. LHP Anthony Fett
 
Game 4: Sunday, Feb. 19 | 1 p.m. | Buy Tickets Online | Coverage: ESPN+ | Live Stats
Projected Pitching Match-up:
WCU – Jr. LHP Kyle Riesselmann
Akron – TBA