CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Following a season-opening 21-game road trip, the Western Carolina softball team kicks off both the home and Southern Conference portion of its schedule this weekend as the Catamounts host chromatic rival Furman in a three-game series. The teams are slated to play a doubleheader Saturday at 1 and 3 p.m. with the finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the on-campus Catamount Softball Complex.
Admission to all home softball games is free of charge. 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 and any medical-related bags will be allowed are permitted.
All three games are scheduled to be streamed on ESPN+ (
paid subscription required) with free live stats available on CatamountSports.com.
WCU enters the weekend with a 9-12 seasonal record after sweeping Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs on Tuesday. The Catamounts claimed a 7-3 victory in the opener and followed that with a season-best 16 runs including grand slams by
Bailey Huneycutt and
Natalie Henry in a 16-4 slugfest in the nightcap.
Entering the weekend, the Catamounts have two of the top hitters in the league in terms of batting average.
Brooklynn Brewington ranks fifth in the conference with a .370 batting average and leads the squad with 27 hits.
Bailey Huneycutt is sixth in batting average at .343 and has a team-best five doubles and 15 RBI. As a team, WCU leads the league in fielding percentage at .970.
Furman is 7-18 on the season following a 10-0 setback at South Carolina on Wednesday. The teams were originally scheduled to play a doubleheader, but the second game was canceled due to a lengthy weather delay before the first pitch of the opening game was thrown. Riley Ludham leads the team and ranks second in the SoCon with a .397 batting average. Ludham also ranks second in the league with 21 RBI.
The Catamounts and Paladins have met 57 times previously on the softball diamond dating back to 2006 with Furman leading the all-time series, 38-19 including four straight series victories, all coming a season ago. The Catamounts swept Furman in the most recent meetings in Cullowhee in 2021 by a combined margin of 13-to-3 to stand 12-15 all-time in series matchups held in Cullowhee.
Six of the seven SoCon teams are in action in league play this weekend with just Chattanooga playing a nonconference series at Virginia Tech. In addition to the WCU-Furman series, ETSU visits UNCG and preseason favorite Samford hosts Mercer this weekend. WCU and Furman were both picked to finish tied for fourth in the SoCon's preseason polling.
The Catamounts remain at home in the midweek, hosting Radford on Wednesday (March 29) in a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m.
For the latest information on Catamount softball, follow @catamounts and @catamountsb on Twitter or go to
www.catamountsports.com.
