Cullowhee, N.C. – Coming off its first series sweep of the season, Western Carolina embarks on a big week on the diamond with four games against three teams from Power Five conferences beginning Tuesday (March 7) as the Catamounts face the nationally-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill.
 
Tuesday's game will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra (paid subscription required) with links to live audio from UNC and live stats through StatBroadcast available online at CatamountSports.com.
 
Western Carolina (5-7) snapped a six-game seasonal slide by sweeping Eastern Kentucky last weekend in Cullowhee. The Catamounts swept Saturday's doubleheader, 9-5 and 10-3, before rallying from a five-run deficit by hitting four home runs in a six-run second inning in completing the sweep of the Colonels on Sunday.
 
James Hinson paced WCU last week, finishing 6-of-14 for a .429 batting average with four of his six hits going for extra bases with a triple and three home runs. Hinson collected five RBI including a grand slam in game one of Saturday's doubleheader, finishing the series with seven total. The Sylva, N.C., native boasted a 1.214 slugging percentage on the week while posting a .529 on-base percentage. Nate Stocum homered twice in the EKU series, finishing with five RBI
 
On the mound, relievers Dante Visconti and Nick Torres scored wins out of the bullpen with starter Kyle Riesselmann tossing six innings in a victorious effort in Saturday's second game of the twin bill. Gavin Mortenson made two relief appearances with three innings of scoreless, one-hit relief with a save in the finale.
 
WCU plays just its third road game of the season on Tuesday looking for its first win away from Cullowhee with road losses at Presbyterian and Gardner-Webb.
 
North Carolina enters the week at 9-3 overall, winners of five straight since dropping two against in-state rival, East Carolina. The Tar Heels took two from VCU in the midweek before sweeping Stony Brook last weekend at home, winning by scores of 3-2 in 11 innings on a walk-off homer, 7-5 on Saturday, and 15-4 in the finale.
 
Ranked as high as 12th in the preseason polling, the Heels are currently scattered among the various national rankings this week, coming in at a high of No. 14 in the D1Baseball.com poll. UNC is ranked 17th in the USA Today Coaches Poll, No. 19 in the Baseball America poll, and No. 21 in the Collegiate Baseball tabulations. North Carolina was picked third in the ACC's Coastal Division by the league's head coaches
 
UNC is batting .289 collectively as a team with 122 hits with 55 extra-base hits including 28 doubles, two triples, and 25 home runs. The Tar Heels have outscored their opponents 106-to-53 on the season, averaging 8.8 runs per game while surrendering an average of 4.4 per game. The Catamounts have scored 80 runs, averaging 6.7 per game while batting .267 as a team. WCU is surrendering 7.8 per contest.
 
Western Carolina and North Carolina meet for the 17th time on the baseball diamond on Tuesday with the Catamounts trailing in the series, 2-14. The Heels have won 12-straight in the series dating back to 1977 including the most recent meeting in 2018, 8-2, in Chapel Hill as each of the 17 meetings has been held at UNC.
 
Following Tuesday's trip to the Triangle, Western Carolina faces Michigan State out of the Big Ten Conference twice and Big XII foe Kansas, both at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C., in the First Pitch Invitational this Friday and Saturday. The Catamounts play a doubleheader on Friday against the Spartans (2 p.m.) and Jayhawks (6 p.m.), before facing Michigan State again on Saturday at 6 p.m. Each game will be broadcast on YouTube.
 
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).
 
2023 Catamount Baseball – Western Carolina (5-7) at No. 14 North Carolina (9-3)
Tuesday, March 7 | 4:00 pm | Coverage: ACC Network Extra | Live Stats (StatBroadcast)
Projected Pitching Match-Up
WCU – R-So. RHP Coby Ingle (0-1, 7.20 ERA; 5.0 IP, 4K, 1BB)
UNC – Fr. LHP Kyle Percival (1-0, 2.57 ERA; 7.0 IP, 8K, 3BB)