Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina baseball plays three games over two days this Friday and Saturday at the First Pitch Invitational, hosted by Michigan State and the Greenville Drive at Fluor Field at the West End in Greenville, S.C. The Catamounts face the host Spartans twice, Friday at 2 p.m. and Saturday at 6 p.m., and the Kansas Jayhawks at 6 p.m. in the backend of a doubleheader on Friday.
 
Each of WCU's three games is slated to be broadcast by the Greenville Drive through the team's YouTube channel with live stats provided by Michigan State
 
The Catamount Club will hold a special pregame reception at Gather GVL (126 Augusta St., Greenville, SC 29601) on Saturday, March 11, beginning at 3 p.m., ahead of WCU's second scheduled meeting with Michigan State.
 
Western Carolina (5-7) enters the weekend following a shortened, five-inning 8-4 loss at No. 14 North Carolina on Tuesday. The game was halted before the start of the sixth inning after a power issue prevented the stadium lights from illuminating the playing surface at Boshamer Stadium. WCU led twice against the nationally ranked Tar Heels, taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning on the second home run of the season by Pascanel Ferreras with Kyle Riesselmann plating James Hinson on an RBI fielder's choice in the second inning. Zach Ketterman also homered for WCU in the road setback, WCU's third of the season in three tries.
 
Ferreras leads WCU – and ranks third in the SoCon – with a .435 seasonal batting average as the Catamounts are batting .264 collectively as a team but boasts the SoCon's fourth-best slugging percentage at .436 that includes a league-best 18 home runs. WCU has turned 12 double plays to date this season, tied for the most in the conference with UNCG.
 
About Michigan State:
Twelve games into the 2023 season, Michigan State has again been a road-weary team, playing seven true road games and five contests on neutral fields. Eight of MSU's games have been played in the Carolinas between Spartanburg, Charleston, and Greenville, S.C., and one in Boiling Springs, N.C., against Gardner-Webb – a 7-3 defeat. The Spartans have dropped three straight entering the weekend, falling to Wofford 12-9 on Wednesday night in the first of five-straight games at Fluor Field.
 
Three Spartans were tabbed as Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch in junior infielders Trent Farquhar and Mitch Jebb, along with senior outfielder Casey Mayes. Michigan State is batting .312 collectively as a team with 140 hits including 44 extra-base hits – 24 doubles, seven triples, and 13 home runs. MSU is averaging 7.5 runs per game while surrendering 7.6 runs on a .285 batting average against.
 
About Kansas:
Kansas (7-4) has likewise played the bulk of its schedule out-of-state with 10 of its first 11 games outside the state borders. The Jayhawks have played seven games in Texas, a three-game series at Belmont in Nashville, Tenn., with just one home game – a 4-0 win over Wichita State at home in Lawrence.
 
The Jayhawks were picked eighth in the nine-team Big 12 preseason baseball poll with TCU and Oklahoma State predicted to finish 1-2 in the league.
 
Kansas is batting .269 collectively as a team through the first 11 games with 98 hits including 43 for extra bases – 26 doubles, a triple, and 16 home runs. KU is averaging 6.5 runs per game while limiting opponents to just 3.6 per game on a .198 collective batting average against. The Jayhawks' pitching staff has only surrendered 67 hits, 21 going for extra bases.
 
Series History:
Western Carolina has faced Michigan State three times previously, each coming on the neutral field at Fluor Field. The Catamounts trail in the all-time series, 1-2, winning the first meeting in 10 innings back in 2019 before falling in 2020, 4-3, and last year by three, 5-2.
 
WCU has won both previous meetings with Kansas in 2020 and 2022, both also coming at Fluor Field in the same tournament by counts of 5-3 in 2020 and 6-3 last year.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount baseball and WCU Athletics including any weather-related schedule changes through social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports), Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountBSB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountbsb).
  

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2023 Catamount Baseball – First Pitch Invitational | Fluor Field
Game 1: WCU vs. Michigan State: Friday, March 10 | 2:00 pm | Tickets | Coverage: YouTube | LiveStats
Projected Pitching Match-up:
WCU – Jr. LHP Kyle Riesselmann (1-1, 5.56 ERA; 11.1 IP, 14K, 4BB)
MSU – Fr. LHP Joseph Dzierwa (2-1, 5.71 ERA; 17.1 IP, 16K, 6BB)
 
Game 2: WCU vs. Kansas: Friday, March 10 | 6:00 pm | Tickets | Coverage: YouTube | LiveStats
Projected Pitching Match-up:
WCU – So. RHP Matt Schepel (1-1, 5.14 ERA; 14.0 IP, 14K, 0BB)
KU – Gr. RHP Collin Baumgartner (2-0, 3.60 ERA; 15.0 IP, 20K, 4BB)

Game 3: WCU vs. Michigan State: Saturday, March 11 | 6:00 pm | Tickets | Coverage: YouTube | LiveStats
Projected Pitching Match-up:
WCU – TBD
MSU – R-So. RHP Dominic Pianto (1-0, 4.97 ERA; 12.2 IP, 9K, 3BB)