Charleston, S.C. – Western Carolina lit the scoreboard for three runs over the final third of Sunday's series finale, but it was not enough to overcome a trio of crooked-number frames for the College of Charleston as the Cougars completed the three-game nonconference series sweep with an 11-3 win at Patriot's Point.
Charleston (25-14) scored three runs in the second and fourth innings to build a lead it would never relinquish, tacking on an insurance marker in the fifth. The Cougars pushed the game further out of reach with a four-spot in the seventh at 11-0 before the Catamounts were able to close the game with a trio of runs over the last two innings.
Brandon Butterworth delivered a bases-loaded, run-scoring single through the right side to bring
James Hinson home before
Nate Stocum lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to plate
Zach Ketterman for a two-spot in the eighth inning. In the top of the ninth, doubles by
Pascanel Ferreras and Ketterman combined for the game's final run.
Four Catamounts finished with multiple-hit games as the squad tallied 11 base knocks in the road loss with Ferreras (2-for-5) doubling and Butterworth (2-for-4) tallying an RBI. Out of the lead-off spot,
Jordan Starkes finished 2-for-5 with
Cole Jones rebounding with a 2-for-3 effort. Ketterman reached twice with his ninth-inning double for the RBI, adding a walk in a 1-for-4 performance.
Junior transfer
Dante Visconti earned this start in his first action in a month, tossing a scoreless first inning in working around a walk and a hit with a strikeout.
Gavin Mortenson (0-4) was saddled with the loss, surrendering six runs on five hits with four walks over three innings out of the bullpen. Five relievers beyond Mortenson finished Sunday's game with hometown product
Nick Hyde striking out a team-best three over an inning and two-thirds, with
Paddy McGonigal fanning two in a one-hit, scoreless inning of work.
Charleston starter Cole Mathis (4-1) struck out six against a walk over seven innings to secure the victory on the mound, scattering seven hits while holding the Catamounts scoreless. Emmett Bice surrendered two runs on two hits in an inning of work with Drake Thames tagged for a run on two hits with a strikeout in pitching the ninth.
Harlan Trotter drove in five runs in a 3-for-4 effort with a double and a walk to pace the Cougars with Khyree Miller also tallying three hits including a triple as CofC finished with 11 runs on 14 hits.
Western Carolina (15-23) makes a brief stop at home during the current road-heavy schedule as the Catamounts host the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs in the backend of a nonconference home-and-home on Tuesday, April 25, presented by Catamount Peak Apartments. WCU looks to avenge a 14-4 road loss to GWU in Boiling Springs back on March 1 as the Catamount seek a third-straight midweek win. Tuesday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (
paid subscription required) with live stats online at CatamountSports.com.
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