Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina baseball hits the road again this weekend in a crucial Southern Conference series, traveling up I-26 to face mountain-rival ETSU for a three-game set at Thomas Stadium in Johnson City, Tenn. Game one is scheduled for Friday, April 28, at 5 p.m. and continues Saturday at 2 p.m. before concluding Sunday at 1 p.m. (game times are subject to change).
 
All three games are scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats through StatBroadcast available through links online at CatamountSports.com.
 
Western Carolina (15-24, 4-7 SoCon) is on the road for a second-straight weekend after dropping three in nonconference play last weekend at the College of Charleston. The Catamounts are mired in a four-game winless drought, stretched after Tuesday's 14-7 home defeat to Gardner-Webb in one of just two home dates over a 12-game span for the Purple & Gold. WCU lost Pascanel Ferreras on an HBP in Tuesday's home loss but is planning on having the shortstop stalwart back in the lineup.
 
WCU is hitting .271 collectively as a team with 369 hits including 64 doubles, nine triples, and 51 home runs, fourth in the SoCon rankings. The team has 260 runs scored over 39 games played to date, averaging 6.7 runs per game. Catamount pitchers have combined for 294 strikeouts including 110 looking, the second-most in the conference this year.
 
Slugger James Hinson remains among the SoCon leaders, tied for sixth with a team-best 10 home runs and sixth overall in slugging percentage at .635. Ferreras is tied for eighth with a team-leading 39 RBI with Brandon Butterworth legging out his team-high fifth triple of the season on Tuesday, tying the sophomore infielder for the most in the SoCon this season. Zack Ketterman continues to rank among the league's best in earning free passes having drawn  29 walks this year, tied for third in the conference statistics.
 
The Catamounts welcomed back transfer RHP Dante Visconti to action last weekend after missing a month as the bullpen tries to return to health. WCU hopes to have graduate transfer RHP Nick Torres back this week after he exited his last start against Wofford on April 14 with a forearm issue and missed his scheduled start last weekend at the College of Charleston. Torres has 16 backward K's this season, tied for the fourth-most in the SoCon.
 
About ETSU:
The Buccaneers (18-20, 4-8 SoCon) are riding a three-game winning streak that includes taking 2-of-3 on the road at The Citadel last weekend in SoCon play before completing the three-game nonconference midweek sweep of Big South foe Radford on Tuesday with a 9-3 road win. ETSU overcame a 3-2 deficit with a six-run eighth inning in pulling away to cap the eight-game road swing, halting a five-game slide with three-straight wins.
 
Eleven of ETSU's 18 seasonal victories have come at home at Thomas Stadium as the Bucs are 11-9 in Johnson City including two-straight wins – a 6-5 win over Radford on April 11 and a seven-inning 2-1 win against Wofford to salvage the final game of the conference series.
 
ETSU's scheduled game three starter – senior RHP Nathanial Tate – is the reigning SoCon Pitcher of the Week, his third weekly honor of the season. The Manchester, Tenn., product secured the series win at The Citadel for the Buccaneers, scattering five hits and four walks while striking out a career-high 13 in tossing ETSU's first complete-game shutout since 2019.
 
ETSU's Nick Iannatone is batting .396 on the year, fourth in the conference, with Cameron Sisneros eighth overall at .371, including 56 base knocks with 13 doubles (4th-t). Garrett Wallace matches Ferreras with 39 RBI while Tommy Barth has 13 doubles.
 
The Buccaneers enter the weekend batting .297 collectively as a team – third in the SoCon with 381 hits including 69 doubles, nine triples, and 39 home runs. The squad has scored 232 runs over its 38 games, averaging 6.1 runs per game. ETSU pitching carries the second-best team ERA in the league at 5.65 with 300 team strikeouts, 67 looking.
 
Last Time We Met – 2022 Series Synopsis:
ETSU swept the Catamounts in a three-game seasonal series for the second time since 2019, claiming a pair of two-run victories before closing the series with a 20-10 win in eight innings at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium in Cullowhee last April.

• Friday – ETSU 5, WCU 3: The Bucs plated two runs in the top of the ninth inning to retake the lead in the series opener last spring, stranding a runner in scoring position in the home half in the 5-3 series-opening win last year.
• Saturday – ETSU 13, WCU 11: ETSU again rallied in the top of the ninth inning, capping a six-run rally with a four-spot in the final frame to fully erase WCU's 11-7 lead through six complete in claiming the series with a second two-run win, 13-11.
•  Sunday – ETSU 20, WCU 10 (8 inn.): The Bucs scored multiple runs in five of the eight innings it took swings including a decisive seven-run fourth and a five-run sixth, closing out the series with a 10-run, 20-10 victory in eight innings. 

Western Carolina vs. ETSU – All-Time Series History:
In one of the program's longest-running active series, WCU and ETSU have met 112 times previously on the baseball diamond with the Catamounts holding a 69-43 series advantage. The Bucs have won four straight as a part of winning seven of the last eight meetings overall – and ETSU has won in 11 of the last 13 dating back to 2017, that coming on the heels of a five-game WCU series winning streak.
 
On Friday, WCU will look to avoid matching its longest winless drought in the all-time series as the Bucs won five-in-a-row from 1979-81. The longest series win streak for WCU was nine-straight from 1989-91. The Catamounts are 28-15 all-time in games played in Johnson City, Tenn. – but are just 5-6 at Thomas Stadium, which opened in 2013.
 
On Deck for Western Carolina:
Following the weekend series at ETSU, the Catamount schedule goes to the dogs – the Bulldogs, more specifically. WCU returns home for a midweek clash with the mountain-rival UNC Asheville Bulldogs (Wed., May 3) before concluding the road-heavy stretch next weekend with a three-game series against the Samford Bulldogs in Birmingham, May 5-7. WCU downed UNCA 13-4 in the midweek back on April 11 and looks to snap a three-game slide against Samford in SoCon play.
 
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).
 

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2023 Catamount Baseball – Western Carolina (15-24, 4-7 SoCon) at ETSU (18-20, 4-8 SoCon)

Fri., April 28 | 5:00 pm |  Coverage: ESPN+ |  LiveStats
Projected Pitching Match-up:
WCU – Jr. RHP Jonathan Todd (1-2, 9.55 ERA; 10 app., 3 GS, 21K, 10BB)
ETSU – LHP Colby Stuart (1-2, 3.92 ERA; 13 app., 2 GS, 30K, 6BB)
 
Sat., April 29 | 2:00 pm |  Coverage: ESPN+ |  LiveStats
Projected Pitching Match-up:
WCU – Jr. LHP Kyle Riesselmann (1-2, 6.21 ERA; 9 app., 8 GS, 32K, 9BB)
ETSU – RHP Cade Carlson (3-0, 1.48 ERA; 12 app., 1 GS, 29K, 11BB)
 
Sun., April 30 | 1:00 pm |  Coverage: ESPN+ |  LiveStats
Projected Pitching Match-up:
WCU – TBD
ETSU – RHP Nathanial Tate (5-3, 4.01 ERA; 11 app., 11 GS, 58K, 26BB)