Cullowhee, N.C. – Junior outfielder Cole Jones led four Catamounts with multi-hit games, finishing 3-for-5 with three RBI as Western Carolina opened the 2024 season with an 8-5 victory over Iona on Friday afternoon at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. The Catamounts rode a pair of three-run innings including the decisive fourth to the season-opening win.
 
Jones plated two in the first inning on his first hit and added a third RBI on a fourth-inning double as a part of his three-hit performance. Trent Turner secured WCU's first base knock of the season on his first at-bat for the Purple & Gold, finishing 2-for-6 in his debut. Zach Ketterman (2-for-4) and Jack Spyke (2-for-5) also finished with two hits apiece, Spyke driving in runs in the first and second innings.
 
Nate Stocum reached base four times with a trio of walks and a run-scoring double in the fourth inning. Turner, Ketterman, and Stocum each scored twice from the top three spots in the Catamount lineup.
 
Iona's seven base hits were spread between six players with transfer catcher Garret Gray driving in two on a double in a team-best 2-for-5 outing. Jayson Gonzales reached twice with a walk and a solo home run to left in the third inning. Nickolas Mora and Anthony Zollo both doubled in the loss.
 
Iona (0-1) capitalized on a trio of walks with Gray's two-run double putting the Gaels on the board first in the top of the first inning. WCU responded in the home half as Spyke drove home Turner before Jones singled into left-center to push a pair of runners across for the 3-2 lead after one.
 
Spyke collected his second RBI of the game in the second inning to push the Catamounts ahead 4-2 through two. Iona managed to tie the game in the third with a two-spot that included the lead-off home run by Gonzales.
 
Western Carolina posted its second three-run inning in the fourth as Ketterman reached on a lead-off single before scoring on Stocum's double to right. James Hinson then delivered a run-scoring single through the left side to extend the lead to 6-4. Hinson reached three times, adding a pair of walks to his RBI single. Jones collected his third run to cap the inning's scoring with a double to center field to drive Hinson home.
 
Iona got one of the runs back with a marker in the top of the sixth inning on a run-scoring single by Josiah Ragsdale. But WCU got it back in the seventh on a Stocum infield RBI groundout that provided the final tally.
 
Catamount reliever Dylan Wheeler (1-0) earned the victory out of the bullpen, tossing three innings of two-hit baseball with one unearned run allowed. The Garner, N.C., product struck out a game-high four, retiring eight-straight at one point with a pair of 1-2-3 innings. Cannon Pickell made his WCU debut with 2.2 innings of work in the starting role, striking out one while navigating seven walks before Carson Lowder got WCU out of the third inning with just two runs allowed.
 
Dante Visconti worked two innings of one-hit scoreless relief with a pair of strikeouts while Jonathan Todd locked down the save with a pair of strikeouts in a hitless, scoreless ninth.
 
Iona starter Andrelys Payamps (0-1) took the loss, surrendering seven earned runs on eight hits with five walks against two strikeouts. Joey Kasper and Nick Chiaia tossed the final 4.2 innings with a combined four walks and three strikeouts.
 
WCU finished with a dozen hits with the Gaels managing seven. The two teams combined to strand 24 base runners in Friday's opener, however – 14 by the Catamounts and 10 for Iona.
 
The 2024 opening weekend series continues on Saturday afternoon with an updated first pitch at 1 p.m. from Childres Field / Hennon Stadium before concluding at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Live stats for both games will be available online at CatamountSports.com, with Sunday's game slated for broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required).
 
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