Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina softball returns to the diamond on Friday in the 2024 Green & Gold Classic hosted by UAB in Birmingham, Ala. It's the Catamounts' second straight tournament in Alabama as they opened the season two weeks ago at the Stinger Classic in Montgomery.
WCU faces North Alabama on Friday at 12:15 p.m. ET / 11:15 a.m. CT to begin play before playing #10 Alabama at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT. The weekend continues with a doubleheader on Saturday against Bradley at 10 a.m. ET/ 9 a.m. CT followed by a 12:15 p.m. ET / 11:15 a.m. CT first pitch against the host UAB. WCU's appearance in the Green & Gold Classic wraps up on Sunday with a 9:30 a.m. / 8:30 a.m. CT first pitch with a second meeting against Bradley.
All five scheduled games will have live stats on CatamountSports.com with Saturday's matchup against the host Blazers being shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required).
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHAT: North Alabama (7-4) vs Western Carolina (2-1)
WHERE: Mary Bowers Field (Birmingham, Ala.)
WHEN: 12:15 p.m. ET / 11:15 a.m. CT (Friday)
LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast
WHAT: Western Carolina vs #10 Alabama (11-0)
WHERE: Mary Bowers Field (Birmingham, Ala.)
WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. CT (Friday)
LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast
WHAT: Bradley (1-4) vs Western Carolina
WHERE: Mary Bowers Field (Birmingham, Ala.)
WHEN: 10:00 a.m. ET / 9:00 a.m. CT (Saturday)
LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast
WHAT: Western Carolina at UAB (4-6)
WHERE: Mary Bowers Field (Birmingham, Ala.)
WHEN: 12:15 p.m. ET / 11:15 a.m. CT (Saturday)
LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+
WHAT: Western Carolina vs Bradley
WHERE: Mary Bowers Field (Birmingham, Ala.)
WHEN: 9:30 a.m. ET / 8:30 a.m. CT (Sunday)
LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast
FOLLOW THE ACTION
TWITTER: @CatamountSB
GAME NOTES
The Catamounts are coming off of a 13-day hiatus after going 2-1 in the Stinger Classic hosted by Alabama State. WCU defeated Hampton (3-0) and Houston Christian (6-5 in 8 innings) while dropping a 4-0 decision to Austin Peay in the weather-shortened tournament.
Western Carolina was led offensively in the opening weekend by Savannah Baldwin, Maya McPherson, and Sydney Dirks, as they each totaled four hits including a double apiece for WCU in the Stinger Classic. Baldwin led all players with five runs driven in over the three games in the tournament.
In the circle, Tessa Juett tallied a three-hit shutout with eight strikeouts in the season-opening win over Hampton. She led the Catamount trio in the circle with 11 strikeouts in her two starts. Taylor Norton helped WCU secure the comeback win over Houston Christian, scattering three hits over 4.1 shutout innings en route to the comeback win over the Huskies.
Western Carolina vs. North Alabama – Friday (Feb. 23):
Slated as WCU's first opponent in Birmingham, North Alabama comes in with a 7-4 record after falling in midweek action to #10 Alabama on Wednesday night. Hailey Jones leads UNA on the season at the plate with a .314 average, totaling four doubles and a triple. Haven Kirby has a pair of homers and a team-high nine RBI. In the circle, North Alabama is led by Alivia Wilken who is 4-2 with a 1.93 ERA, recording 20 strikeouts over 36.1 innings. Wilken has tossed four complete games and added a save to her stat line on the young season.
North Alabama posted a 34-17-1 record including a 12-11-1 mark in the ASUN conference a year ago. The Lions were tabbed third in the ASUN preseason poll led by Jones, who was tabbed to the league's preseason all-conference team as the Lions are under the direction of Ashley Cozart, who's in her 11th season leading UNA.
WCU and North Alabama meet for just the second time in program history on Friday in the opener of the Green & Gold Classic. The Catamounts earned a 4-1 victory over the Lions in the 2021 Stinger Classic for the only prior matchup between the two schools.
Western Carolina vs. #10 Alabama – Friday (Feb. 23):
Friday's second opponent – tenth-ranked Alabama – enters the weekend with a perfect 11-0 record thus far in 2024, carrying one of 16 unblemished records nationally into the weekend.
Lauren Johnson leads the Crimson Tide with a .444 average, scoring seven runs and totaling five steals in the opening 11 contests. Abby Duchscherer is batting .400 with 14 hits including three doubles, two home runs, and 12 RBI. Alabama has been dominant in the circle to begin 2024, allowing just five earned runs over 72 innings, boasting the second-best earned run average in the country. Alea Johnson leads the pitching staff, tossing 12.2 innings without allowing an earned run, while Kayla Beaver has allowed just one earned run in 24.1 innings of work with a team-high 33 strikeouts.
Alabama went 45-22 in 2023 with a 14-10 mark in the SEC as the Crimson Tide advanced to the Women's College World Series before dropping contests to Tennessee and Stanford. Alabama was picked sixth in the SEC Preseason Poll as the Crimson Tide are under the direction of Patrick Murphy, who's in his 26th year in Tuscaloosa.
The Catamounts matchup with #10 Alabama on Friday night marks the first in series history – and WCU's first against a ranked opponent since hosting #15 Tennessee during the 2022 season. It's the 20th time that the Catamounts have faced nationally-ranked opposition in program history with just three squads -- #6 Georgia (2010), #2 Tennessee (2014), and #9 Georgia (2016) – ranked higher entering the game than Alabama this season.
Among the games against nationally-ranked opponents all-time, Georgia served as the most common with seven head-to-head matchups between the schools with the last time occurring in the 2020 season. WCU has battled the Bulldogs, Tennessee (six times), Southern Illinois, Georgia Tech, Minnesota, Kentucky, James Madison, and Auburn as ranked opponents throughout the program's history.
Western Carolina vs. Bradley – Saturday (Feb. 24) & Sunday (Feb. 25):
Bradley – who the Catamounts face twice between Saturday and Sunday – heads into tournament play with a 1-4 record on the season, picking up its lone win against UNLV last weekend in Las Vegas. Tori Meyer, the reigning Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, has started red-hot for the Braves in 2024, tallying a .500 average with three doubles, a triple, and a pair of homers. Sydney Kennedy leads Bradley in the circle with a 1-1 record as she's started three of the squad's first five games, recording nine strikeouts in 17.1 innings pitched.
Bradley finished 15-40 a season ago including a 7-20 mark in MVC play. The Braves were tabbed 10th in the conference preseason poll as Sarah Willis leads them in her second season at Bradley.
The Catamounts and Braves have only met once before this weekend's tilts on the softball diamond with the Braves earning a 5-3 win over WCU in Orlando, Fla., back in 2009.
Western Carolina vs. UAB – Saturday (Feb. 24):
The host UAB comes into the weekend off of a thrilling 10-inning victory over Southern Conference foe Samford on Wednesday to improve to a 4-6 mark on the young season. Bella Wiggins leads the Blazers offensively with a .400 average, legging out three triples in the opening 10 games. Lindsey Smith has a .385 average with four doubles, a triple, two home runs, and 10 RBI. Caitlin Russell leads the Blazers in the circle with a 1-1 record, recording a 2.88 ERA with 10 strikeouts in 17 innings. Leigha Kirby is 2-3 in a team-high 26.1 innings with 11 strikeouts.
UAB finished 29-25 in the 2023 season including a 16-8 mark in the American Athletic Conference, its first year in the league after moving from Conference USA following the 2022 season. The Blazers were selected sixth in the AAC Preseason Poll under the leadership of AJ Daugherty, who began her second season at the helm in Birmingham this spring.
WCU and UAB have met twice before with both matchups coming in the 2014 Bulldog Invitational. The Blazers claimed a 9-0 run-rule victory in the first meeting and the Catamounts recorded a 5-4 victory in the rematch.
On Deck for Western Carolina:
Following Sunday's finale in Birmingham, the Catamounts open a busy stretch of home games. The 2024 home opener has been bumped up a day with the recently added matchup against Tennessee Tech set for Tuesday, Feb. 27, at 3 p.m. WCU stays home the next afternoon for a 4 p.m. start on Wednesday, Feb. 28, against Gardner-Webb. Both games will have live stats on CatamountSports.com, and the matchup with the Runnin' Bulldogs will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required).
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