Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina swept both games of a Saturday baseball doubleheader with Harvard in a pair of games on either end of the spectrum. Catamount pitching combined for 13 strikeouts in tossing a two-hitter in winning the series opener before the offense poured in a 10-run eighth inning as WCU rallied to sweep the day and take the series with a 19-12 victory in game two.
Trent Turner had a team-best four hits over the two games, finishing 4-for-10 with a double and two RBI while
Nate Stocum homered twice – one per game – in finishing 3-for-6 with five runs scored and a team-high five RBI in the doubleheader. Stocum reached base seven times between the two games, adding three walks and an HBP.
Jack Spyke (3-for-8) also collected a trio of hits with four RBI, matched by
Drew Needham who drove in all four in the later innings of Saturday's second game.
The three-game series concludes Sunday with
a special 11 a.m. first pitch to help accommodate Harvard's travel schedule. The game is slated to be broadcast on ESPN+ (
paid subscription required) with live stats coverage available through a link online at CatamountSports.com.
Game 1 – Western Carolina 4, Harvard 2
Nate Stocum belted a three-run home run as part of a four-run third inning as Western Carolina's pitching took centerstage in earning the 4-2 win in Saturday's series opener. A trio of Catamount pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts in tossing the two-hitter.
Ben Rounds gave Harvard the early lead with a two-run home run in the top of the first inning as the Crimson took advantage of a one-out walk. Jake Berger hit a sharp single up the middle in the sixth inning to break-up a string of 13 retired in a row in tallying the only other Crimson base hit.
Mason Holton led off the decisive third with a double with
Kyle Harbison reaching on the first of his two walks in the winning effort. After
Kyle Riesselmann sacrificed both runners into scoring position,
Trent Turner plated WCU's first marker by beating out an infield single. Stocum then barreled the three-run home run to right field to ultimately cap the game's scoring.
Stocum collected two of WCU's five hits with the homer and a single. The remaining three hits were scattered between three players including Turner (1-for-4), Holton (1-for-3), and
Drew Needham (1-for-3). Harbison reached twice with the two walks.
WCU starter
Gavin Mortenson struck out a season-high six over four solid innings, allowing the two runs on just one hit with a pair of walks.
Dusty Revis (2-1) struck out four against a walk in three innings of one-hit shutout relief and
Jonathan Todd fanned three in two innings of hitless, scoreless relief.
Harvard starter Sean Matson (0-1) was saddled with the loss, allowing all four runs on five hits with three strikeouts to counter a walk. First-year reliever Andrew Abler threw the final two innings with a walk and a strikeout.
Game 2 – Western Carolina 19, Harvard 12
Western Carolina rode a 10-run eighth inning to rally past Harvard to complete the Saturday twin bill sweep with a 19-12 win in game two. After plating five runs through the opening four innings, the Catamounts erupted for 14 between the seventh and eighth frames, overcoming a three-run, 12-9, deficit entering the home portion of the eighth inning.
WCU's 19 runs were its most since also scoring 19 in a 19-7 home win over UNC Asheville last May. It also marked the third double-digit run game for the Catamounts this spring – and their second in the last three games after pushing across 18 in an eight-inning victory last Sunday against Western Michigan.
Five Catamounts posted multi-hit games in the finale led by
Jack Spyke with a 3-for-5 effort with a pair of singles and a two-run double to account for four RBI.
Trent Turner also finished with a team-high tying three base hits including a double.
Hayden Friese doubled in a 2-for-5 effort with three runs scored with
Zach Ketterman also collecting two hits with a pair of run-scoring singles in driving in three.
Drew Needham hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning as part of a 1-for-3 showing with four RBI, plating his fourth on an eighth-inning HBP.
For Harvard (2-10), Ben Rounds recorded a game-high four base hits including three singles and a double while Chris Snopek homered twice in driving in four runs on a three-hit day. Outfielder George Cooper (3-for-5) and catcher William Lybrook (2-for-3) both homered with Lybrook hitting a three-run shot as part of a four-RBI effort with Cooper hitting a two-run homer in finishing with three RBI.
The fifth arm used by the Catamounts in game two,
Jackson Reid (1-0) earned the victory, surrendering a pair of runs on three hits in an inning of work out of the bullpen. Starter
Spenser Hamblen struck out two against a walk with five runs allowed on eight hits in a three-inning effort.
Dante Visconti struck out two with both
Dylan Wheeler and
Griffin Guinther fanning one apiece.
Cole Beverlin closed the game with a hitless, scoreless ninth posting a game-ending strikeout.
Reliever Will Burns (0-2) suffered the loss for the Crimson, surrendering seven runs – six earned - on three hits with a walk over a third of an inning. Starter Callan Fang struck out five against three walks in four innings with Tanner Smith tallying five strikeouts with a trio of walks in 2.1 relief innings.
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