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Full
Becka Wonsick
Catamount Athletics Creative Media
8
Western Carolina WCU 7-13, 0-1 SoCon
9
Winner Furman FUR 14-14, 1-0 SoCon
Western Carolina WCU
7-13, 0-1 SoCon
8
Final
9
Furman FUR
14-14, 1-0 SoCon
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Western Carolina WCU 0 0 0 5 0 1 2 8 6 4
Furman FUR 0 1 6 0 1 1 X 9 10 2

W: Ricciardi (1-2) L: Martin, Makenzie (0-5) S: Scott, L. (1)

1
Western Carolina WCU 7-14, 0-2 SoCon
7
Winner Furman FUR 15-14, 2-0 SoCon
Western Carolina WCU
7-14, 0-2 SoCon
1
Final
7
Furman FUR
15-14, 2-0 SoCon
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Western Carolina WCU 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 9 3
Furman FUR 0 0 3 0 1 3 X 7 12 0

W: Scott, L. (5-1) L: Juett, Tessa (5-6)

Game Recap: Softball | | Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Three Catamounts Homer in SoCon Doubleheader Defeats

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Western Carolina softball opened a road-heavy stretch on Saturday with the first two games of Southern Conference play against chromatic rival Furman, dropping a 9-8 decision in game one before falling 7-1 in game two at Pepsi Stadium.

Kennedy Stewman and Savannah Baldwin led the offense over the two games as the pair both tallied three hits on Saturday. Jeralynn Wells, Becka Wonsick, and Sydney Dirks connected on home runs in the conference curtain-raising twin bill. 

Lily Bell extended her reached-base streak to a team-high 14 games with a hit by a pitch in game one and a single in the back end of the doubleheader. 

Game One – Furman 9, Western Carolina 8
Furman used the power of a six-run third inning before withstanding a late Western Carolina rally to claim the opener on Saturday by the score of 9-8. The Paladins jumped out to the 7-0 lead before the Catamounts jumped back in with a five-run fourth inning in the loss.

Both offenses struggled to get going out of the gates with a Savannah Baldwin hit in the first being the only hit for either team through the opening 1.5 frames. Furman (14-14, 1-0) used back-to-back singles followed by a sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly to strike first and take the 1-0 lead after two frames.

The Paladins retired the Catamounts in order in the top of the third and then took advantage of three WCU errors to plate six runs and extend the lead to 7-0 after three. 

Western Carolina answered quickly in the fourth, though, as the first three baserunners reached before Dirks connected on the grand slam home run to cut the deficit to three, 7-4. The Catamounts continued to put pressure on the Paladins, loading the bases once again in the inning before Mattie Mentel drew the bases-loaded free pass to make it a 7-5 Furman lead. 

Taylor Norton, in her first full inning of work, worked around a pair of two-out singles without harm to keep the deficit at two heading to the fifth inning.

The Catamounts stranded one on in the fifth when Kennedy Stewman drew a two-out walk but was stranded. Furman used a one-out RBI double in its half of the frame to push the lead back to three, 8-5.

In the sixth, Becka Wonsick and Mentel both drew free passes. After a flyout moved Wonsick into scoring position, Maya McPherson connected on an RBI single to left that closed the deficit back to two runs. 

The Paladins used a leadoff triple in the home half of the frame, followed by a one-out groundout, to push the lead back to three, 9-6, heading to the seventh inning.

Dirks opened the final frame with a walk, and after a pair of Furman outs were recorded, Wonsick connected on a two-run shot to left to make it 9-8 for the hosts. WCU was unable to even the score as the Paladins quickly recorded the final out en route to the 9-8 series-opening win. 

Makenzie Martin (0-5) made the start for WCU and tossed 2.1 innings, allowing six runs with just two earned as she scattered three hits. Norton came in relief of Martin and went the final 3.2 innings, allowing three runs, two earned with a strikeout.

Angelina Ricciardi (1-2) tossed 2.1 innings of relief for the Paladins and earned the win, allowing one earned run and no hits in the game-one victory. Ricciardi relieved Sierra Tufts, who went 3.0 innings and allowed four hits and five runs, three of which were earned with a pair of strikeouts. Lauralee Scott earned her first save of the season, recording the final five outs of the game and allowing a pair of runs on a pair of hits. 

Game Two – Furman 7, Western Carolina 1
Furman used three-run frames in both the third and the sixth innings to help secure the doubleheader sweep on Saturday, downing WCU 7-1 in the backend of Saturday's two games. 

The Catamounts looked to carry late-game momentum from the opener into game two with four hits in the top of the first inning from Mentel, Baldwin, McPherson, and Wells. But, the Paladins were able to wiggle out of the jam unscathed. 

Western Carolina (7-14, 0-2) game two starter Tessa Juett worked around a pair of baserunners in the home half of the frame without harm and kept the game scoreless after one.

Kennedy Stewman tallied a leadoff single in the second, but after being sacrificed to second, she was stranded after the Furman pitching staff's back-to-back one-pitch outs. Juett kept the game scoreless after a two-out double and single were left on the bases after the two frames.

After WCU was erased 1-2-3 in the third, the Paladins broke the stalemate with a three-run home half of the third inning on an RBI single followed by a two-run double to push the hosts in front. 

Bell got in the hit column in the fifth and swiped her 11th bag of the season before being stranded at second base in the frame. Furman pushed the lead to four in the home half of the inning with a sacrifice fly.

The Catamounts got on the scoreboard in the sixth when Wells connected on a two-out solo shot that cut it to a three-run game, 4-1. However, Furman (15-14, 2-0) took advantage of a pair of WCU errors in the home half of the sixth and plated three runs to extend the lead to six, 7-1.

Stewman and Taylor Waitley opened the seventh with back-to-back base hits, but three consecutive outs from the Paladins closed out the game and secured the series for Furman.

Juett (5-6) pitched 4.0 innings in the start, scattering eight hits and allowing three runs. Norton tossed the final two frames, allowing four unearned runs while recording a pair of strikeouts.

Scott (5-1) tossed the final six innings of relief in game two as she allowed one run on five hits and racked up seven strikeouts to secure the series for the Paladins. 

The Catamounts close out their SoCon opening weekend with Furman on Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch in the series finale with the Paladins from Pepsi Stadium in Greenville. Sunday's series finale will feature live stats available at CatamountSports.com and be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required). 

Keep track of everything related to Catamount softball and WCU Athletics through social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports), Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountSB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountsb), or go to www.CatamountSports.com.
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