Greenville, S.C. – Western Carolina softball used a three-run top of the seventh inning to even the score of Sunday's series finale before the host Furman pushed across the game-winning run on a fielder's choice in the home half of the frame to claim the series sweep 5-4 at Pepsi Stadium.
Senior Jeralynn Wells led the Catamounts on the offensive end, matching her season-high with three hits. Kennedy Stewman tallied a pair of hits for her fourth multi-hit game of the season. Freshman Lily Bell extended her reached-base streak to a team-high 15 games with a single on Sunday.
Western Carolina (7-15, 0-3 SoCon) went down quietly in the opening frame before the hosts took advantage of a pair of errors and a base hit to load the bases but stranded all three on the base paths in the first inning.
Maya McPherson began the second with a walk, but back-to-back defensive plays from the Paladins sat the Catamounts down by sending the minimum to the dish. Furman (16-14, 3-0) scored a two-out RBI single in the second to take the early lead in Sunday's series finale in Greenville.
Taylor Waitley tallied her second double of the season to open the third, but the Catamounts could not bring her across to keep the deficit at one. WCU starter Makenzie Martin pitched her best inning of the afternoon in the third, needing just six pitches to retire the hosts and keep the game at 1-0.
Savannah Baldwin and Wells reached on singles in the fourth and moved into scoring position before the Paladins induced back-to-back popups to stop the Catamounts' fourth-inning threat.
Furman pushed across a three-run frame in the fourth, drawing a two-out bases-loaded walk before a two-run single allowed the Paladins to take the 4-0 lead after four.
WCU got on the scoreboard in the fifth inning after Becka Wonsick drew a leadoff walk and was erased on the fielder's choice that allowed Bell to reach. The Catamount freshman scampered to third on a stolen base and passed the ball before Mattie Mentel's RBI single made it a 4-1 game.
WCU reliever Tessa Juett sat the Paladins down 1-2-3 in the home half of the fifth, including getting two outs on first pitches to keep it a three-run game.
In the sixth, Wells and Stewman each recorded a one-out single to put WCU in business. The Catamounts were looking to whittle into the deficit before a pair of flyouts erased their chance. Juett kept the Paladins off the scoreboard in the sixth, working around a two-out walk to keep it a 4-1 game headed to the seventh.
WCU started quickly in the final frame with a leadoff walk by Sydney Dirks before Bell's single put two on and forced the Paladins to the pen. Furman recorded the first out of the frame before a wild pitch put two in scoring position. Baldwin added the RBI groundout to make it a two-run game.
Three pitches later, McPherson tallied the RBI single into right to make it a 4-3 Furman lead. Following McPherson's RBI knock, Wells picked up her third hit of the game. Stewman joined the hit parade in the seventh with the RBI single up the middle, which tied the score to four.
Furman quickly loaded the bases in the home half of the inning with a pair of walks and an error sandwiched around a strikeout before a fielder's choice allowed the hosts to claim the 5-4 series sweep on Sunday afternoon.
Martin tossed 3.1 innings, allowing four runs, three earned, as she scattered four hits. Juett (5-7) came on in relief of Martin and went the final 3.0 innings, allowing one unearned run with a hit and a pair of strikeouts.
Sierra Tufts (8-4) earned the win as she tossed the first four innings before returning to tally the final three outs of the seventh inning. Tufts allowed one run and six hits with a pair of strikeouts. Lauralee Scott tossed a pair of innings in relief, allowing four hits and three runs with a pair of strikeouts.
The Catamounts wrap up their five-game road swing in Charlotte on Tuesday, March 26, with a doubleheader against Queens University set to begin at 1 p.m. at The Stick Williams Dream Fields. Both games of the twin bill 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.
