CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina softball closes out a five-game road swing on Tuesday with a trip to the Queen City for a doubleheader with Queens University set to begin at 1 p.m. from The Stick Williams Dream Fields in Charlotte. Coverage of Tuesday's twinbill with the Royals is available on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats through CatamountSports.com.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHAT: Western Carolina (7-15) at Queens (11-15)
WHERE: The Stick Williams Dream Fields (Charlotte, N.C.)
WHEN: 1:00 p.m. (Doubleheader)
LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast (Game One) | Stat Broadcast (Game Two)
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ (Game One) | ESPN+ (Game Two)
TWITTER: @CatamountSB
GAME NOTES
Western Carolina looks to rebound after being swept in its SoCon opening series by Furman in Greenville over the weekend. Senior Jeralynn Wells and sophomore Kennedy Stewman both went 5-for-10 (.500) at the dish in the series with the Paladins, and Wells was one of three Catamounts to connect on homers over the three-game series. Freshman Becka Wonsick and Sydney Dirks also homered with Dirks recording WCU's first grand slam of the season.
Bell enters the week ranked fourth in the Southern Conference with a .395 batting average. The Catamount freshman has tallied a team-high 30 hits, including multiple hits nine times and at least one in 14 of the last 15 games. She is second in the SoCon with 12 steals, pacing the WCU offense.
Tessa Juett comes into Tuesday's twinbill ranking second in the league with 56 strikeouts and sitting in a tie for third with five complete games for WCU. Juett also ranks in a tie for sixth in the league with five victories. Savannah Baldwin sits in a tie for fourth in the league with seven doubles, and she also leads the squad with 18 RBIs.
Queens sits at 11-15 after dropping the final game of a three-game conference series with North Alabama on Monday afternoon. The Royals have dropped eight of their last nine games with the lone win coming at the front end of a doubleheader split with Big South foe Winthrop. Queens has three common opponents with the Catamounts in 2024 as the Royals split a doubleheader with Presbyterian and Radford and a single setback to Gardner-Webb. WCU has two wins over PC with a doubleheader loss to Radford and a single defeat to Gardner-Webb.
Ashlyn Mickler leads the Royals' offense with a .309 average, 10 runs scored, and a pair of doubles. Mickler has driven in nine runs and stolen eight bases. Kayla Smith has connected on a team-high three homers, 14 runs knocked in, and 13 stolen bases, which paces Queens.
In the circle, All-ASUN Preseason selection Autumn Courtney leads the Queens staff with an 8-6 record in 19 appearances, totaling 15 starts and 11 complete games. Courtney leads the conference with 146 strikeouts and is sixth in the league in ERA with a 1.71 mark.
Under the leadership of Kella Goins in her second sesaon leading the Royals, Queens was picked 10th in the ASUN Preseason poll.
Tuesday's doubleheader with the Royals marks the first matchup between the two schools. Queens is in its second year of DI competition, having begun the transition to Division I in July 2022.
Following Tuesday's action in Charlotte, the Catamounts return home for the first time in league play with a three-game series against Mercer, beginning on Friday, March 29, with a doubleheader at 3 p.m. The SoCon series with the Bears wraps up the next afternoon with a noon first pitch from the Catamount Softball Complex. All three contests will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available at CatamountSports.com.
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