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Mercer Home SoCon Series - FRONT

Softball Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Softball Hosts Mercer in SoCon Holiday Weekend Series

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina softball returns home for the first time in league play with a three-game holiday weekend series with Mercer set to begin with a 3 p.m. doubleheader from the Catamount Softball Complex on Friday. The series wraps up with a Noon first pitch on Saturday. Coverage of all three games with the Bears is available on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats through CatamountSports.com.
 
Following the conclusion of Saturday's game, kids 12 and under are invited to join Paws and the Easter Bunny for an Easter Egg hunt on the field. 
 
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHAT: Mercer (13-17, 2-1 SoCon) at Western Carolina (7-17, 0-3 SoCon) 
WHERE: Catamount Softball Complex (Cullowhee, N.C.)
WHEN: 3:00 p.m. (Doubleheader on Friday) | 12:00 p.m. (Saturday) 
LIVE STATS: Sidearm Stats
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ (Friday G1) | ESPN+ (Friday G2) | ESPN+ (Saturday) 
TWITTER: @CatamountSB
GAME NOTES
 
Western Carolina looks to return to its winning ways following a pair of tight defeats on Tuesday at the hands of Queens University. Friday marks the first time the Catamounts have played at home in eight days after concluding a nine-game homestand in front of a program-record 732 fans when WCU battled #7 Tennessee.

In the last ten games, senior Jeralynn Wells has swung a red-hot bat as she's hitting .467 with two doubles and three home runs and has tallied four steals. Freshman Lily Bell sits at .457 in that same stretch with a team-high 16 hits and a team-best six stolen bases. The freshman pair of Becka Wonsick and Sydney Dirks each have connected on a pair of homers in the stretch as senior Savannah Baldwin has a team-high eight RBIs. In the circle, junior Tessa Juett has racked up half of her team-high 60 strikeouts, punching out 30 batters over seven outings which includes four starts. 

Bell begins the weekend sixth in the Southern Conference with a .373 batting average, the highest-ranked freshman. She's also ninth with 31 hits, including nine multi-hit games and at least one hit in 15 of the last 17 contests. The Woodstock, Ga., native sits in a tie for second in the SoCon with 13 steals as Bell leads the conference in being the toughest to strikeout with just three in 83 at-bats. 

Baldwin maintains a top-five spot in the league with seven doubles, sitting in a three-way tie for fourth with her two-baggers. Wells is in a tie for 10th with a perfect 5-for-5 start on the bases. Juett sits second in the league with 60 strikeouts and is tied for third in complete games with six. The Berea, Ky., native ranks in a tie for seventh with a team-high five victories. 

After the opening weekend of SoCon play, Wells and Kennedy Stewman led WCU offensively. The pair both went 5-for-10 to begin league play and Wells tallied her team-high fourth homer of the season in Greenville last weekend. 

Mercer begins the weekend with a 13-17 record after splitting a midweek doubleheader on the road on Tuesday at Presbyterian. The Bears took two-of-three in their opening league weekend home series with SoCon startup Wofford. Mercer has played a robust schedule in 2024 with Power Five matchups against Georgia Tech, Clemson, Indiana, and Florida for a pair of games each.

Mercer has three common opponents with the Catamounts in 2024. The Bears have won both ends of a home-and-home against Georgia State before splitting the aforementioned doubleheader with Presbyterian and dropping a pair to Gardner-Webb. WCU has two wins over PC and Georgia State and a single defeat against Gardner-Webb. 

Alyssa Woods leads the Bears' offense with a .361 average that sits eighth in the league as she's totaled 39 hits and 29 runs scored. Emma Dorval sits at a .354 average with seven runs scored and a pair of doubles. Tori Hedgecock sits atop the SoCon with 13 homers, recording a .346 average. Hedgecock ranks fifth in the nation in home runs and is 10th in slugging percentage at .901. 

Grace Roark leads Mercer in the circle with a 3-1 record and a 3.63 ERA. She's pitched nine times in 2024 with a trio of starts, totaling 19 strikeouts in 34.2 innings. Grace Taylor, selected as the SoCon's Preseason Pitcher of the Year, has a team-high five wins with a 3.78 ERA, totaling 33 strikeouts in 66.2 innings. Hannah Pitts leads the Bears' staff with 35 strikeouts in 43.1 innings. 

Mercer was picked third in the 2024 SoCon Preseason Poll and received one of the eight first-place votes. The Bears are led by coach Lindsay Fico who is in her third year coaching Mercer. 

Mercer holds a slim 18-14 lead all-time as the Catamounts have taken four of the last five head-to-head battles, including a 3-2 win in the 2023 Southern Conference Tournament. Mattie Mentel went 4-for-11 with a triple in the four matchups during the 2023 season. Tessa Juett tossed a complete game in one of the three wins over Mercer, recording four strikeouts with a pair of runs allowed. 

Following Saturday's action in Cullowhee, the Catamounts hit the road for a five-game road swing that begins in Cary, N.C., next Wednesday, April 3, with a doubleheader at 3 p.m. against N.C. Central. Both contests with the Eagles will be broadcast on NCCU Sports Network, with live stats available at CatamountSports.com. 
 
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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Players Mentioned

Savannah Baldwin

#12 Savannah Baldwin

UTL
5' 4"
Senior
R/R
Tessa Juett

#1 Tessa Juett

P
5' 6"
Junior
L/L
Mattie Mentel

#14 Mattie Mentel

C/OF
5' 6"
Junior
R/R
Tate Stewman

#24 Tate Stewman

INF
5' 6"
Sophomore
R/R
Jeralynn Wells

#21 Jeralynn Wells

OF
5' 6"
Senior
R/R
Lily Bell

#3 Lily Bell

INF
5' 4"
Freshman
L/R
Sydney Dirks

#77 Sydney Dirks

INF
5' 6"
Freshman
R/R
Becka Wonsick

#26 Becka Wonsick

OF/UT
5' 6"
Freshman
R/R

Players Mentioned

Savannah Baldwin

#12 Savannah Baldwin

5' 4"
Senior
R/R
UTL
Tessa Juett

#1 Tessa Juett

5' 6"
Junior
L/L
P
Mattie Mentel

#14 Mattie Mentel

5' 6"
Junior
R/R
C/OF
Tate Stewman

#24 Tate Stewman

5' 6"
Sophomore
R/R
INF
Jeralynn Wells

#21 Jeralynn Wells

5' 6"
Senior
R/R
OF
Lily Bell

#3 Lily Bell

5' 4"
Freshman
L/R
INF
Sydney Dirks

#77 Sydney Dirks

5' 6"
Freshman
R/R
INF
Becka Wonsick

#26 Becka Wonsick

5' 6"
Freshman
R/R
OF/UT