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2024 Catamount Classic Preview - FRONT Page

Softball Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Softball Opens Home Slate with Catamount Classic on Friday

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina softball opens its home slate with the inaugural Catamount Classic beginning Friday and spanning three days with 10 games scheduled between four schools. In addition to the host Catamounts, the tournament field includes Kent State, N.C. Central, and Gardner-Webb.
 
WCU faces Kent State at 3 p.m. to open play on Friday before battling N.C. Central at 5:30 p.m. to close out the opening day of the Classic. The weekend continues with a matchup against Gardner-Webb on Saturday at 3 p.m. before a rematch with Kent State at 5:30 p.m. The weekend closes out on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. against NC Central. 
 
All five of WCU's scheduled games will have live stats on CatamountSports.com and will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required). 
 
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHAT: Kent State (7-7) vs Western Carolina (2-8) 
WHERE: Catamount Softball Complex (Cullowhee, N.C.)
WHEN: 3:00 p.m. (Friday) 
LIVE STATS: Sidearm Stats
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ 
 
WHAT: N.C. Central (4-14) vs Western Carolina
WHERE: Catamount Softball Complex (Cullowhee, N.C.)
WHEN: 5:30 p.m. (Friday) 
LIVE STATS: Sidearm Stats
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ 
 
WHAT: Gardner-Webb (15-6) vs Western Carolina 
WHERE: Catamount Softball Complex (Cullowhee, N.C.)
WHEN: 3:00 p.m. (Saturday) 
LIVE STATS: Sidearm Stats
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+
 
WHAT: Kent State vs Western Carolina
WHERE: Catamount Softball Complex (Cullowhee, N.C.)
WHEN: 5:30 p.m. (Saturday) 
LIVE STATS: Sidearm Stats
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+
 
WHAT: N.C. Central vs Western Carolina 
WHERE: Catamount Softball Complex (Cullowhee, N.C.)
WHEN: 12:30 p.m. (Sunday) 
LIVE STATS: Sidearm Stats
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+
 
FOLLOW THE ACTION
TWITTER: @CatamountSB
GAME NOTES
CATAMOUNT CLASSIC TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

After playing its first 10 games away from Cullowhee, the Catamounts open their 2024 home slate after a pair of tight midweek defeats on Tuesday against Radford, falling 1-0 and 3-1 to the host Highlanders. In the doubleheader, Lily Bell led the Catamounts at the dish with four hits, including a career-high in the second game of Tuesday's twinbill. Tessa Juett, Mattie Mentel, and Natalie Henry each added two hits over the action with Radford. 
 
On Tuesday, Juett matched her season-high with eight strikeouts in the close 1-0 setback in game one to Radford as Makenzie Martin tallied three strikeouts in her complete game of the backend of the twinbill. 
 
Entering play on Friday, Bell is tied for fifth in the league with her team-high five stolen bases, while Juett has a .421 average, ranking second in the SoCon. In the circle, Juett ranks fourth in strikeouts on the young season with 24 and is tied for second with three complete games. She's one of six conference pitchers to toss a solo shutout. 
 
Western Carolina vs. Kent State – Friday (March 8) & Saturday (March 9):
Slated as WCU's first opponent on Friday and with a matchup coming in primetime on Saturday night, Kent State comes in with a 7-7 record after falling to Southeastern Louisiana 6-5 last Sunday. The Golden Flashes have already participated in a pair of tournaments in the Tar Heel State, visiting both Elon and UNCW, while also making a trip to Oxford to face SEC foe Ole Miss. 
 
Bri Despines leads Kent State with a .452 average, totaling four doubles and a homer with nine runs knocked in. Julia Mazanec sits at .368 with a pair of homers, while Emily Lippe leads the Golden Flashes with 14 runs knocked in. In the circle, Macy Irelan has a team-best 2.55 ERA with a 2-3 record, totaling a team-high 32 strikeouts in 44 innings, seeing action in a team-high 13 outings, while Megan Nuechterlein is 5-3 in 12 appearances with 22 strikeouts. 
 
Kent State finished with an 18-31 record including a 13-14 mark in the MAC a season ago. Under the direction of Jessica O'Donnell, who is in her first season leading Kent State, the Golden Flashes were tabbed eighth of 11 teams in the league's preseason poll.
 
WCU and Kent State have never met before Friday's tilt in Cullowhee. 
 
Western Carolina vs. N.C. Central – Friday (March 8) & Sunday (March 10):
In-state foe North Carolina Central provides the opposition in Friday's second game along with the final opponent on the slate for the Catamounts. NCCU comes in with a 4-14 mark after a pair of defeats at the hands of Queens last Saturday afternoon. The Eagles head to Cullowhee looking to snap a nine-game skid.
 
Kendall Smith leads the Eagles with a .296 average, scoring seven runs and totaling two triples, a pair of homers, and three stolen bases. Jaylah Barr checks in with a .261 average as she's driven in a team-high 10 runs for NCCU. Xenn Tompkins is the top Eagle arm who's made more than one appearance, sitting with a 1-0 record and a 3.11 ERA in six appearances. Ashan Eubanks has a team-high two wins. 
 
NCCU went 19-35 in 2023 with a 12-7 mark in MEAC play. The Eagles advanced to the NCAA tournament as the automatic qualifier before falling to #14 Georgia and Boston in the tournament. Cat Tarvin, who's in her fourth year leading the Eagles, entered the 2024 campaign picked second in the league's preseason poll, including five votes to win the league. Seven players were named to the two all-conference teams announced by the league. 
WCU and NCCU met 11 times before this weekend with the Catamounts holding a 9-2 edge in the all-time series. The two squads split a doubleheader last season in Cullowhee with Western Carolina earning the 9-2 win before the Eagles answered with a 7-5 victory. 
 
Western Carolina vs. Gardner-Webb – Saturday (March 9) 
The squad that was supposed to serve as the original home opener a week ago, Gardner-Webb sits at 15-6 as the Runnin' Bulldogs as they make the trek up the mountain to Cullowhee. Gardner-Webb also has tallied a pair of wins to begin the season over SoCon foes ETSU and Mercer, along with a power-five win over Big 10 opposition Indiana.
 
Annika McLaughlin leads Gardner-Webb at the plate, recording a .362 average and totaling 17 hits thus far for the Runnin' Bulldogs. Araceli Pesqueira sits at a .322 average with five doubles and a pair of triples thus far for GWU. Adrienne Visintine also sits at .322 with three doubles, one triple, and four homers. Andrea Lyon leads the circle with a 6-2 record in 11 appearances, totaling nine starts for Gardner-Webb, as she's tallied a team-high 52 strikeouts. Kalyn Kyle sits with a 6-2 mark in a team-high 12 appearances, as she's also tallied 47 strikeouts.
 
Under the direction of Bailey Wigness in her third season, Gardner-Webb was picked in a fourth-place tie with Winthrop in the Big South preseason poll. Annicka McLaughlin was picked on the league's preseason All-Conference team.
 
WCU faces Gardner-Webb on Saturday for the 17th time in the two programs' histories, with the Catamounts holding a 10-6 edge in the all-time series. The Purple and Gold won a doubleheader sweep of Gardner-Webb last March by the scores of 7-3 and 16-4. In the 2023 doubleheader, Mattie Mentel totaled three hits, including a pair of doubles, while Natalie Henry connected on a grand slam for the Catamounts.  
 
On Deck for Western Carolina:
Following Sunday's finale in Cullowhee, the Catamounts continue their nine-game homestand with a doubleheader on Tuesday, March 12, beginning at 2 p.m. against Presbyterian. The homestand closes on Wednesday, March 13, with a twinbill beginning at 1 p.m. against Georgia State. Both games will have live stats on CatamountSports.com, and the matchup with the Runnin' Bulldogs will 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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Players Mentioned

Natalie Henry

#8 Natalie Henry

INF
5' 8"
Junior
R/R
Tessa Juett

#1 Tessa Juett

P
5' 6"
Junior
L/L
Makenzie Martin

#7 Makenzie Martin

P
5' 8"
Junior
R/R
Mattie Mentel

#14 Mattie Mentel

C/OF
5' 6"
Junior
R/R
Lily Bell

#3 Lily Bell

INF
5' 4"
Freshman
L/R

Players Mentioned

Natalie Henry

#8 Natalie Henry

5' 8"
Junior
R/R
INF
Tessa Juett

#1 Tessa Juett

5' 6"
Junior
L/L
P
Makenzie Martin

#7 Makenzie Martin

5' 8"
Junior
R/R
P
Mattie Mentel

#14 Mattie Mentel

5' 6"
Junior
R/R
C/OF
Lily Bell

#3 Lily Bell

5' 4"
Freshman
L/R
INF