Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Western Carolina University

Western Carolina
The Official Home of Catamount Athletics

Schedule

Full
Maya McPherson Catamount Classic - FRONT
Josh Ragsdale - WCU Athletics
13
Winner Gardner-Webb GWU 18-6
2
Western Carolina WCU 2-9
Winner
Gardner-Webb GWU
18-6
13
Final
2
Western Carolina WCU
2-9
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 R H E
Gardner-Webb GWU 3 0 0 2 8 13 15 0
Western Carolina WCU 0 0 0 0 2 2 3 2

W: Andrea Lyon (8-2) L: Juett, Tessa (1-3)

5
Winner Kent State KENTST 9-8
2
Western Carolina WCU 2-10
Winner
Kent State KENTST
9-8
5
Final
2
Western Carolina WCU
2-10
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Kent State KENTST 0 0 1 1 0 2 1 5 10 1
Western Carolina WCU 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 7 0

W: NUECHTERLEIN, Megan (7-3) L: Juett, Tessa (1-4)

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

Catamounts Begin Home Tournament with Pair of Setbacks

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina softball kicked off its home schedule on Saturday in day two of the Catamount Classic, suffering a 13-2 defeat to Gardner-Webb before dropping a 5-2 decision in the nightcap to Kent State. 

Western Carolina had three hits in game one against the Runnin' Bulldogs, as Lily Bell, Savannah Baldwin, and KJ Ammons all got in the hit column. Maya McPherson led a seven-hit brigade in the matchup with the Golden Flashes, as she had a pair of base knocks along with Sydney Dirks, Taylor Waitley, Jeralynn Wells, Bell, and Baldwin. 

Game One – Gardner-Webb 13, Western Carolina 2 
After scoring three in the opening frame and a pair in the fourth, Gardner-Webb exploded for an eight-run fifth to create the separation needed for the Runnin' Bulldogs to claim the 13-2 win in five innings. 

Gardner-Webb (18-6) used an RBI knock followed by a two-run single to jump out to the early 3-0 lead in the opening half-inning of Saturday's action. The Catamounts were sat down quietly in the opening inning of the contest.

Tessa Juett worked around a two-out walk and base hit without harm to keep the Runnin' Bulldogs off the scoreboard as Gardner-Webb quickly erased WCU 1-2-3 in the second. 

The guests drew a four-pitch walk to begin the frame before reliever Makenzie Martin recorded three straight outs to keep Gardner-Webb scoreless. Runnin' Bulldogs starter Andrea Lyon continued to control the circle in the third with a pair of strikeouts to keep it 3-0 after 3.

GWU started with a leadoff single, followed by a baserunner reaching via a hit-by-pitch before a two-run double allowed the guests to extend to a 5-0 lead after 3.5.

The Catamounts threatened in the fourth with singles from Bell and Baldwin but could not push across a run in the frame.

The Runnin' Bulldogs answered in a big way in the top half of the fifth with eight runs, starting with an RBI single before a two-run knock and an RBI single. GWU extended the lead with a two-run double followed by an RBI double before capping the inning, taking advantage of a Catamount error to race the lead to 13-0. 

In the fifth, WCU was down to its final outs of the afternoon before the run rule. Juett drew a leadoff walk before KJ Ammons RBI double got the hosts on the board. After a Kennedy Stewman walk and a wild pitch moved both Ammons and Stewman up a base, Wells drew a walk with a passed ball, allowing Ammons to score and make it 13-2 before Gardner-Webb closed out the win in five frames. 

Juett (1-3) tossed 2.1 innings, allowing three earned runs and scattering five hits in the start. Juett added two strikeouts to her stat line in the Saturday afternoon matchup.

Andrea Lyon (8-2) got the start for Gardner-Webb and went four innings with seven strikeouts, allowing just two base hits. Alli Stidham tossed the game's final inning with a pair of runs allowed on one hit with three walks. 

Game Two – Kent State 5, Western Carolina 2
Kent State and WCU traded runs on a pair of occasions before a two-run sixth and solo homer in the seventh allowed the Golden Flashes to down the Catamounts 5-2 on Saturday evening. 

Taylor Norton started for the Catamounts in game two and worked around a leadoff hit by pitch without harm to get WCU off the field quickly. Bell drew a leadoff walk but was quickly erased two batters later on a fielder's choice, and WCU went quietly in the frame.

Norton kept Kent State off balance, working around a two-out hit without harm to keep it scoreless early. Dirks drew a leadoff base knock and advanced on a sacrifice by McPherson, but a pair of quick outs erased the threat. 

Kent State struck first in the third with a pair of singles before a sacrifice bunt moved the runners, which was quickly followed by the sacrifice fly to give the Golden Flashes an early lead. The Catamounts answered in the home half after Wells added a leadoff single; a pair of groundouts moved her over to third before classmate Baldwin lined a double to right center to even the score at 1. 

The guests responded in the fourth, with the first two batters reaching on a walk and single before an RBI single allowed Kent State to regain the lead at 2-1. McPherson tallied a one-out RBI single, but the Golden Flashes quickly thwarted the threat. 

Juett returned to the circle with one out in the fifth and sat the guests down three in a row to keep the deficit at one, 2-1. Kent State tapped into its bullpen in the fifth, and Bell took advantage with a one-out single. After the guests tallied their second out, Baldwin took advantage of a fielding error in left that allowed Bell to scamper home and tie the game at 2. 

Kent State responded once again in the sixth with a two-run single, capping off the frame and allowing the guests to take the late lead. McPherson continued to swing a hot bat with a one-out single, followed by Taylor Waitley adding a two-out knock, but both were left on the bases.

The Golden Flashes added insurance in the top of the seventh with a leadoff solo home run to right center that pushed it out to a three-run lead. KSU sat the Catamounts down quickly 1-2-3, leading to Kent State claiming the win on Saturday night. 

Juett (1-4) was saddled with the loss as she tossed the final 2.2 innings, allowing three runs and three hits with three walks to her credit. Norton earned the start going 4.1 frames, scattering seven hits with a pair of runs allowed. Norton tallied a pair of strikeouts in her start. 

Megan Nuechterlein (7-3) earned the relief win for Kent State, tossing the final three frames and allowing one unearned run. She scattered three hits and recorded three punchouts. Macy Irelan earned the start for the Golden Flashes, going four innings with four hits allowed and an earned run. Irelan totaled four strikeouts in the start. 

The Catamounts finish the weekend at the Catamount Classic on Sunday, with the first pitch set for 10 a.m. in a rematch with Kent State. The weekend closes out at 3 p.m. when the Catamounts battle N.C. Central in the final game of the inaugural Catamount Classic. Both games will have live stats via CatamountSports.com, with the finale against the Eagles being 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.
 
Print Friendly Version