Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina jumps back into Southern Conference play this weekend as the Catamounts open a seven-game home stand, hosting in-state league rival UNC Greensboro for a three-game set at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. The series opens on Friday at 5 p.m. with a special 3 p.m. first pitch on Saturday following the annual Catamount football spring game. Sunday's series finale is slated for a 1 p.m. start.
 
Each game is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available online through a link at CatamountSports.com. Tickets for WCU's home baseball games are available online at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets.

Sunday's game three has been designated as Little League Day and Kid's Day, presented by Great Smiles. Youth ages 12 and under are admitted free for the series finale in Cullowhee.
 
Last Time Out:
The bottom third of Western Carolina's lineup drove in eight of the team's nine runs as the Catamounts used a pair of four-run frames in a 9-5 win at Presbyterian on Tuesday. Zach Ketterman and Kyle Harbison drove in three runs apiece with Mason Holton plating two in the victory. Dante Visconti (2-0) struck out five over a scheduled four-inning start with Jonathan Todd (6) finishing the game with a trio of strikeouts over 0.2 relief innings.
 
About Western Carolina:
The Catamounts return home after winning seven of the eight games the squad played away from Cullowhee dating back to March 28, opening with a three-game SoCon sweep at The Citadel. WCU scored 68 over its last eight games, averaging 8.5 per contest. All told the Catamounts have won 14 of their last 17 games on the season.
 
Eight of WCU's 18 victories have come at home this season. The Catamounts look to bounce back at home after dropping 2-of-3 most recently to ETSU back on March 22-24, falling in the finale 9-8 in 12 innings.
 
Five Catamount regulars are batting over .300 entering the weekend with Hayden Friese hitting a team-best .348 with five doubles and two home runs. Zach Ketterman has hits in seven of his last nine games including five multi-hit games with eight extra-base hits – five doubles, two triples, and a home run. The Biglerville, Pa., product has raised his seasonal batting average by 50 points during that same span.
 
Trent Turner (.328), Mason Holton (.318), and Nate Stocum (.307) each hold plus-.300 averages with Stocum sitting second with 13 home runs, third with a .737 slugging percentage, and is tied with Turner for sixth in the league with a team-best 10 doubles. Jack Spyke and Kyle Riesselmann both boast 14-game reached base safely streaks to lead the team on the return to league play.
 
On the mound, RHP Gavin Mortenson enters the week ranked second in the SoCon with a 3.16 seasonal ERA coming on a SoCon-low .195 opponent batting average against. The Summerfield, N.C., product has a team-best 32 strikeouts – two more than closer Jonathan Todd (30) who scored his sixth save of the season at Presbyterian in the midweek.
 
In the field, Western Carolina has turned a SoCon-leading 35 double-plays – 10 more than second-place Samford (25). The 35 double-plays are tied for the fourth-most in the NCAA while the squad's average of 1.17 double-plays per game LEADS the nation.
 
About the UNCG Spartans:
UNCG comes to Cullowhee with a 17-14 overall record with 12 of the team's victories coming at home this season as the Spartans are just 5-8 away from the Gate City. UNCG has a pair of impressive mid-week wins this season – upsetting then No. 1 Wake Forest back on Feb. 20 at home and downing No. 13 NC State in Raleigh on March 12.
 
In league play thus far, the Spartans have taken 2-of- 3 against both Mercer and ETSU before dropping 2-of-3 at Wofford last weekend. UNCG snapped a two-game slide with a seven-inning, 11-1 midweek win over Gardner-Webb.
 
Collectively on the year, UNCG enters the weekend batting a SoCon-low .268 with 99 total extra-base hits – 54 doubles, nine triples, and 36 home runs. The Spartans average 7.25 runs on 8.9 hits per game while limiting opponents to 6.0 runs on a matching 8.9 hits per contest.
 
Headlining UNCG's offense is Caleb Cozart who has a SoCon-leading 15 home runs coming on a league-best .771 slugging percentage with the third-most RBI (42). Mitchell Smith ranks tied for second with 11 doubles, while Jeremy Wolf has 17 stolen bases to rank sixth in the conference. On the mound, Rob Ready – a second-team preseason All-SoCon selection who has started eight games – ranks third in the SoCon with a 3.40 ERA, limiting foes to a .262 batting average. A seven-game starter, Julien Peissel ranks tied for ninth with 33 strikeouts and a .261 batting average against.
 
The Spartans were picked sixth out of the eight-team SoCon by the league's head coaches in the preseason.
 
WCU vs. UNCG – Series History:
The two in-state league rivals have met 85 times previously on the baseball diamond with the Catamounts trailing in the series, 37-48. UNCG has won three straight after taking the seasonal series in Greensboro last year – and the Spartans have victories in nine of the last 11 meetings dating back to 2021. WCU's last six losses to UNCG have come by three or fewer runs
 
Western Carolina trails UNCG 12-17 in games played in Cullowhee. The Spartans have won seven straight games at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium dating back to the 2016 season.
 
Last Time We Met – 2023 Leaders:
Western Carolina and UNCG met four times last season with the Spartans winning 2-of-3 in Greensboro before claiming the fourth meeting in the SoCon Tournament. WCU's lone victory among the four provided the largest margins of victory – a 10-4 win at UNCG. The remaining three defeats were decided by a combined five runs with a pair of one-run games – 5-4 in 12 innings in game two of the regular season and 4-3 in the conference tournament.
 
Both teams hit well in the four games last season – UNCG batting .297 with 13 extra-base hits including nine doubles and four home runs – while the Catamounts hit .293 with 10 extra-base hits, seven doubles, a triple, and two home runs.
 
Among WCU's returnees, James Hinson hit .556 (10-for-18) with three extra-base hits including two doubles and a home run with seven RBI. Drew Needham homered in a 2-for-5 (.400) effort with Zach Ketterman batting .267 (4-for-15) with a pair of RBI. On the mound, Dante Visconti and Kyle Riesselmann – who made two starts on the bump last season – recorded five strikeouts, the most among the returners.
 
For the Spartans, Mitchell Smith ranks among the leading returners from last year's series, hitting .375 (6-for-13) with a double, home run, and four RBI, while GC Jarman hit .308 (4-for-13) with a pair of runs driven in. Two of the four starting pitchers from last year's series return this year including Julien Peissel who struck out six over three appearances and 11.0 innings, while Jay Miller fanned five over five innings. Reliever Luke Thomas matched Peissel with six Ks in a pair of relief appearances.
 
On Deck for the Catamounts:
Following this weekend's three-game series, the Catamounts return to the diamond against mountain-rival Appalachian State on Tuesday, April 16, with a 5 p.m. first pitch against the Mountaineers. The homestand continues next weekend with a three-game league series against the Samford Bulldogs April 19-21.
 
 
2024 Catamount Baseball – Western Carolina vs. UNCG (Childress Field / Hennon Stadium)
 
Friday, April 12 |  5 p.m.  |  Cullowhee, N.C.  |  Coverage: ESPN+  |  LiveStats
UNCG: Soph. RHP Julien Peissel (7 app., 7 GS – 0-2, 6.21 ERA, 33.1 IP, 33 K, 19 BB)
WCU: Sr. RHP Gavin Mortenson (12 app., 5 GS – 2-1, 3.16 ERA, 31.1 IP, 32 K, 18 BB)
 
Saturday, April 13  |  3 p.m.  |  Cullowhee, N.C.  |  Coverage: ESPN+  |  LiveStats
UNCG: Jr. RHP Rob Ready (8 app., 8 GS – 3-1, 3.40 ERA, 47.2 IP, 30 K, 13 BB)
WCU: RHP Davis Budd (8 app., 3 GS – 0-0, 5.59 ERA, 19.1 IP, 21 K, 8 BB)

Sunday, April 14  |  1 p.m.  |  Cullowhee, N.C.  |  Coverage: ESPN+  |  LiveStats
UNCG: Soph. RHP Jay Miller (7 app. 5 GS – 0-3, 5.87 ERA, 30.2 IP, 28 K, 13 BB)
WCU: TBA