Spartanburg, S.C. - Western Carolina softball split its Southern Conference doubleheader against Wofford on Saturday, using an early offensive showing in game one in taking the 11-4 decision before being clipped by a run, 4-3 in 10 innings at Hope Field.
As a team, WCU totaled 25 hits in the twin bill, led by freshman Maya McPherson with five hits including a career-high four coming in game two. Seniors Jeralynn Wells and Savannah Baldwin, junior Mattie Mentel, and freshman Lily Bell finished with three hits apiece on Saturday. Wells connected on a grand slam early in game one and Baldwin added a two-run shot in game one.
In the circle, Juett posted her 10th complete game of the season, racking up five strikeouts en route to her 10th win of the season in the 11-4 victory over the Terriers. The Berea, Ky. native returned to the circle in game two and tallied five more strikeouts in 3.1 innings, allowing one earned run. With her strikeouts on Saturday, Juett became the fourth Catamount in program history to tally multiple 100+ strikeout seasons.
Game One – Western Carolina 11, Wofford 4
Sparked by a first-inning grand slam home run by Jeralynn Wells and a two-run blast by Savannah Baldwin in the fourth, Western Carolina jumped out to a six-run lead through four innings before capping the game-one win with a second four-run outburst in claiming the 11-4 victory.
WCU wasted little time on Saturday. Lily Bell led off with a single followed by walks drawn by Baldwin and Taylor Waitley that loaded the bases for Wells to connect on her team-high sixth homer of the season and give WCU the early 4-0 lead. Juett worked around a leadoff walk with a pair of strikeouts to keep the lead at four early in game one.
In the second, Mentel picked up her fourth double of the season and scampered down to third on a passed ball but was stranded on third base. Juett posted a 1-2-3 frame in the second, keeping the score at 4-0.
Waitley picked up a one-out triple in the third for her first collegiate three-base hit. After Wells reached base on an HBP and swiped her eighth bag of the season, WCU had a pair of runners in scoring position. Wofford wiggled out of the jam with a pair of quick outs to stay within arm's length.
Natalie Henry opened the fourth inning with a leadoff walk. After the hosts recorded back-to-back outs, Baldwin matched her classmate for the team lead in homers with a two-run shot that extended the lead to 6-0. Juett then extended her streak of retiring batters to 11 straight with her third straight 1-2-3 frame, keeping the Catamounts' lead at six after four innings.
Wofford managed to break the 11-straight batters-retired streak in the fifth with a leadoff triple and an RBI groundout to the following batter, pushing across the first run for the Terriers, making it 6-1 after five complete.
The guests responded in the sixth after a leadoff double from Bell; Mentel lined a single back up the middle to push the lead back to six, 7-1.
The Terriers had their best offensive inning of the afternoon in the sixth with a pair of RBI singles and a sacrifice fly that cut the deficit in half to 7-4 headed to the seventh inning.
The Catamounts quickly pushed the lead back out in the seventh inning, though, as following a leadoff single from Wells, Juett lined a triple to the right fielder to make it an 8-4 game. Henry added an RBI single to make it 9-4 before a Terriers error
pushed across two more runs and made it 11-4.
Juett allowed a single and hit one batter in the seventh but kept the Terriers off the scoreboard to give WCU an 11-4 win in game one from Spartanburg.
Juett (10-9) went the distance for the 10th time this season, allowing four runs, three of which were earned, on six hits with five strikeouts to earn WCU's conference win.
Abby Greenwood (5-11) suffered the loss for Wofford, allowing four runs on two hits with three walks in an inning of work. Sydney Baker pitched 4.0 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, before Kendall Wylie tossed the final 2.0 innings, allowing four runs and two earned runs on four hits.
Game Two – Wofford 4, Western Carolina 3 (10 Innings)
Wofford used a two-out RBI single in the seventh inning to force extras in game two before dropping two runs on the scoreboard in the 10th to push past the Catamounts by the score of 4-3 in 10 innings.
The Catamounts struggled out of the gate in game two. A quick 1-2-3 frame allowed Wofford to gain the upper hand early, with an RBI double pushing the hosts to a 1-0 advantage.
Western Carolina (13-22, 4-7 SoCon) opened the second with back-to-back hits from McPherson and Dirks before the Terriers tallied a pair of strikeouts as part of three straight outs to keep the lead.
Reliever Taylor Norton entered for her first full inning of work in the second and needed just six pitches to sit Wofford down.
Kennedy Stewman opened the third with a leadoff base knock, but the Terriers recorded three straight outs to keep WCU off the scoreboard again in the third. The hosts opened their half with back-to-back singles before a lineout, a fielder's choice and popup allowed Norton to escape danger.
Following Baldwin's leadoff triple in the fourth, McPherson evened the game at one with an RBI double. Norton kept the Terriers guessing in the fourth inning with another 1-2-3 frame to keep the score even.
In the fifth, Becka Wonsick led off with a single and, following a sacrifice and groundout, moved all the way to third before an infield single from Mentel allowed the Catamounts to take a 2-1 lead. Norton picked up her second straight 1-2-3 frame to keep the WCU lead at one through five innings.
Wells picked up a two-out single, but Wofford quickly ended the threat. The hosts put a pair of runners into scoring position before Norton induced a flyout to keep the score at 2-1 headed to the seventh.
WCU advanced a runner to second, but a strikeout erased the threat as Wofford needed one to tie and two to walk it off in the seventh.
A one-out double quickly put the tying run into scoring position as WCU returned to game-one winner Juett, looking to slam the door shut. Wofford wasted little time against the Berea, Ky. Native, though, as a first-pitch RBI single evened the score at two. Juett managed a strikeout following to send the second game into extras.
In the eighth, Baldwin opened with a leadoff double, and a single from McPherson quickly put two runners on for WCU. Wofford used back-to-back groundouts and a strikeout to keep the score at 2-2. Juett worked around a one-out walk without harm to force a ninth inning.
Both teams saw their chances go quickly in the ninth as 1-2-3 frames on both sides quickly forced a 10th inning.
The international tiebreaker rule went into effect in the 10th as Bell took second to begin the frame and advanced to third quickly on a passed ball. She later scampered home on a wild pitch to allow WCU to push to a 3-2 lead heading to the home half.
With a runner at second, Wofford moved runners to the corners with a lead-off single before an RBI groundout evened the game at three. Juett racked up the strikeout before a walk put two on for an infield single, allowing the Terriers to chase home the winning run in a 4-3 split on Saturday.
Makenzie Martin opened the second game for WCU, recording only a pair of outs and allowing one earned run on a pair of hits. Norton came in and tossed 5.2 innings, allowing one run on five hits. Juett (10-10) returned to the circle in game two and threw the final 3.1 innings, allowing two runs while one was earned on three hits. Juett added five more strikeouts to her season total of 106 before being tagged with the game-two loss.
Margaret Axelson (5-5) went the distance for Wofford, tossing all ten innings, allowing three runs and two earned runs while scattering a dozen hits. Axelson tallied eight strikeouts for the hosts.
The Catamounts conclude their three-game series with Wofford on Sunday, April 14, at 1 p.m. from Hope Field in Spartanburg. Sunday's action with the Terries will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) and have live stats available at CatamountSports.com.
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