CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Behind a pair of early solo homers and a three-run fourth inning, UNCG picked up a 6-1 victory over Western Carolina in Friday night's SoCon series opener at the Catamount Softball Complex.
Freshman Lily Bell led the Catamount offense on Friday with her team-high 15th multi-hit game of the season. She collected a pair of hits and also swiped her team-high 25th base of the season. Classmate Becka Wonsick hit her fourth home run of the season in the seventh inning providing the final tally. Seniors Savannah Baldwin and Jeralynn Wells, along with freshman Maya McPherson each had a base knock.
UNCG (26-20, 8-5 SoCon) wasted little time in gaining an early edge on Friday with a two-out solo homer in the opening inning that staked the Spartans to the advantage. Bell reached base on a single in the home half of the inning. After swiping second and advancing to third, she was stranded there to make it 1-0 UNCG after an inning.
Starter Tessa Juett worked around a one-out double without harm in the second as the Berea, Ky. native recorded back-to-back strikeouts to erase the threat. Wells took advantage of a fielding error from the guests to open the second and, similar to Bell in the first swiped second but was stranded on the basepaths.
The Spartans tacked on their second solo homer in the third inning to double the advantage to 2-0. Bell reached base for the second time in the home half as she drew a one-out walk but was stranded on the basepaths.
UNCG extended its lead in the fourth with a pair of RBI doubles before a wild pitch allowed a third run to scamper home and push the guests' advantage to 5-0. Wells picked up a one-out single for the Catamounts in the fourth, but back-to-back outs allowed the Spartans to quickly get out of the frame and keep the lead at five.
The Spartans drew a one-out walk with a two-out double putting two more runners in scoring position. Juett induced a groundout to Sydney Dirks at shortstop to stop the threat and get WCU back to the bat rack. After a pair of first-pitch outs, Bell added her second hit of the night, followed by a Baldwin first-pitch base knock, but a flyout to right thwarted the threat for WCU.
UNCG threatened again in the sixth as the Spartans put their first two runners on via base knocks before a Taylor Norton strikeout followed by a lineout to get two quick outs. The guests tallied their third hit of the inning, but a popout to Bell in the short right field allowed the Catamounts to get off the hook.
Dirks drew a leadoff walk in the sixth inning. Following back-to-back outs from the Spartans, Juett added a two-out walk to her stat sheet, but a strikeout for UNCG sent the series opener to the seventh.
UNCG added one more run in the seventh off of a sacrifice fly, extending the lead to 6-0. Wonsick opened the home half of the inning with a 2-0 pitch that sailed over the wall in left center to get WCU on the board at 6-1. McPherson added a base knock followed by a Dirks walk, but that would be all for the Catamounts as UNCG secured the 6-1 series-opening win.
Juett (10-12) started for the Catamounts and pitched 5.0 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits with five strikeouts. Taylor Norton tossed the final two innings, scattering five hits with one run allowed on a pair of strikeouts.
Jordie Chartrand (5-4) tossed 6.0 innings for UNCG, allowing one run and scattering five hits while recording six strikeouts. Salem Ward recorded the final three outs, allowing a base hit and a walk before finishing the victory for the guests.
The Catamounts return to the diamond for a doubleheader on Saturday, April 20, beginning at 1 p.m. with UNCG at the Catamount Softball Complex. Both contests will be broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network, and live stats will be available at CatamountSports.com.
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