CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina softball makes its final road trip and longest trek of the 2024 regular season with a Southern Conference weekend series against Samford in Birmingham, Ala. The series begins Saturday with a 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT doubleheader against the Bulldogs before a 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT first pitch on Sunday afternoon to close out the three-game series.
Coverage of all three SoCon games is available on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) and with live stats through CatamountSports.com.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHAT: Western Carolina (14-29, 5-10 SoCon) at Samford (17-27, 9-6 SoCon)
WHERE: Samford Softball Field (Birmingham, Ala.)
WHEN: 2:00 p.m. ET (DH on Saturday) | 2:00 p.m. ET (Sunday)
LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast (Sat. G1) | Stat Broadcast (Sat. G2) | Stat Broadcast (Sun.)
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ (Sat. G1) | ESPN+ (Sat. G2) | ESPN+ (Sun.)
TWITTER: @CatamountSB
GAME NOTES
Western Carolina looks to rebound after a pair of defeats to mountain rival Appalachian State on Tuesday night in Boone, falling 5-0 and 10-2. In the game two setback, senior Jeralynn Wells connected on her team-high seventh homer of the season while sophomore Kennedy Stewman blasted her second down the left-field line.
Coming into the weekend, the Catamounts have connected on homers in five of their last six games, led by freshman Becka Wonsick who's hit three, while junior Tessa Juett has a pair of big flies. Wells, Stewman, and Maya McPherson each have a homer in the last six games for WCU.
Freshman Lily Bell is one of two Catamount regulars who begin the weekend with an average over .300, as the SoCon Freshman of the Year candidate sits with a .362 average. She has totaled 54 hits and scored 29 runs. Bell ranks sixth in the conference in batting average, tied for fourth in base hits, and maintains the top spot with 25 stolen bases. The Woodstock, Ga. native has recorded 16 multi-hit games, including hits in 13 of the 16 contests during April, with seven multi-hit contests in that stretch.
Juett (.306) begins the weekend second on the team on average, totaling 19 hits, nine of which are extra-base hits, four doubles, two triples, and three homers. Senior Savannah Baldwin is tied for sixth in the league with nine doubles and is in sole possession of sixth in RBIs with 32 to pace the Catamounts' offensive attack.
Like her strong numbers at the plate, Juett sits atop the SoCon with a league-best 135 strikeouts. She is closing in on 300 strikeouts for her Catamount career, beginning the weekend with 297. The Berea, Ky. native is tied for the league lead with 11 victories and the top spot with 13 complete games. Juett also holds the No. 1 spot in the SoCon with 142.1 innings pitched.
In WCU's first five conference series, McPherson is pacing the Catamounts with a .348 batting average. The Lancaster, Calif. native is tied for second on the squad with 16 league hits, joined by Wells in that tie for second, and Bell has the team-high with 17 hits. Wells sits with a .340 average in SoCon games with three homers, as Stewman comes in with a .324 average, totaling 12 hits. Wonsick leads the way in the home run category in SoCon games for WCU with four big flies, which puts the freshman outfielder in a tie for second place in league play.
Coming off a midweek win over #18 Mississippi State on Wednesday in Birmingham, Samford enters the weekend with a 17-27 record that includes a 9-6 mark in conference play. The Bulldogs come in on a three-game win streak with the win over their fellow Bulldogs before taking two-of-three against ETSU in SoCon play last weekend. Samford has played a quartet of Power Five schools throughout 2024, including Notre Dame, Alabama, Auburn, and the aforementioned Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs are led offensively by McKayla Cothran, who sits with a .351 average, totaling 52 hits, including five doubles and 27 runs scored. Cothran holds a .421 average in SoCon play, with a team-high score of 24 hits and 11 runs, tied for the team lead. Olivia Shaw comes into the weekend with a .333 average, scoring 26 runs and tallying 39 hits. Logan Champion is at .331 with 46 hits, adding three doubles, three triples, and five homers. Katie Campbell paces the Bulldogs with 11 homers and a team-best 41 RBIs.
Jordyn Partain leads the Samford pitching staff with a 9-13 record totaling a 3.72 ERA, as she's totaled 80 strikeouts in 124.1 innings pitched. Karley Fuller is 3-4 with a 3.76 ERA as she's seen action in 13 games with seven starts for the Bulldogs, totaling 33 strikeouts in 44.2 innings. The 2023 SoCon Pitcher of the Year McKenzie Newcomb returned to the circle for Samford after missing a good portion of the 2024 season back on April 3 against Auburn. Newcomb has pitched in six games since returning and tossed 20.33 innings, allowing seven earned runs and recording a 3-1 record.
Samford is second in the league in batting average (.287) and runs scored (232). In SoCon play, the Bulldogs lead the league with a .328 collective average, totaling a league-high 139 hits and tied for the top spot with 82 runs scored. On the pitching side in conference play, the Bulldogs hold the league's top spot with a 2.33 ERA.
The Bulldogs are led by Kimball Cassady, who's in her third season in Birmingham after totaling over 300 wins at Birmingham Southern prior to joining Samford. Samford was tabbed in the runner-up spot in the league's 2024 conference preseason poll, led by four SoCon Preseason All-Conference team honorees, including Newcomb, Champion, Cothran, and Sara Squillace.
Western Carolina holds a tight 23-22 edge in the head-to-head series with Samford, as the Catamounts claimed two-of-three a season ago against the Bulldogs in Cullowhee. Samford has claimed five of the past six matchups between the two schools in Birmingham, including a three-game sweep in the 2022 season. In last year's series with the Bulldogs, Bailey Hunneycutt led the offensive attack with a 5-for-8 (.625) performance as Mattie Mentel went 5-for-9 (.556) with three doubles. As a team, WCU totaled a .378 average with six doubles and three homers.
Following Sunday's action in Birmingham, the Catamounts return home for the final time of the 2024 regular season on Saturday, May 4, with a SoCon series against Chattanooga from the Catamount Softball Complex. Saturday's action starts at 3 p.m. with a doubleheader before a senior day finale set for 1 p.m…. Coverage of all three games with the Mocs is available on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) and with live stats through CatamountSports.com.
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.
