JOHNSON CITY, TENN. – Behind an 11-hit performance and a complete game by junior Tessa Juett, Western Carolina softball opened its Southern Conference doubleheader with an 8-3 win on Saturday before dropping game two 2-1 at Betty Basler Field.
Kennedy Stewman and Sydney Dirks led the Catamounts offensively, going 3-for-6 (.500) as Dirks tallied two doubles throughout the twin bill. Lily Bell went 3-for-7 with a pair of RBIs as she swiped her 19th bag of the season. Maya McPherson also tallied a pair of two-baggers.
In the circle, Juett posted her eighth complete game of the season as she racked up nine strikeouts en route to her eighth win and her third victory of the week after two wins on Thursday over N.C. Central.
Game One – Western Carolina 8, ETSU 3
After falling behind 2-1 in the opening inning, the Catamounts used a two-run second and runs in each of the final three innings en route to an 8-3 win in game win over ETSU.
Western Carolina got the offense going early on Saturday as Bell took advantage of an ETSU error to reach third base and Mattie Mentel's sacrifice fly gave the guests a 1-0 lead. The Bucs answered in the home half of the frame, though, plating runs on an RBI double before an RBI base knock allowed the Bucs to take the early 2-1 lead after an inning of action.
The Catamounts offense worked quickly in the second as Taylor Waitley and Dirks each drew walks before an ETSU defensive mistake allowed Waitley to score to tie the game. The scoring was capped with an RBI single off the bat of Bell to make it 3-2 in favor of the Purple & Gold.
Tessa Juett worked quickly in the circle in the second with a 1-2-3 frame, which included a pair of strikeouts to keep the lead at one.
Jeralynn Wells drew a one-out walk and Waitley picked up a single on the following at-bat before the hosts recorded back-to-back outs to prevent WCU from expanding its lead. ETSU managed a two-out baserunner on a Catamount error in the third before Juett got a two-out popup to keep the Bucs off the scoreboard.
In the fourth, Becka Wonsick grabbed a one-out single but was erased on a fielder's choice that allowed Bell to reach. Bell swiped her 19th bag of the season and advanced to third before the Bucs erased the threat. Juett continued to pile on the strikeouts in the fourth with two more in another 1-2-3 frame to keep the lead at one.
Baldwin opened the fifth with an RBI single before a McPherson RBI double allowed the Catamounts to push it to a two-run game. ETSU answered WCU's run with a marker of its own, an RBI single with two outs, to cut the game back to one run at 4-3 after five.
Dirks tallied a leadoff double and advanced to third on a Bucs' wild pitch to start the sixth before Bell's RBI single made it 5-3. Mattie Mentel kept the line moving with an RBI double before a Baldwin sacrifice fly made it 7-3 after 5.5 innings.
Juett remained dialed in for another inning, working around a one-out walk without trouble to keep the lead at four runs.
The Catamounts added an insurance run in the seventh on an RBI double from Dirks, preceded by a Kennedy Stewman double to give WCU the 8-3 lead. After Juett struck out the first two quickly in the seventh, the Bucs put the next three runners on with a flyout to centerfield allowing WCU to secure the 8-3 win.
Juett (8-9) went the distance for the second time in the week, allowing three runs on six hits with nine strikeouts to earn WCU's conference win. She now has eight complete games on the season and 29 in her Catamount career. With her nine strikeouts, Juett moved into eighth place in the program's record book with 251 punchouts.
Taylor Suchy (0-10) suffered the loss for ETSU as she went 5.1 innings, allowing six runs and four earned runs on eight hits. Suchy walked three batters in the contest. Kendall Thackston tossed the final 1.2 innings, allowing three hits and two runs, with one being earned.
Game Two – ETSU 2, Western Carolina 1
ETSU used a two-run double in the third inning and withstood a late offensive push by Western Carolina to split the Saturday doubleheader with a win 2-1 in game two.
The offenses were held in check early as the Catamounts were down 1-2-3 before a two-out walk from the Bucs was quickly erased to keep the game scoreless after one. Pitching dominated early in game two as both pitchers posted 1-2-3 innings in the second to keep the contest scoreless.
Dirks and Stewman both got WCU into the hit column in the third inning, but the hosts worked around those two knocks without harm to keep the game scoreless.
ETSU broke into the run column in the third inning after the first three runners reached with a two-run double to gain a 2-0 lead.
The Catamounts got on the scoreboard with two outs in the fourth by Wells for her fifth long ball of the season. McPherson added a two-out double, but ETSU limited the damage to one after 3.5 innings.
Game two starter Makenzie Martin made quick work of the Bucs' in the fourth with a 1-2-3 frame to keep it a one-run game.
Bell picked up a two-out single for the Catamounts in the fifth, but the hosts quickly ended the top half of the inning. Martin posted her second straight 1-2-3 inning to keep the deficit at just one.
Both teams made quick work of the sixth inning with another 1-2-3 frame to keep it a 2-1 ETSU lead headed to the seventh inning.
The Catamounts got a two-out knock from Stewman, but ETSU got the flyout three pitches later to claim a 2-1 win in the backend of Saturday's doubleheader.
Martin (0-8) went the distance going 6.0 innings, allowing two runs on three hits with a pair of strikeouts.
Whitley Arnott (3-4) matched Martin by going the full length on Saturday afternoon. She pitched 7.0 innings, allowing one earned run on six hits with three strikeouts.
The Catamounts conclude their three-game series with ETSU on Sunday, April 7, at 1 p.m. from Betty Basler Field in Johnson City. Live stats for Sunday's action with the Bucs will be available at CatamountSports.com.
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