Greenville, S.C. – Fifth-seeded Wofford used a two-out, eight-run rally in the top of the first inning to build a lead it rode to a 12-1 victory in seven innings over fourth-seeded Western Carolina on Thursday afternoon at Fluor Field in the first game of double-elimination play at the 2024 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases.
 
Winners of two straight in Greenville, the Terriers advance to face top-seed UNCG at 9 a.m. on Friday while the Catamounts are relegated to an elimination game on Friday at 7:30 p.m. against an opponent to be determined by games played Thursday evening and Friday at 12:30 p.m.
 
After recording the first two outs on a pair of harmless fly balls, nine consecutive Terrier batters reached base coming on three walks, an HBP, and five base hits – each with RBI attached. When the dust finally settled, Wofford had the 8-0 edge headed to the home half of the first inning. Despite a lead-off double by Zach Ketterman in the bottom of the frame, Wofford faced just one over the minimum to lead by eight through one complete.
 
WCU (28-25) got on the board with a solo home run by James Hinson in the bottom of the second inning with Kyle Harbison collecting his first of two hits later in the frame. But as was the case for most of the game, the Catamounts were unable to sustain any offensive momentum.
 
Following the Harbison single up the middle in the home half of the second inning, Wofford retired eight-straight Catamount batters – and 12 of the next 13 combined with a leadoff walk by Hayden Friese to start the bottom of the fifth representing the lone WCU base runner during that span. Nate Stocum smacked one into left field with one out in the sixth inning for WCU's fourth base hit of the day – and first since the second inning. But he was erased on a putout coming on an inning-ending fielder's choice.
 
Meanwhile, Wofford's Daniel Jackson hit a three-run home run to right in the sixth inning to provide the 10-run margin with the 12th Terriers run scoring on an infield error after a lead-off walk in ultimately providing the final tally.
 
Harbison (2-for-3) posted WCU's lone multi-hit game with a pair of singles with Hinson and Ketterman tallying its only extra-base hits with the solo homer and double, respectively. Stocum had a fifth Catamount hit in the loss.
 
Eight of Wofford's nine batters collected hits with two – Dixon Black (2-for-4) and Jack Renwick (2-for-4) both collecting multiple base hits. Jackson plated a team-best on his sixth-inning homer with Marshall Toole and Adam Haber both plating a pair for the designated visiting team.
 
Catamount senior starter Gavin Mortenson (4-6) was saddled with the loss, charged with eight runs on five hits with three walks and a hit batter in just two-thirds of a frame despite being a pitch away from getting out of the opening frame multiple times. Six WCU relievers combined to finish the remaining 6.1 innings with freshman Davis Budd tossing a team-long two innings of one-hit, scoreless relief with a walk and a strikeout. Shane Huntsberger and Ryan White both tossed 1.1 innings apiece, the latter lifting Spenser Hamblen who left with injury after facing just one batter.
 
Rounding out WCU's pitchers on Thursday were Carson Lowder for two-thirds of an inning and Paddy McGonigal who struck out a team-best two in an inning of one-run relief without surrendering a hit.
 
Wofford freshman Camden Wicker (3-3) held the Catamount offense to one run on just four base hits with four strikeouts against a walk to earn the victory. Champ Davis tossed an inning of one-hit, scoreless relief in the seventh to lock in the seven-run victory.
 
Priced at $15 per day, tickets for the 2024 SoCon Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases are available in advance through the Greenville Drive's website and at the Drive ticket office at the entrances of Fluor Field. A variety of paid parking lots are available around the stadium area with FREE parking at the County Square, a 10-minute walk from the stadium. For the convenience of fans, a complimentary shuttle service runs from County Square to the Field Street Gate on game days.
 
The Catamount Club will host a special 'Catamount Central' gathering at Mac's Speed Shop (930 S. Main Street; Greenville, S.C., 29601) ahead of each game WCU plays in the SoCon tournament. The pregame social is scheduled for two hours before the scheduled first pitch of each game, beginning at 5:30 p.m., on Friday before the WCU's first tournament game.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount baseball and WCU Athletics through social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports), Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountBSB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountbsb).