CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina softball returns home for the final time in the 2024 regular season for a three-game Southern Conference series against Chattanooga at the Catamount Softball Complex. The series begins Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. before a 1 p.m. senior day first pitch on Sunday afternoon to conclude the regular season.
Game dates and times are subject to change – check CatamountSports.com and social media (@catamounts, @catamountsb) for any weather-related schedule alterations.
Coverage of all three SoCon games is available on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) and with live stats through CatamountSports.com.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHAT: Chattanooga (35-13, 13-5 SoCon) vs Western Carolina (16-30, 7-11 SoCon)
WHERE: Catamount Softball Complex (Cullowhee, N.C.)
WHEN: 3:00 p.m. ET (DH on Saturday) | 1:00 p.m. ET (Sunday)
LIVE STATS: Sidearm Stats (All 3 Games)
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ (Sat. G1) | ESPN+ (Sat. G2) | ESPN+ (Sun.)
TWITTER: @CatamountSB
GAME NOTES
Western Carolina enters the weekend after a three-game conference series win over Samford in Birmingham in the final road set of the season, capping the series win with a 4-0 shutout win on Sunday after a 3-1 victory in game one. Junior Tessa Juett led the offensive attack with a 5-for-9 performance at the dish, including a double and home run, while freshman Lily Bell totaled a 6-for-12 (.500) stat line with three runs scored and three stolen bases. Juett also did it in the circle with a 2-0 record and 0.50 ERA as she allowed one earned run in 14 innings of work with 10 strikeouts.
Coming into the final weekend of the regular season, the Catamounts have connected on homers in seven of their last nine games, led by Juett and freshman Becka Wonsick with three homers apiece in that stretch. Seniors Jeralynn Wells, Savannah Baldwin, sophomore Kennedy Stewman, and freshman Maya McPherson each have a round-tripper in that same stretch for WCU.
Bell continues to pace the Catamount offense as one of two regulars with an average over .300, as the SoCon Freshman of the Year candidate sits with a .373 average. She's totaled 60 hits and scored 32 runs. She ranks fourth in the conference in batting average, tied for third in hits, and maintains her spot atop the SoCon in stolen bases with 28. The Woodstock, Ga. native has recorded 18 multi-hit games including hits in 16 of 19 games played by the Catamounts in April with nine multi-hit contests. Bell has also tallied at least a hit in 36 of her 46 games in her debut season for Western Carolina.
Juett (.338) begins the weekend second on the team in average, totaling 24 hits, 11 of which are extra-base knocks with five doubles, two triples, and four homers. Baldwin begins the weekend in a three-way tie for fourth in doubles with 11 and is also in a two-way tie for sixth with her team-high 34 runs driven in. Baldwin is also tied for the top spot in the SoCon with four sacrifice flies, with McPherson and Taylor Waitley each one behind in a tie for third. Wells begins the weekend in a tie for fourth with seven hit-by-pitches to lead the Catamounts.
Like her strong numbers at the plate, Juett sits atop the SoCon with a league-best 145 strikeouts. With her performance last weekend in Birmingham, she became the sixth player in WCU program history to eclipse 300 career strikeouts. The Berea, Ky. native holds the top spot in the league with 13 victories and 15 complete games. Juett also holds the No. 1 spot in the SoCon with 156.1 innings pitched and a conference-high three shutouts.
In conference play for the Catamounts, Juett is pacing the offensive attack with a .520 batting average as the junior ace pitcher has totaled 13 hits including four homers in SoCon action. Bell has a .354 average, totaling 23 hits and 11 stolen bases. Wells sits with a .339 average in SoCon games with three homers and ten runs knocked in, as McPherson holds a .333 average with 18 hits and four doubles. As a team in SoCon action, WCU begins the weekend third in average (.296), third in hits (146), second in triples (4), and tied for first in steals (21).
Chattanooga comes to Cullowhee with a 35-13 overall record including a 13-5 mark in SoCon play. The Mocs enter the final series of the 2024 season on a five-game win streak after midweek wins over Tennessee State and Georgia State and last weekend's three-game sweep of Furman. Chattanooga holds the league's top RPI spot at No. 83, including battling nationally ranked Louisiana. The Mocs have earned 17 wins away from Chattanooga in 2024, including a 10-3 mark in true road games.
Six Mocs enter the weekend batting over the .300 threshold, led by Camryn Cernuto with a .378 seasonal average, the third-best mark in the conference. Cernuto has four triples, a pair of doubles, and 16 stolen bases for UTC. Kendall Forsythe (.344) has 44 hits, including 17 for extra bases, with 11 doubles and four homers as she's driven in 34. Olivia Lipari sits at .343 with ten doubles and seven homers, while Kaili Phillips leads the Mocs, totaling 11 doubles and 14 homers, carrying a .339 average to the weekend.
As a team, Chattanooga is batting .304 to rank atop the conference with 248 runs on a conference-high 382 hits, including 118 for extra bases, 69 doubles, 11 triples, and 38 home runs. The Mocs are averaging 5.2 runs per game to lead the SoCon and holding opponents to 3.4 runs per contest.
Baileigh Pitts is a two-time SoCon Player of the Week honoree, while Kailey Snell and Phillips have each garnered one of the SoCon's weekly awards.
On the mound, Chattanooga ranks atop the league in team ERA at 2.85 with a conference-high 304 strikeouts and the most shutouts at 11. The Mocs have held opponents to a paltry .222 batting average, which leads the SoCon.
Taylor Long leads the Mocs in the circle with a 12-3 record as she carries a 2.13 ERA, tied for the best mark in the conference. Long returned to the circle for the first time in a month, tossing 2.0 scoreless innings of work against Georgia State. Long is a three-time SoCon Pitcher of the Week recipient and was named the league's Pitcher of the Month for March. The reigning SoCon Pitcher of the Week, Alyssa Lavdis, sits with a 10-5 mark carrying a 2.91 ERA as she's tallied 84 strikeouts in 101 innings for the Mocs.
The Mocs are led by six-time SoCon Coach of the Year honoree Frank Reed, who's in his 23rd season in Chattanooga. He's totaled over 750 during her tenure at UTC. Chattanooga was tabbed in the fourth spot in the preseason poll in the league's 2024 conference preseason poll, led by five SoCon Preseason All-Conference team honorees, including Addy Keylon, Peja Goold, Jayce Purdy, Phillips, and Lipari.
The Catamounts and Mocs have met 56 times on the softball field in a series that dates back to 2006 with UTC holding a 47-9 lead in the series over WCU. The Mocs have won six of the last seven meetings overall. Chattanooga claimed a 6-2 and 4-3 victory in last year's series, with Western Carolina picking up a 2-1 decision in the middle game of the series off of a Myra Twitty solo blast in the late going of the matchup from Chattanooga. UTC has taken each of the last eight games in Cullowhee in the head-to-head series.
Following Sunday's action in Cullowhee, the Catamounts turn their attention to the 2024 SoCon Softball Championships which begin Wednesday, May 8, hosted by UNCG in Greensboro. The first two matchups will feature single-elimination games to whittle the field down to six before double-elimination action starts at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. Coverage of all the tournament games is available on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) and with live stats through CatamountSports.com.
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