CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina softball begins its pursuit of the 2024 Southern Conference Softball Championship on Wednesday afternoon as the Catamounts battle sixth-seeded Furman in a win-or-go-home single-elimination game set for a 1 p.m. first pitch from the UNCG Softball Stadium in Greensboro. The winner of Wednesday afternoon's action advances into the double-elimination bracket to face third-seeded Samford at 7 p.m.
Coverage of all tournament action is available on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) and with live stats through CatamountSports.com.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHAT: #7 Western Carolina (16-33) vs #6 Furman (24-29)
WHERE: UNCG Softball Stadium (Greensboro, N.C.)
WHEN: Wednesday, May 8 - 1 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+
TWITTER: @CatamountSB
TICKETS
GAME NOTES
Western Carolina opens the 2024 SoCon Championship after three tight defeats at the hands of the league's regular-season champions Chattanooga last weekend in Cullowhee. Sophomore Taylor Waitley led the offensive attack, finishing 4-for-7 (.571), while SoCon co-Freshman of the Year Lily Bell posted a .455 average (5-for-11) with three runs scored and three stolen bases. Senior Savannah Baldwin, sophomore Kennedy Stewman, and SoCon All-Freshman team honoree Maya McPherson each homered in the series with the Mocs.
Through the regular season, WCU is batting .278 collectively as a team (third in the SoCon) with 365 hits including 52 doubles (third in the SoCon), six triples, and 38 home runs. The offense has been paced by first-team all-conference honorees in Bell with a .378 average and junior Tessa Juett checks into Wednesday's action with a .333 batting average. Baldwin leads the Catamounts with 21 extra-base hits, including eight homers, a pair of triples, and 11 doubles.
Coming into the tournament, the Catamounts have connected on home runs in 10 of their last 12 games, led by Juett and freshman Becka Wonsick, who have three homers apiece in that stretch. Baldwin, Stewman, and McPherson each have two in that stretch, and senior Jeralynn Wells has connected on one homer.
Bell continues to pace the Catamount offense as one of two regulars with an average over .300 with a .378 average. She's totaled 65 hits and scored 35 runs. She ranks in a tie for third in the conference in batting average, tied for third in hits, and maintains her spot atop the SoCon in stolen bases with 31. The Woodstock, Ga. native has recorded 20 multi-hit games, including hits in 19 of 22 games to close out the regular season for WCU with 11 multi-hit contests. Bell has also tallied at least a hit in 39 of her 49 games in her debut season for Western Carolina.
Juett (.333) begins the tournament second on the team in average, totaling 27 hits, 13 of which are extra-base knocks with seven doubles, two triples, and four homers. Baldwin enters play on Wednesday in a two-way tie for sixth in doubles with 11 and is also in a two-way tie for seventh with her team-high 37 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 fourth. Wells begins the week in a tie for fifth 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 153 strikeouts. The first-team all-conference honoree holds the top spot in the league with 13 victories and 16 complete games. Juett also has the No. 1 spot in the SoCon with 166.2 innings pitched and a conference-high tying three shutouts.
In conference play for the Catamounts, Juett paced the offensive attack with a .457 batting average as the junior ace pitcher has totaled 16 hits, including four homers in SoCon action. Bell has a .368 average, totaling 28 hits and 14 stolen bases. Wells posted a .318 average in SoCon games with three homers and 11 runs knocked in, along with eight steals. As a team in SoCon action, WCU finished the regular season the weekend third in average (.295), third in hits (170), tied for second in triples (4), and first in steals (28).
Furman begins the championship as the sixth seed with a record of 24-29. The Paladins posted a three-game sweep of ETSU at home in Greenville last time out. The Paladins finished the regular season with a 16-8 mark in home games while only taking eight wins away from Greenville, five of which were in neutral-site contests.
Furman is led by Ashlee Lykins, who garnered first-team All-Southern Conference honors on Tuesday. Lykins carries a .369 average with three triples, 34 runs scored, and 66 hits with 18 stolen bases. Caitlin Goldwait earned second-team honors from the league after posting a .313 average with 30 hits, including a pair of doubles and a triple. She did most of her damage in SoCon play with a team-high .361 average, totaling 22 hits in 19 games. Ansley Chiang rounded out the honorees for Furman with All-Freshman honors as she posted a .256 average, tallying five doubles and 14 RBIs while going 9-for-10 on the bases. Kiley Perry sits with six homers to lead the Paladins on the season.
As a team, Furman is fourth in the league in doubles with 50 and third in triples with ten while drawing 152 walks, good enough for third among the league's eight programs. A threat to run, the Paladins paced the conference with 62 stolen bases. Furman averaged 3.7 runs per game and holding opponents to 4.6 runs per contest in the regular season.
In the circle, Furman ranks third in the league in team ERA at 3.63, and the Paladins are second in the conference with seven saves. Furman has held opponents to a .264 batting average, ranking second in the SoCon.
Emme Buzhardt leads the Paladin pitchers with a team-best 2.83 ERA, making 26 appearances including five starts with four victories. Sierra Tufts holds the team-high with 11 wins in her 34 outings, 27 of which served as starts for Furman. Tufts has totaled 78 strikeouts in 140.2 innings with six complete games. Lauralee Scott sits at 7-5 with a 3.77 ERA, with 91 innings of work and three complete games.
Furman is led by Stacey Johnson-Whitfield, who's in her third season of leading the Paladins.
Including opening the 2024 SoCon schedule this year, the Catamounts and Paladins have met 63 times before Wednesday's SoCon opener. Furman holds a 44-19 advantage in the head-to-head series, winning each of the last ten match ups between the two schools, including completing a three-game sweep of the Catamounts in late March from Greenville - though two of the games were one-run decisions.
The Catamounts and Paladins meet on Wednesday for the 10th time in the conference tournament and the first time since 2022 when Furman ousted the Catamounts 8-5.
With a win on Wednesday afternoon over Furman, the Catamounts would turn their attention to a 7 p.m. first pitch on Wednesday night against #3 seed Samford from the UNCG Softball Stadium. WCU took 2-of-3 from the Bulldogs in Birmingham, Ala. late in the regular season. Coverage of all the tournament games is available on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) and with live stats through CatamountSports.com.
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