CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina softball continues its season-opening 12-game road swing this weekend with a trip to Athens, Ga. to compete in the Red & Black Showcase, hosted by the University of Georgia beginning Friday afternoon.
WCU has a pair of single games on Friday and Saturday, opening the tournament Friday against Michigan at 3:30 p.m. before facing Longwood on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. The Catamounts close out the tournament with a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at 10:30 a.m. against Michigan State before a 3:30 p.m. start against the host Bulldogs. The finale will be shown on SEC Network Plus. All four games are also slated to have live stats through links on CatamountSports.com.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHAT: Western Carolina (1-4) vs --/RV Michigan (2-3)
WHERE: Jack Turner Stadium (Athens, Ga.)
WHEN: 3:30 p.m. (Friday)
LIVE STATS: Sidearm Stats
WHAT: Western Carolina vs Longwood (2-3)
WHERE: Jack Turner Stadium (Athens, Ga.)
WHEN: 10:30 a.m. (Saturday)
LIVE STATS: Sidearm Stats
WHAT: Western Carolina vs Michigan State (1-4)
WHERE: Jack Turner Stadium (Athens, Ga.)
WHEN: 10:30 a.m. (Sunday)
LIVE STATS: Sidearm Stats
WHAT: Western Carolina at #10/11 Georgia (5-0)
WHERE: Jack Turner Stadium (Athens, Ga.)
WHEN: 3:30 p.m. (Sunday)
LIVE STATS: Sidearm Stats
LIVE VIDEO: SECN Plus
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TWITTER: @CatamountSB
About the Catamounts:
Western Carolina opened the 2025 season at North Florida's River City Leadoff last weekend, scoring its lone victory with a 5-1 win over Jacksonville on Saturday afternoon. During the tournament, WCU and UNF played a tight 2-2 game before the host Ospreys grabbed the walk-off win in the seventh on Friday night.
In Jacksonville, the Catamounts offense was led by reigning SoCon co-Freshman of the Year Lily Bell, who posted a 7-for-14 (.500) performance at the plate including a 6-for-6 effort with a walk in Saturday's doubleheader. Bell also stole three bases to tie for the early-season league lead after the opening weekend. She was also one of 10 players in the league to post a batting average over .500.
N.C. Central transfer Imara Harrell tallied a double and a homer as part of opening weekend, freshman AG Batson legged out a double, and sophomores Maya McPherson and Becka Wonsick both recorded a three-bagger.
In the circle, Batson led the Catamounts, posting a pair of complete games, allowing four earned runs with seven strikeouts in 13.2 innings as she tallied the victory over the Dolphins last Saturday.
Western Carolina vs. --/RV Michigan – Friday (Feb. 14):
Scheduled as WCU's first opponent in the Red & Black Showcase on Friday afternoon, Michigan begins the weekend with a 2-3 mark after earning wins over Illinois State & USF last weekend with losses to third-ranked Florida, Georgia Southern, and Delaware.
Before playing the Catamounts, the Wolverines open the weekend on Thursday against the host Bulldogs and play Longwood on Friday afternoon before facing the Catamounts.
Three Wolverines were tabbed on the 2025 Big 10 Softball Players to Watch list, including sophomore Jenissa Conway, senior Lauren Derkowski, and junior infielder Maddie Erickson. Bonnie Tholl, a 1991 Michigan alum, is in her third season at the helm for the Wolverines, coming off of a 43-win season last year that ended in the Stillwater Regional.
Michigan's offense is led by freshman Lauren Putz, who recorded a .357 average with a pair of runs scored and a home run on opening weekend. Conway batted .313 in the opening tournament for the Maize & Blue, while junior Indiana Langford rounded out the .300 average performances with a 3-for-10 weekend at the dish. Michigan's top pitcher from last weekend is Derkowski, who went 2-0 as she didn't allow an earned run in 17.1 innings pitched with 17 strikeouts.
WCU and Michigan meet for the first time in program history on Friday as the Catamounts look to tally their first win over Big 10 opposition since defeating Penn State on Feb. 24, 2018, as part of the Green & Gold Classic hosted by USF.
Western Carolina vs Longwood – Saturday (Feb. 15):
WCU's lone opposition on Saturday is Longwood (2-3) with the Lancers scoring a pair of wins last weekend at the Louisiana Classic. Longwood picked up a pair of wins over George Mason while suffering defeats to #1 Texas, Seton Hall, and the host Cajuns.
Ahead of meeting the Catamounts on Saturday morning, the Lancers have a doubleheader with both Michigan and Michigan State on Friday.
Longwood's offense is led by junior Sophia Knock, who recorded a .500 average (6-for-12) with two doubles and a pair of homers while driving in seven on opening weekend. Freshman Brooke Bennett hit .400, while sophomore Naleya Bridges and redshirt freshman Avery Jefferson finished with averages of .375 and .364, respectively. In the circle, junior Morgan Strickland led the Lancers with a 1.91 ERA in four relief outings as she pitched 7.1 innings. Juniors Maggie Chapin and Erin Kirkland each picked up wins over George Mason.
Longwood was tabbed second in the seven-team Big South preseason coaches poll and received a first-place vote while preseason favorite USC Upstate received six. Knock was named the Big South Preseason Player of the Year to highlight three - Knock, Chapin, and Cierra Gawryluk – named to the preseason all-league team. Longwood is led by Dr. Megan Brown, who begins her fifth season at the helm in Farmville, coming off a 19-33 record in 2024.
WCU and Longwood have met twice prior with both teams claiming a win in the head-to-head series. Western Carolina won 6-4 in 2021 in Charlotte, while the Lancers defeated the Catamounts 11-10 in 2012 in Atlanta.
Western Carolina vs. Michigan State – Sunday (Feb. 16):
Sunday's first opponent on the final day of competition marks WCU's second from the Big 10 conference as the Catamounts face Michigan State. The Spartans starts the weekend at 1-4, winning once in five games at the Candrea Classic hosted by nationally-ranked Arizona. The Spartans battled the host Wildcats twice, along with an #11-ranked Alabama and a pair of games with Western Michigan in which the Spartans split.
Michigan State plays Longwood twice and Georgia on Friday and Saturday before opening the day on Sunday with the Catamounts.
Junior Sydney Doloszycki led the Spartans on opening weekend with a .375 average as she connected on a homer and drove in three. Classmate Britain Beshears and sophomore Hannah Greer both connected on two homers as both had batting averages over .300 for the weekend. Senior Faith Guidry led Michigan State with an 0-1 mark and a 4.67 ERA as freshman Jacey Shuler claimed a win for the Spartans in Arizona.
Beshears and Hannah Hawley were listed on the 2025 Big 10 Softball Players to Watch list in the preseason. Head coach Sharonda McDonald-Kelley is in her third season in East Lansing after spending four seasons leading Campbell with a 37-win season with the Camels back in 2022.
WCU and Michigan State meet for the first time in program history on Friday as the Catamounts look to tally their first win over a Big 10 opposition since defeating Penn State on Feb. 24, 2018, as part of the Green & Gold Classic hosted by USF.
Western Carolina at #10/11 Georgia – Sunday (Feb. 16):
No. 10/11 Georgia marks the final tournament opponent for the Catamounts on Sunday. The Bulldogs enter the weekend with an unblemished record at 5-0. UGA claimed run-rule wins over James Madison, CSU Bakersfield, and N.C. State while also knocking off UCF and Illinois.
The Bulldogs play Michigan and Michigan State before battling Longwood on Sunday afternoon. WCU and UGA are slated to close out the tournament schedule.
Senior Dallis Goodnight leads the Bulldogs with a .615 (8-for-13) batting average with seven runs scored. She homered and stole four bases on opening weekend. Freshman Mua Williams recorded a .500 (6-for-12) batting average with two doubles and five RBIs. Georgia hit .403 (50-for-124) as a team 5-0 start. In the circle, sophomore Randi Roelling and senior Lilli Backes led the Bulldogs with a 2-0 record apiece as Roelling tossed 12 shutout innings with 13 strikeouts, and Backes finished with 9.2 shutdown frames with a team-high 15 strikeouts.
Georgia was picked eighth in a fully loaded 15-team SEC Preseason Poll. The SEC featured seven of the top 10 teams in the most recent USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll. The Bulldogs are led by Tony Baldwin, who's in his fourth season in Athens. He's totaled 42 and 43 wins in each of the prior three seasons at the helm.
WCU and Georgia have met 10 prior times, with the Bulldogs claiming each of the previous matchups between the two schools. Sunday's matchup with UGA marks the first head-to-head meeting since 2020 when UGA won 7-2 and 8-0 in back-to-back matchups.
On Deck for Western Carolina:
Following Sunday's finale in Athens, the Catamounts return to the Carolinas for a doubleheader against in-state foe Gardner-Webb at the on-campus Brinkley Softball Stadium in Boiling Springs. WCU and Gardner-Webb start a twin bill at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19. Both games will have live stats available on 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.
