Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina baseball goes for its second-straight home series win this weekend as the Catamounts host the Rider Broncs out of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) for a four-game set at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. The series opens Friday at 4 p.m., with a Saturday doubleheader slated for a Noon start. First pitch of the series finale on Sunday is scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
Coverage of Friday's opener and Sunday's finale will be provided through the Catamount Sports Network with online streaming audio through CatamountSports.com. Saturday's doubleheader is set to air on ESPN+ (paid subscription required). Live stats coverage of all four games is available through a link at CatamountSports.com.
 
Western Carolina (3-5) bookended last weekend with come-from-behind victories to knock off Big Ten Conference foe, the Maryland Terrapins at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. The Catamounts were unable to carry that momentum into the midweek, though, falling at USC Upstate, 16-10. The Spartans scored 16 runs over the first five innings and held on to split the regular-season home-and-home.
 
Rider (2-1) has played just three games this season as the Broncs pay their second visit to the Old North State in as many weeks. The Broncs took 2-of-3 at Campbell last weekend in Buies Creek, claiming a pair of one-run affairs – 4-3 and 3-2 – before falling in eight innings in the finale, 13-3.
 
Projected Pitching Matchups:
Friday: WCU – Jr. RHP Dusty Revis vs. Rider – Jr. RHP PJ Craig
Saturday (Gm1): WCU – Sr. RHP Spenser Hamblen vs. Rider – Sr. LHP Brian Young
Saturday (Gm2): WCU – So. RHP Josh Ossiander vs. Rider – TBA
Sunday: WCU – Jr. LHP Davis Wright vs. Rider – Jr. RHP Clayton Poliey
 
Weekend Weather Forecast – Cullowhee, S.C. (As of Feb. 27):
Friday – Sunny skies; High around 62, winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph
Saturday – Sunshine and some clouds, breezy; High around 60, winds WNW at 10-20 mph
Sunday – Mostly sunny, cooler; High near 51, winds light and variable
 
About Western Carolina (3-5):
The Catamounts enter the week having scored double-digit runs in four of their last five games – but are just 2-2 when doing so. WCU scored a dozen runs in a home loss to Maryland last Saturday and put 10 on the board at USC Upstate in the midweek. Last Sunday's walk-off home run for the game and series win over Maryland saw the Catamounts score 11 runs before putting up 10 in the midweek in a win over Upstate back on Feb. 18.
 
The Catamounts are batting .311 collectively as a team – third-best in the Southern Conference. Of WCU's 88 seasonal hits, 29 have gone for extra bases including 19 doubles (t-1st), two triples (t-5th), and eight home runs (t-3rd).
 
WCU has six regulars batting above the .300 threshold paced by true freshman Trey Spees at .462 (12-of-26). The Denver, N.C., product hit the first home run of his collegiate career at Upstate in the midweek. Hayden Friese (.394) is riding the team's best reached base safely streak at 17 straight dating back to last season and leads the team in slugging percentage (.636). Junior transfer Brayden Corn (.355) is followed by redshirt freshman Wyatt Stanley (.348) and senior infielder Trent Turner (.324) in the chase for the team batting crown early. Corn has a team-best five stolen bases, Stanley has five extra-base hits including a team-best four doubles, and Turner has a team-leading nine RBI.
 
Despite being out of the lineup with injury, first-year infielder Jaylen Jones is batting .444 with three extra-base hits – two doubles and a triple.
 
On the mound, Sunday starter Davis Wright has a team-best 12 strikeouts over 8.1 innings in his two starts, while preseason All-SoCon selection Dusty Revis has a team-long 8.2 innings of work to date. WCU's three wins are scattered between a pair of relievers – Carter Burnett and Owen Austin – with Saturday's game-two starter, Josh Ossiander, earning a win as a starter in the midweek.
 
A combined 21 different pitchers have toed the rubber for the Catamounts this season with 19 recording at least one strikeout. WCU ranks fifth in the SoCon with 67 team strikeouts, including 21 looking to rank fourth in the league.
 
After leading the SoCon in double-plays a season ago, the Catamounts are at it again with eight double-plays over eight games, tied for 24th nationally.
 
Active Hitting Streaks:
8 games – Hayden Friese
5 games – Trey Spees, Wyatt Stanley
4 games – Cole Jones, Jack Spyke, Trent Turner
3 games – Mason Holton, Elijah Smith
 
Longest Active Reached Base Safely Streaks:
17 games – Hayden Friese (includes a nine-game RBS streak to end 2024)
8 games – Trey Spees
6 games – Trent Turner
5 games – Brayden Corn, Wyatt Stanley
4 games – Cole Jones, Jack Spyke
 
Scouting the Opponent – Rider (2-1):
Out of Lawrenceville, N.J. – approximately 15 minutes north of the New Jersey state capital, Trenton – Rider University is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). The Broncs are a four-time MAAC champion (2008, 2010, 2021, 2023) and won three Northeast Conference (NEC) championships in the mid-1990s.
 
Rider comes to town for just its second weekend series of the year after taking 2-of-3 from Campbell in Buies Creek last weekend. The Broncs landed three players on the Preseason All-MAAC team and were picked second in the conference behind favorite Fairfield. Rider represents the second preseason runner-up pick on WCU's schedule, joining USC Upstate which was also picked second in the Big South preseason polling.
 
Through three games, Rider is batting just .220 (20-of-91) with five extra-base hits – three doubles and a pair of home runs – spread between five players. Erich Hartmann leads the team with a .417 average (5-for-12) with a double. Preseason All-MAAC selection Kyle Neri is the only Bronc batting over .300 to date at .333 (3-of-9) with three singles. He was joined on the preseason squad by second baseman Joe Tiroly.
 
On the mound, Rider has a 6.39 collective ERA with 18 runs allowed on 24 hits over 25.1 innings with nine for extra bases. The staff has 17 strikeouts against 17 walks through its opening weekend. Friday starter PJ Craig was the third preseason All-MAAC selection for Rider.
 
Western Carolina vs. Rider – The Series:
This weekend marks the second all-time series between the Catamounts and Broncs on the baseball diamond – and the first since 2014 when the two met in Cullowhee. WCU swept the three-game set 11 years ago, outscoring Rider 40-to-16. The series-open was decided by one run, 6-5, with the Catamounts sweeping both ends of a doubleheader 11-3 and 23-8.
 
Current WCU head coach Alan Beck was an assistant on the staff back in '14, while Rider skipper Lee Lipinski was on the roster as a freshman but did not see action in the series with the Catamounts.
 
Western Carolina vs. the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
The Catamounts have faced SIX of the current 13 teams in the MAAC, boasting a 20-1 record all-time, bolstered by six series wins over both Iona (2012 and 2024) and Niagara (2016 & 2022). The lone loss came in a series victory over the Manhattan Jaspers in 2011.
   
WCU has never faced Mount St. Mary's, Merrimack, Quinnipiac, Saint Peter's, Sacred Heart, Siena, and Saint Peter's.
 
On Deck for the Catamounts:
Western Carolina hits the road for five straight away from Cullowhee, including four true road games and a neutral field match-up with a second Big Ten opponent this season.
 
The Catamounts travel to Fluor Field at the West End in Greenville, S.C., on Wednesday (March 5) to face Michigan State with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch at the site of the 2025 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases. The road trip continues with a three-game series at Georgia State in Atlanta next weekend, March 7-9, before a trip to Boiling Springs, N.C., to face Gardner-Webb on March 11.
 
Both season and single-game tickets for WCU's 26-game home baseball slate at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium are on sale now and start at just $51 for adult general admission and $26 for youth general admission. Additional seating options include reserved field-level chair back seats and upper-reserved chair backs under cover beneath the press box.
 
Tickets can be purchased in person through the first-floor Athletics Ticket Office in the Ramsey Center, by phone at (828) 227-2401, or online at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets.
 
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).