Cullowhee, N.C. – Sophomores Maya McPherson and Lilly Bell delivered timely offense while the freshman tandem of AG Batson and Amanda Fulton excelled in the circle on Friday as Western Carolina softball opened play in its home tournament, the Catamount Classic, with a pair of shutout victories to open the home schedule. WCU blanked N.C. A&T 11-0 in five innings before earning the 3-0 shutout of Rhode Island in the nightcap at the Catamount Softball Complex.
McPherson reached base five times between the two games highlighted by a game-ending grand slam in the opener against the Aggies. She finished with a team-high eight RBI. Bell was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate, scoring four runs as she also reached base on three walks. Senior Natalie Henry, Batson, and graduate student Imara Harrell each finished with a pair of hits, including a two-run base knock by Henry in the first win.
In the circle, Batson began the day for WCU, tossing a 5.0 inning shutout with a pair of strikeouts and while limiting the Aggies to two hits with a walk for her second win and third complete game of the season. Fulton matched Batson on Friday night with a complete game shutout, matching her season-high with five strikeouts en route to her second win of the young season.
Game One – Western Carolina 11, N.C. A&T 0 (5 Innings)
The Catamounts wasted no time on Friday in their first home game of the season, plating five runs in the opening half-inning and never looked back as WCU opened the weekend with an 11-0 run-rule win over N.C. A&T.
WCU got the offense going early as Lily Bell and Rylee Butler both walked sandwiched around Courtney Marks reaching on an error before Maya McPherson laced a two-run single up the middle to get the Catamounts on the board early.
AG Batson followed quickly with an RBI single before a walk to Sydney Dirks, coupled with a wild pitch from the Aggies, saw the fourth run of the inning scamper home. The inning was capped when Taylor Waitley plated Batson on a sacrifice fly to give the Catamounts an early 5-0 lead.
After a two-out single in the first for N.C. A&T went by the wayside, and Batson put together a 1-2-3 second inning to keep the score at 5-0.
Batson tallied her first strikeout of the day in the third inning to work around two-out traffic for N.C. A&T. She then put together another 1-2-3 frame in the fourth before Natalie Henry began the home half with a double. Bell singled followed by a Marks walk to load the bases, but the Aggies erased the threat without a run scoring.
Batson posted her third and what would turn out to be the final 1-2-3 inning of the contest in the fifth. In the home half of the inning, Imara Harrell laced a single through the left side before swiping second, and Waitley lined a single of her own and stole second to put two in scoring position. Henry picked up a two-run single to extend the lead before Bell reached again. She and Henry were sacrificed into scoring position, followed by a walk to Butler. McPherson turned on a 2-1 pitch to left for a grand slam to cap the 11-0 run-rule triumph over the Aggies.
Batson (2-3) went the distance for WCU, allowing two hits and one free pass with a pair of strikeouts.
Lauren Hardy (0-2) suffered the loss on Friday, facing six batters without recording an out and allowing five runs, three earned with three walks. Aaliyah Williams pitched the final 4.2 for the Aggies, allowing six runs on eight hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
Game Two – Western Carolina 3, Rhode Island 0
Amanda Fulton tossed a complete game shutout as the Catamounts capped the day with consecutive scoreless affairs to remain the lone unbeaten at the Catamount Classic.
The Rams threatened early with three straight one-out singles before a fielder's choice and a lineout to Courtney Marks allowed Fulton to escape danger and keep the nightcap scoreless. WCU tried to follow suit in the first with a Lily Bell single before she was caught stealing. Courtney Marks drew a walk and Maya McPherson reached on a two-out single, but URI answered with a goose egg in the run column.
Fulton kept the Rams offense quiet between the second and third with a two-out single being the only blemish before the Woodstock, Ga. native recorded a strikeout looking to keep the game scoreless.
In the home half of the third, Bell legged out her first double of the season, sandwiched around a pair of foul-outs before Butler walked to put two aboard. WCU used heads-up baserunning as back-to-back infield singles from McPherson and Batson plated the first two runs of the game as Butler and Bell both scored from second base.
McPherson continued her scorching bat on Friday with a two-out RBI double down the left field line to score Bell and extend the lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth.
Down to its final three outs, Rhode Island's best chance of the day came in the seventh. The Rams used a pair of singles along with a walk to load the bases with two out. Fulton continued to show composure, though, and induced a groundout to Bell to finish off the back-to-back shutouts.
Fulton (2-1) recorded the solid complete game, scattering eight hits with a season-high tying five strikeouts.
Ashley Hibbard (1-2) went the distance for the Rams, allowing seven hits and three runs while recording 10 strikeouts in the setback.
Western Carolina continues the Catamount Classic on Saturday with a 3 p.m. first pitch against Presbyterian before a 5:30 rematch against Rhode Island. Both games will have live stats available on CatamountSports.com. Action at the tournament opens again at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., before WCU sees the field in the afternoon timeslots.
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