Cullowhee, N.C. – The Western Carolina softball team continues a season-long 13-game homestand with a pair of midweek nonconference doubleheaders beginning on Tuesday with a visit from Big South counterpart Gardner-Webb before welcoming Tulsa on Wednesday afternoon. The Catamounts and Runnin' Bulldogs are slated for a 3 p.m. first pitch of game one with WCU and Tulsa beginning its twin bill at 2 p.m. from the Catamount Softball Complex.
All four midweek games will have live stats through CatamountSports.com. Wednesday's doubleheader against Tulsa will be broadcast through the Catamount Sports Network and will be available online at CatamountSports.com
Admission to both doubleheaders – and all home games throughout the 2025 season – is free of charge, presented by First Bank.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHAT: Gardner-Webb (15-15, 0-3 Big South) vs Western Carolina (13-12, 0-0 SoCon)
WHERE: Catamount Softball Complex (Cullowhee, N.C.)
WHEN: Tuesday, March 18 - 3 p.m. (Doubleheader)
LIVE STATS: Sidearm Stats
WHAT: Tulsa (14-13, 4-2 American) vs Western Carolina
WHERE: Catamount Softball Complex (Cullowhee, N.C.)
WHEN: Wednesday, March 19 - 2 p.m. (Doubleheader)
LIVE STATS: Sidearm Stats
AUDIO: Listen LIVE (CSN)
FOLLOW THE ACTION
TWITTER: @CatamountSB
About the Catamounts:
After a week hiatus, the Catamounts return to the diamond after a doubleheader split against North Carolina Central last Tuesday in Cullowhee. Senior Mattie Mentel, sophomore Maya McPherson, and junior Tate Stewman led the WCU offense between the two games with four hits each as Stewman and Mentel both homered. Sophomore Lily Bell added three hits including her team-high sixth double, her first triple of the season, and her 15th stolen base.
Graduate transfer Imara Harrell and senior Natalie Henry had a pair of hits as Harrell connected on a grand slam and a two-run homer. As a team, WCU totaled 26 hits over the two games last Tuesday. The 17 hits in game one were the most in a game since March 10, 2024, against the Eagles in the Catamount Classic.
Bell begins the week ranked third in the SoCon in batting average (.467) while leading the league in stolen bases (15). She also ranks fourth in on-base percentage (.534) and is tied for third in the league in hits (35). Bell has hits in 11 of her past 14 games as she's tallied a hit or reached base safely in 23 of 25 games including a team-high 12 multi-hit games. McPherson starts Tuesday's action third in the league in runs batted in (30), including 24 RBIs in her last 14 games dating back to the opening matchup of the Catamount Classic.
Amanda Fulton is third in the league with six complete games and is tied for fifth with six overall victories. She also begins the midweek tilt in fourth in strikeouts per seven innings (6.6), tied for second in walks allowed per seven innings (1.5), and fifth in strikeouts (52). Tessa Juett is third in the league in strikeouts per seven innings (7.6), tied for fourth in complete games (5), and fourth in strikeouts (53).
WCU is tied for second in the league with 15 complete games, even with Chattanooga (15) and just behind Wofford (17). For WCU, Fulton has six CGs, Juett with five, and AG Batson with four.
In seven home games this season, the Catamounts have posted an eye-popping .440 (80-for-182) batting average led by Mentel (10-of-16) with eight runs and a pair of homers with seven RBIs. Mentel has an impressive 1.063 slugging percentage in those seven games. McPherson has a .520 average with 13 hits and 17 RBIs, with both marks leading the squad. Bell (.500), Rylee Butler (.421), Courtney Marks (.417), and Henry (.417) are each above the .400 mark in games in Cullowhee.
Scouting the Opposition – Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs:
Gardner-Webb comes into Tuesday's action with a 15-15 record after being swept in its Big South opening weekend against Radford. The Runnin' Bulldogs have already played four SoCon foes including the Catamounts in Boiling Springs, along with Furman, Chattanooga, and Wofford. GWU has only played six true road games entering Tuesday's tilt with a 2-4 mark.
Junior infielder Ella Christopher paces Gardner-Webb's offense with a .382 batting average, including 39 hits with nine doubles, a triple, and five homers and a team-high 25 RBI. Junior outfielder Maura Pendleton has a .375 average with 27 hits and 18 runs scored for GWU, while graduate infielder Araceli Pesqueira leads the Runnin' Bulldogs with 10 doubles and a team-best six home runs.
The Runnin' Bulldogs are led in the circle by freshman Hannah Frye (7-5) with a 2.30 ERA over 82.1 innings of work. Frye leads the way for GWU with eight complete games. Freshman Anna Hornbaker is 4-1 with a 2.37 ERA over 38.1 innings of work.
Gardner-Webb is second in the Big South in average (.302), second in runs (153), second in RBIs (138), and second in ERA (2.98).
The Runnin' Bulldogs were picked fourth in a seven-team Big South Preseason Poll as graduate infielder Araceli Pesqueira garnered Preseason All-Big South honors. Bailey Wigness is in her fourth season at the helm for Gardner-Webb after spending three seasons leading DII USC Beaufort.
Series History vs GWU:
WCU and Gardner-Webb have met 21 times ahead of Tuesday's doubleheader with the Catamounts holding a slim 11-10 lead in the all-time series. The Catamounts and Runnin' Bulldogs meet in Cullowhee for the first time since last March as part of the Catamount Classic where GWU earned the 13-2 win. Seven of the prior eight meetings between the two teams have taken place in Boiling Springs. WCU holds a 6-3 record in the head-to-head games in Cullowhee.
The Runnin' Bulldogs come into Tuesday's tilt having won all three of the 2024 meetings, including two in Boiling Springs.
In the 2025 road games, sophomore Lily Bell led the offense with three hits spread between the two games while also adding her sixth stolen base. Classmate Maya McPherson connected on her first home run of the year in the opener. Sydney Dirks added a triple in game one, while junior Tate Stewman, freshman AG Batson, Courtney Marks, and graduate student Imara Harrell joined the offensive showing with a base knock, including Marks adding a double. McPherson, Dirks, and junior Rylee Butler each had RBIs.
Scouting the Opposition – Tulsa Golden Hurricane:
Wednesday's opponent Tulsa (14-13) comes to Cullowhee off of its second-straight conference-winning weekend with East Carolina taking 2-of-3 from the Pirates in Greenville. Tulsa has had a challenging start to the 2025 season as they've already squared off against Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas, and Oklahoma State each of which were ranked in the top 16 and continue to hold top 30 RPIs this season.
Senior infielder Celeste Wood begins the midweek tilt with a .310 average with a team-leading four homers and 20 runs driven in. Freshman catcher/utility Amber Turner joins Wood with a .310 average totaling four doubles and a homer with nine RBIs. Freshman outfielder Annika Dill carries a .271 average with 18 runs scored, four doubles, two homers, and 13 RBIs. Not amongst the qualified hitters but, senior infielder Claira Skaggs leads the Golden Hurricane with a .365 average. She has totaled four doubles, three homers, and 16 RBIs with a 1.084 OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging).
Senior Maura Moore (10-6) leads the team in the circle with a 3.08 ERA with 64 strikeouts in 88.2 innings of work. Moore also leads the Golden Hurricane with eight complete games.
Tulsa was tabbed sixth in the 10-team American Athletic Conference preseason poll, led by 2003 alum Crissy Strimple who's in her sixth year at the helm for her alma mater. The Golden Hurricane is coming off of a 30-23 record in 2024 under Strimple's direction, her best win total in her time with Tulsa.
Series History vs Tulsa:
WCU and Tulsa meet for the first time in the two programs' respective histories on Wednesday afternoon. The Catamounts have only faced three of the current 10 teams in the American, though most of those meetings came before the teams joined the league. WCU is 11-8 all-time against the current three members of the AAC – UAB (1-2), Wichita State (0-2) and Charlotte (10-5).
On Deck for Western Carolina:
Following Wednesday's second of two doubleheaders in Cullowhee, the Catamounts pull the curtain back on Southern Conference play beginning on Saturday, March 22, with a visit from mountain rival ETSU. WCU and ETSU begin league play with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. before Sunday's series finale slated for a 1 p.m. start. Saturday's doubleheader with the Bucs is scheduled to be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) as all three games will have live stats available through links 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.
