Cullowhee, N.C. – Behind solid offense up and down the lineup card and stellar pitching from senior Tessa Juett and freshman AG Batson, Western Carolina softball continued its winning ways on Saturday at the Catamount Classic with an 8-2 win over Presbyterian before a 13-1 run-rule victory over Rhode Island in the nightcap at the Catamount Softball Complex.
WCU posted a .500 (26-of-52) performance at the plate over the sweep of the Blue Hose and Rams on Saturday, led by senior Mattie Mentel (4-for-5) and freshman Courtney Marks (3-for-4). Mentel homered, while Marks scored three runs. Sophomore Becka Wonsick went 4-for-6 with two doubles, followed by junior Rylee Butler (4-for-7) doubled and collected four RBIs.
Sophomores Lily Bell and Maya McPherson both tallied three hits, followed by classmate Sydney Dirks with a pair of hits including a grand slam in the win over the Rams.
In the circle, Juett tossed a complete game to begin the day for WCU, posting a season-high seven strikeouts as she limited PC to three hits, two runs, and one earned run to earn the game-one victory. In the nightcap, Batson continued her strong work in the circle with another 5.0 inning complete game, allowing one unearned run on four hits with a pair of strikeouts to claim her third win.
Game One – Western Carolina 8, Presbyterian 2
After falling behind a run after the opening half inning, the Catamounts rattled off eight of the next nine runs, including a pair of runs in the second and a six-run fifth to earn the 8-2 win over the Blue Hose in the opener on Saturday afternoon.
Presbyterian used a two-out solo home run to gain the early edge in the top of the first inning. In the home half, Lily Bell and Courtney Marks both reached on singles, but the Blue Hose used a line drive double play to erase the threat and maintain the 1-0 lead.
Juett worked around a one-out single without trouble before Riley Pennington drew the one-out walk, followed by Mattie Mentel dispatching a two-run blast over left field to give WCU a 2-1 lead after two frames.
PC threatened with a leadoff walk in the third, but Juett continued her stellar start in the circle, keeping the Blue Hose off the scoreboard. The Catamounts increased their lead in the third with a Maya McPherson sacrifice fly that chased home Marks and pushed the lead to 3-1.
WCU's defense continued its stellar work in the fourth as a bunt was popped up to Tate Stewman, and after Rylee Butler corralled the throw was able to relay it to McPherson for the double play and kept the lead at two.
PC cut the deficit to one with a two-out RBI double in the fifth, making it a 3-2 ballgame.
Becka Wonsick opened the sixth with a hustle double to left field before Pennington's single had the WCU offense cooking. Mentel's RBI single pushed the lead to 4-2 before an RBI single from Bell pushed it to 6-2 with only one out.
The offense continued with back-to-back run-scoring plays from Marks on an RBI single before Butler's two-run single capped the six-run frame and gave Juett all the cushion she needed for a 1-2-3 seventh and the 8-2 win.
Juett (1-5) went the distance for WCU, tossing a complete game with a season-high seven strikeouts as she limited PC to three hits, two runs, and one earned run to earn the game-one victory.
Kasey Wolfe (2-4) suffered the defeat on Saturday, going 5.1 innings, allowing eight runs on 11 hits with three strikeouts. Grace Kelley pitched the final 0.2 innings of work, allowing two hits and a strikeout for PC.
Game Two – Western Carolina 13, Rhode Island 1 (5 Innings)
Western Carolina wasted little time on Saturday evening, sending 16 batters to the dish and scoring 10 runs en route to a 13-1 run-rule victory over Rhode Island to improve to 4-0 on the weekend at the Catamount Classic.
Maya McPherson opened scoring with a two-run base knock that scored Courtney Marks and Rylee Butler for the early lead.
Later, following a Becka Wonsick walk and a Mattie Mentel single, Taylor Waitley connected on an RBI base knock through the left side to push the advantage to three. Sydney Dirks cleared the bases with a grand slam to centerfield and gave the hosts a 7-0 lead.
After URI walked the bases loaded, Butler reached base on a walk of her own before a McPherson RBI single and a sacrifice fly by Wonsick capped the 10-run first and gave WCU control of the action.
Rhode Island answered in the second with back-to-back singles before two quick outs from Batson looked to squash the threat. The Rams took advantage of a WCU error to make it a 10-1 score.
Freshman Tatum Martin connected on a two-out single before Butler lined one through the right side to push the WCU lead back to 10, 11-1.
URI connected on a leadoff single, but the Catamounts defense turned a double play to erase the threat and keep the Rams off the scoreboard.
Following singles from Wonsick, Mentel and Dirks loaded the bases in the third; Natalie Henry drew a bases-loaded walk to score Wonsick, and Lily Bell added a sacrifice fly to run the advantage to 13-1. The Catamounts mustered a bases-loaded threat in the fourth but were unable to add to their lead. Batson faced the minimum over the final two innings, and WCU claimed its second run-rule victory of the tournament.
Batson (3-3) recorded her second complete game of the weekend, scattering four hits, allowing one unearned run, and recording a pair of strikeouts to claim the win.
Sarah Trosin (1-1) got the start for URI, allowing four hits and six runs in 0.1 innings of work. Katie Zaun went 1.2 innings, allowing four hits and five runs with six walks, before Avery Vale-Cruz went the final two innings, scattering five hits and allowing a pair of runs with two strikeouts.
Western Carolina closes out the Catamount Classic on Sunday with an updated start time of 1:30 p.m. against N.C. A&T. The finale with the Aggies will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) and have live stats available on CatamountSports.com. Action at the tournament begins with an amended 11 a.m. matchup between URI and Presbyterian.
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.
