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ETSU SB Preview - FRONT

Softball Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Softball Opens SoCon Play with Mountain Rival ETSU

Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina softball begins Southern Conference play on Saturday as mountain-rival East Tennessee State makes the trip to Western North Carolina for a three-game league-opening weekend set. The Catamounts and Bucs open the 2025 SoCon season with a Saturday doubleheader slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch before the Sunday finale, also scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Catamount Softball Complex.

All three games with ETSU will have live stats through CatamountSports.com, with Saturday's twin bill to be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required).

Admission to all home games throughout the 2025 season is free of charge, presented by First Bank. Saturday is Little League Day at Catamount softball with little leaguers encouraged to wear their team jersey to the game.

GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHAT: ETSU (10-18, 0-0 SoCon) vs Western Carolina (15-14, 0-0 SoCon)
WHERE: Catamount Softball Complex (Cullowhee, N.C.)     
WHEN: Saturday, March 22 - 1 p.m. (Doubleheader) | Sunday, March 23 – 1 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Sidearm Stats (All Three Games)
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ (Sat. G1) | ESPN+ (Sat. G2)
 
FOLLOW THE ACTION
TWITTER: @CatamountSB


 
About Western Carolina:
The Catamounts began a busy week on their home diamond with a doubleheader sweep of in-state foe Gardner-Webb before Tulsa flipped the script on WCU and claimed both ends of a twin bill on Wednesday. Freshman Courtney Marks led the way over the doubleheader with a .615 (8-for-13) average at the dish with a double and three steals, while junior Taylor Waitley went 6-for-10 (.600), totaling a pair of doubles and three RBIs. Sophomore Sydney Dirks went 7-for-12 (.583) with four runs scored, a double, and a homer.

Sophomore Lily Bell begins the week ranked second in the SoCon in batting average (.455) while leading the league in stolen bases (17). She also ranks fourth in on-base percentage (.529) and is atop the league in hits (40) and is tied for fourth in walks (15). Bell has hits in 14 of her past 18 games as she's tallied a hit or reached base safely in 27 of 29 games, including a team-high 13 multi-hit games.

McPherson starts Tuesday's action third in the league in runs batted in (31), including 25 RBIs in her last 18 games dating back to the opening matchup of the Catamount Classic.

Amanda Fulton is third in the league with seven complete games and is tied for fourth with seven victories. She also begins the SoCon season in seventh in strikeouts per seven innings (6.0), fourth in walks allowed per seven innings (1.9), and fourth in strikeouts (58). Tessa Juett is third in the league in strikeouts per seven innings (7.1), tied for fourth in complete games (5), and fourth in strikeouts (57).

In 11 home games this season, the Catamounts have posted a .407 (120-for-295) batting average, led by Marks (13-for-25) with nine runs and four RBIs. Bell begins the weekend at .457 (16-for-35) as she's tallied a team-high 15 runs and a pair of doubles. Dirks sits at .440 with a pair of homers in Cullowhee, while Mattie Mentel has a pair of big flies and a .423 average at the Catamount Softball Complex.

Scouting the Opposition – ETSU Buccaneers:
ETSU (10-18) enters the weekend after a doubleheader setback against USC Upstate in the midweek. The Bucs begin league play on a slide, having lost five of their last seven, including a pair of losses to Dartmouth last weekend. Presbyterian is the lone common opponent in 2025 for the two teams as ETSU dropped a midweek tilt while WCU split a doubleheader in Clinton and claimed a win as part of the Catamount Classic.

ETSU has had little success away from Johnson City in 2025, with a 0-3 record in true road games and a 4-9 record in neutral site contests.

Senior infielder Cameron Young paces ETSU's offense with a .451 batting average, including 37 hits with eight doubles, a homer, and a team-best 20 RBIs. Young sits third in the SoCon with her .451 average. Classmate Riley Nayadley comes into the weekend with a .333 average with 28 hits and 11 RBI. Senior two-way Sara Muir sits with a .329 average with five doubles and 19 runs knocked in.

The Bucs are led in the circle by sophomore Gabrielle Fowler (2-4) with a 3.35 ERA over 39.2 innings of work as she's totaled a team-high 31 strikeouts. Freshman Eden Muncy (2-5) had a 5.01 ERA over 36.1 innings and 27 strikeouts, and Fowler and Muncy combined for 13 starts. ETSU has relied on nine different arms in the circle, and eight of those have made a start.

ETSU was tabbed eighth in the eight-team SoCon Preseason poll. Senior infielder Cameron Young was named preseason first-team All-SoCon and picked as the Preseason Player of the Year. Young was joined by Mesusan and Nayadley on the second team all-conference. Cheryl Milligan is in her third season at the helm of ETSU after spending 15 years at her alma mater, Tufts, and three years at Army.

Series History vs ETSU:
WCU and ETSU have met 46 times ahead of Saturday's doubleheader. The Bucs lead the all-time series by four, 25-21, while the Catamounts claimed two of three a season ago in Johnson City. WCU looks to continue its winning ways on its home turf against the Bucs including sweeps in 2021 and 2023 have the Catamounts on a six-game home win streak entering Saturday's action and hold an 11-9 record in Cullowhee.

In 2024 in Johnson City, sophomore Sydney Dirks led the offense with a .500 (4-for-8) performance with a pair of doubles, followed by classmate Lily Bell at .455 (5-for-11) with a pair of runs and a pair of steals. Sophomore Maya McPherson added a 4-for-9 (.444) with two doubles and a team-high three RBIs. Senior Tessa Juett was 2-0 in the circle with a 1.50 ERA, tallying 14 strikeouts in a pair of complete games.

On Deck for Western Carolina:
Following Sunday's series finale with ETSU, the Catamounts continue their 13-game homestand with a visit from Queens on Wednesday, March 26. A single game is slated for 3 p.m. The midweek tilt with the Royals is scheduled to be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and live stats will be 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.

 
2025 Little League Day
 
One Day for Western - 2025 - SLIDER



 
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Players Mentioned

Lily Bell

#3 Lily Bell

INF
5' 4"
Sophomore
L/R
Sydney Dirks

#77 Sydney Dirks

INF
5' 6"
Sophomore
R/R
Tessa Juett

#1 Tessa Juett

P
5' 6"
Senior
L/L
Maya McPherson

#66 Maya McPherson

INF
5' 9"
Sophomore
R/R
Mattie Mentel

#14 Mattie Mentel

C/OF
5' 6"
Senior
R/R
Taylor Waitley

#17 Taylor Waitley

C/OF
5' 9"
Junior
R/R
Amanda Fulton

#00 Amanda Fulton

P
5' 6"
Freshman
R/R
Courtney Marks

#22 Courtney Marks

OF
5' 4"
Freshman
L/R

Players Mentioned

Lily Bell

#3 Lily Bell

5' 4"
Sophomore
L/R
INF
Sydney Dirks

#77 Sydney Dirks

5' 6"
Sophomore
R/R
INF
Tessa Juett

#1 Tessa Juett

5' 6"
Senior
L/L
P
Maya McPherson

#66 Maya McPherson

5' 9"
Sophomore
R/R
INF
Mattie Mentel

#14 Mattie Mentel

5' 6"
Senior
R/R
C/OF
Taylor Waitley

#17 Taylor Waitley

5' 9"
Junior
R/R
C/OF
Amanda Fulton

#00 Amanda Fulton

5' 6"
Freshman
R/R
P
Courtney Marks

#22 Courtney Marks

5' 4"
Freshman
L/R
OF