CULLOWHEE, N.C. – ETSU broke a tie at one with a three-run fourth inning to salvage the Southern Conference series finale from Western Carolina 5-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Catamount Softball Complex. WCU won the series following Saturday's doubleheader sweep.
WCU drops to 17-15 on the season and 2-1 in conference play, while the Bucs improve to 11-20 and 1-2 in SoCon action after the opening weekend of league action.
Sophomore Lily Bell (2-for-4) led the way for the Catamounts with her team-high 16th multi-hit game with a pair of singles as WCU's eight hits were spread between seven players. Becka Wonsick, (1-for-3) picked up her fourth double of the season in Sunday's setback. Maya McPherson reached base three times with a pair of walks and a 1-1 effort at the plate.
Bell led the way for WCU on the weekend with a .700 batting average (7-of-10), including a double & a triple with four runs scored. McPherson posted a .667 average (4-of-6) with five runs scored, four walks, and a pair of homers.
In the circle, senior Tessa Juett totaled six strikeouts in 4.0 innings of relief work to run her seasonal total to 71 strikeouts to lead the Catamounts.
ETSU (11-20, 1-2 SoCon) wasted little time on Sunday with a pair of singles along with a walk to load the bases before a single through the right side gave the Bucs a 1-0 lead. Freshman AG Batson worked around trouble to limit the damage with three straight fielder's choices to keep the deficit at just one.
The Catamounts answered in the home half of the first with a single from Bell before she advanced on a wild pitch with a run-scoring single by Butler allowed WCU to even the contest at a run apiece.
Both squads breezed past the second with 1-2-3 frames, and Batson worked around a leadoff single in the third without trouble to send Sunday's action to the fourth inning.
In the fourth, ETSU regained the lead with a pair of run-scoring singles to push the lead to 3-1 as the first four Buccaneers batters reached base. The scoring in the inning was capped by a wild pitch, allowing a third run to score and give ETSU a 4-1 lead.
McPherson began the fourth with a walk and moved to third on a one-out single by Taylor Waitley, coupled with an ETSU defensive miscue to advance to third base. Wonsick picked up the RBI with a sharp double to the left-center gap to cut the deficit to 4-2 after four complete.
ETSU added to its lead in the fifth with a leadoff solo home run to right center, giving the guests a three-run lead again.
The Catamounts' best chance to answer came in the fifth, with singles from Tate Stewman and Bell. Following a sacrifice by Courtney Marks, WCU had two in scoring position, but only a two-out walk was the traffic they could create to leave the deficit at three.
Juett dialed up three straight strikeouts swinging in the sixth to keep the Catamounts with a chance.
WCU was only able to muster one more runner in the final two frames on a Bucs throwing error, as the guests claimed the 5-2 Sunday win.
Batson (3-6) suffered the loss, going 3.0 innings, scattering eight hits and allowing four runs in the defeat. Juett finished the contest going 4.0 innings, allowing one hit and a run with six strikeouts.
Sara Muir (1-3) started for the Bucs, going 4.1 innings as she allowed eight hits and a pair of runs with four strikeouts. Gabrielle Fowler pitched the final 2.2 shutout innings, allowing no hits with a strikeout as she earned her second save of the season.
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.
