CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Sophomore Sydney Dirks capped a perfect birthday on Wednesday afternoon with a two-run walk-off home run to lead Western Carolina past Queens University of Charlotte 3-1 in a gritty performance at the Catamount Softball Complex.

The walk-off is the second for WCU (18-15) in its 13-game homestand, as Mattie Mentel drew a bases-loaded walk last Tuesday to defeat Gardner-Webb in mid-week action.

Trailing 1-0 for much of Wednesday's action after Queens scored an unearned run in the second inning, the Catamounts started their rally in the sixth inning as Mentel reached on a defensive miscue from the Royals. She swiped second base before pinch-hitter AG Batson drew a walk to help flip the lineup card over. Lily Bell delivered an infield single with a deflection on the base knock scoring Mentel and tied the contest at one.

After Juett worked around a one-out single in the seventh, McPherson stepped to the plate with one out in the home half and laced a double down the left-field line to put the winning run on base ahead of Dirks. After falling behind in the count 1-2, Dirks turned on one to left field as her seventh home run of the season allowed the Catamounts to claim the two-run victory.

Bell (2-for-4), Juett (2-for-3), and sophomore Maya McPherson (2-for-4) led the way for the Catamounts at the plate with six of WCU's nine hits. Bell continues to pace the squad after collecting her team-best 17th multi-hit game of the season. McPherson's double to help set the stage in the seventh was her sixth two-bagger of the season.

Juett, the reigning SoCon Pitcher of the Week, dialed up another stellar performance in the circle with seven strikeouts as she picked up her seventh win in her seven complete game. The Berea, Ky., native scattered three hits and allowed just one unearned run in the victory, and pushed her seasonal total to 78 strikeouts, giving her 399 in her Catamount career. She is just one punchout shy of becoming the third player in school history to go over 400 strikeouts in her career.

After 1-2-3 first innings on both sides, the Royals took advantage of a WCU fielding miscue followed by a walk before a sacrifice fly allowed the guests to take the 1-0 lead after an inning and a half.

Juett bounced back quickly in the third with a pair of strikeouts before lining a single to left-center field to open the home half of the frame. After advancing on the sacrifice from Tate Stewman, Bell reached on a fielding miscue from Queens, but back-to-back outs thwarted the threat from the Catamounts.

In the fourth, both teams threatened as the Royals took advantage of a pair of hit-by-pitches and a single to load the bases, while WCU had three singles. However, both pitchers were able to maintain composure in the circle and stranded the bases loaded in both ends of the inning.

Juett put together another 1-2-3 frame in the sixth with a pair of strikeouts swinging before getting Queens to look at the final punchout. The Catamounts broke through on the scoreboard in the sixth with the RBI single from Bell that allowed Mentel to come around to score.

Queens (8-19) threatened in the seventh with a one-out single, but Juett induced a pair of flyouts to send the midweek action to the bottom of the frame.

WCU wasted little time with McPherson's one-out double ahead of Dirks's two-run homer to left completed the comeback and gave the Catamounts a 3-1 win.

Kenzie Forrester (0-4) suffered the defeat for the Royals, as she went the distance, allowing nine hits and three runs, with two of those earned in the loss.

The Catamounts close their 13-game homestand with an amended weekend slate in a return to Southern Conference play against Samford. The three-game set will now begin on Friday, March 28, with a doubleheader against the Bulldogs slated for 3 p.m. Saturday's series finale is set for a 1 p.m. start from the Catamount Softball Complex. 

All three games are scheduled to be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and live stats will be available through links on CatamountSports.com.

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