Cullowhee, N.C. – Riding the momentum of Tuesday's walk-off victory over mountain-rival UNC Asheville, Western Carolina baseball hits the road in Southern Conference play this weekend as the Catamounts travel to Macon, Ga., and OrthoGeorgia Park for a three-game league series against the Mercer Bears. Play opens on Friday at 6 p.m., with Saturday's first pitch slated for 2 p.m. and a 1 p.m. start on Sunday.
Live stats coverage of each game by Mercer is available through online links at CatamountSports.com, with Friday's series opener to be
broadcast on ESPN+ (
paid subscription required).
Starting Lineup:
Two teams that opened 1-2 in SoCon play look to make a move in the second weekend of league play as the Catamounts visit the Bears for a three-game SoCon series in Macon, Ga. Both squads are looking for their first SoCon series win as Mercer salvaged game three at The Citadel, while WCU won its SoCon opener for a third-straight season but could not win the series.
For a second straight weekend, six of the eight league teams will be in action with UNCG and Wofford playing their first conference series as the Spartans visit VMI and Wofford travels to The Citadel. ETSU (at USC Upstate) and Samford (vs. Creighton) both step out of conference play for a three-game series this weekend.
Projected Pitching Matchups:
Friday – WCU: RHP
Dusty Revis (1-2, 5.74 ERA) vs. Mercer: LHP Colton Cosper (3-1, 4.15 ERA) -
Live Stats
Saturday – WCU: LHP
Davis Wright (1-3, 4.26 ERA) vs. Mercer: RHP Jeb Johnson (3-0, 4.00 ERA) -
Live Stats
Sunday – WCU: TBA vs. Mercer: TBA -
Live Stats
About Western Carolina:
Western Carolina (10-11) has won three of its last five games overall – and five of its last eight dating back to the Eastern Illinois series March 14-15 in Cullowhee. In each of the past three seasons, the Catamounts have won their SoCon opener but failed to win the series. This year it was VMI, last season at ETSU, and in 2023, it was at UNCG that WCU started league play 1-2.
The Catamounts enter the week second in the SoCon in batting average (.317), with a league-best 278 hits including 51 doubles (tied for 1st), six triples (tied for 3rd), and 28 home runs (4th). WCU's lineup boasts four of the top eight in the SoCon in base hits including
Hayden Friese (2nd, 37),
Trent Turner (36, t-3rd),
Brayden Corn (36, t-3rd), and
Mason Holton (33, t-6th). Friese (.363) and Corn (.360) rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in the SoCon in batting average with Turner (.350) rounding out the Top 10.
Elijah Smith has a team-best 10 doubles – tied for third in the SoCon – while his WCU-best 29 RBI rank him tied for seventh overall.
On the mound, WCU has 211 combined strikeouts to rank fifth overall in the SoCon that includes a league-best 77 strikeouts looking. Left-handed junior
Davis Wright leads WCU, and ranks tied for sixth with 35 strikeouts including a team-best 12 looking.
Dusty Revis has fanned 24, 18th in the SoCon.
In the field, WCU leads the SoCon – and ranks tied for 24th nationally – with 20 double-plays, two more than second-place ETSU (18), averaging 0.80 per game.
Catamount Active Hitting Streaks:
5 games –
Brayden Corn
3 games –
Mason Holton,
Trey Spees
2 games –
Elijah Smith,
Trent Turner
Longest Active Reached Base Safely Streaks:
9 games –
Hayden Friese
5 games –
Brayden Corn,
Mason Holton,
Trent Turner
4 games –
Trey Spees
3 games –
Wyatt Stanley
About the Opposition – Mercer Bears:
Just days after taking down fifth-ranked Florida State in Tallahassee, Mercer dropped 2-of-3 in its SoCon-opening series at The Citadel last weekend including an 11-inning loss in the opener before being blanked 8-0 in game two. The Bears claimed the series finale 9-7 and enter the weekend riding a two-game win streak after earning a walk-off win over Georgia State on Wednesday.
The Bears are batting .280 collectively as a team – sixth in the SoCon. With 51 doubles, Mercer is tied for the SoCon lead and is second with 37 team home runs. The Orange & Black have scored 175 runs on 245 base hits over the first 26 games, averaging 6.7 runs on 9.4 hits per game. Mercer boasts a 4.26 team ERA, second-best in the conference, allowing just 4.8 runs on 8.2 hits per game.
Mercer put four players on the preseason All-SoCon team including starting pitcher Colton Cosper, reliever Jess Ackerman, shortstop Bradley Frye, and outfielder Ty Dalley, who hit the walk-off homer for the Bears on Wednesday. Frye leads the SoCon in batting average at .409 and is tied for third with nine home runs. Dalley has seven homers while ranking tied for first with 11 doubles on the year. Cosper (6-3) ranks tied for fifth in wins, while Ackerman is tied for seventh with a 3.42 collective ERA and fourth with 36 strikeouts- one more than Cosper with 35.
Despite the four first-team selections, Mercer was picked in a fourth-place tie with ETSU in the preseason coaches' poll, five points ahead of the Catamounts who were tabbed sixth by the league's head coaches.
Western Carolina vs. Mercer – The Series:
The Catamounts and Bears have met 34 times previously on the baseball diamond with all but two meetings – the 2007 13-10 Mercer win in Cullowhee and WCU's 8-7 win in 10 innings in Macon – the only two before Mercer joining the Southern Conference in 2014. WCU holds a slim 18-16 advantage in the series overall, faring better on the road at 8-4 than at home where the series is tied, 8-8.
Mercer snapped WCU's five-game series win streak in last year's SoCon tournament with a 10-8 win at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C. The Catamounts have won eight of the last 10 series meetings dating back to 2022. In the most recent meetings in Macon, the Catamounts took 2-of-3 including a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the ninth inning in a 15-14 victory. WCU trailed by seven entering the ninth inning but plated eight runs on the strength of three home runs including a three-run shot by
Cole Jones, a Pascanel Ferreras grand slam, and a game-winning homer by
James Hinson.
On Deck for the Catamounts:
Following the three-game road set at Mercer, the Catamounts return home for three consecutive home dates including a midweek matchup with archrival Appalachian State on Tuesday, April 1, at 5 p.m. The Catamounts then play a three-game weekend split series against Gardner-Webb including two games in Cullowhee and one in Boiling Springs. The series includes Friday (5 p.m.) and Saturday (updated 3 p.m.,
following WCU football Spring Game) at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium, with the third game at Bill Masters Field at John Henry Moss Stadium in Boiling Springs. Each game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (
paid subscription required).
Keep track of everything related to Catamount baseball and WCU Athletics through social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports), Twitter (Catamounts, @CatamountBSB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountbsb).
