Softball 3/27/2025 2:00:00 PM Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Softball Closes Homestand with SoCon Showdown against Samford

Cullowhee, N.C. – Returning to Southern Conference play off of a walk-off victory on Wednesday afternoon, the Western Carolina softball team closes out a season-long 13-game homestand beginning Friday with SoCon action against Samford at the Catamount Softball Complex. The amended weekend slate begins with a 3 p.m. doubleheader before the series finale at 1 p.m. on Saturday ahead of expected inclement weather on Sunday.

The matchup between the Catamounts and Bulldogs will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) throughout the weekend and have live stats through CatamountSports.com. Admission this weekend and to all home Catamount softball games throughout the 2025 season – is free of charge, presented by First Bank.

GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHAT: Samford (20-14, 2-1 SoCon) vs Western Carolina (18-15, 2-1 SoCon)
WHERE: Catamount Softball Complex (Cullowhee, N.C.)
WHEN: Friday, March 28 - 3 p.m. (Doubleheader) | Saturday, March 29 – 1 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Sidearm Stats
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ (Friday Game One) | ESPN+ (Friday Game Two) | ESPN+ (Saturday)

FOLLOW THE ACTION
TWITTER: @CatamountSB
GAME NOTES

About Western Carolina:
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.

Sophomore Lily Bell (2-for-4), senior Tessa 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 reach 400 strikeouts in her career.

Bell begins the weekend ranked in the top spot in the SoCon in batting average (.480) while ranking second in the league in stolen bases (17). She also ranks second in on-base percentage (.546) and is atop the league in hits (49) with knocks in 12 of the last 15 games, and has a team-high 17 multi-hit games. She has also reached base safely in 31 of 33 games. Bell has tallied four multi-hit games in her last six contests. Bell is among the nation's leaders in hits, batting average, and stolen bases.

McPherson starts the weekend fourth in the league in runs batted in (33), including 19 RBIs in March. Dirks took the team lead in homers with her seven on Wednesday. She is tied for fourth in the league and ninth in RBIs at 24.

Amanda Fulton is third in the SoCon with eight complete games and is tied for fourth with eight victories. She also begins the weekend in a tie for fourth in strikeouts per seven innings (6.2), fifth in walks allowed per seven innings (2.2), and fifth in strikeouts (66). Juett ranks third in the league in strikeouts per seven innings (7.6), fourth in complete games (7), and third in total strikeouts (78).

As a team, WCU is second in the SoCon with a .304 batting average, fourth in runs scored (160), third in hits (260), tied for second in homers (24), fourth in RBIs (151), second in stolen bases (48), third in on-base percentage (.372), and third in slugging percentage (.444). On the pitching side, the Catamounts come in second in strikeouts (176), tied for third in shutouts (4), third in strikeouts looking (46), and second in complete games (19).

Scouting the Opposition – Samford Bulldogs:
Samford (20-14, 2-1) fell in midweek action to in-state foe Jacksonville State in its last on-field action before making the trip to Cullowhee. Before the midweek setback, the Bulldogs began SoCon play with back-to-back one-run wins over Mercer at home before dropping the series finale to the Bears. Samford has played some stiff competition in the early stages of the 2025 campaign with matchups against #17 Mississippi State, Purdue, #3 Florida, #22 Alabama, Iowa State, and #21 Ole Miss, all before league action.

Sophomore Olivia Shaw paces the Bulldogs offense with a .386 batting average, including 39 hits with 12 doubles and five homers with a team-high 36 RBIs. Shaw was joined by WCU's Lily Bell a season ago, garnering Co-Freshman of the Year honors. Sophomore Katie Campbell begins the weekend at .296 , totaling nine doubles and four homers with 27 runs knocked in. Senior Logan Champion leads the way for Samford with eight homers, while freshman Joi Hubbard has 19 steals and a .338 average to her name.

The Bulldogs are led in the circle by freshman Olivia Treece (4-1), who has a 3.00 ERA over 35.0 innings of work that has spanned 12 outings with five starts. Senior Jordyn Partain holds an 8-8 record, serving as the workhorse of the pitching staff, going 81.2 innings with six complete games and a team-high 39 strikeouts.

Samford was tabbed fourth in the eight-team SoCon Preseason poll. Champion and Shaw both garnered first-team all-conference honors, while Partain, Sarah Squillace, and McKayla Cothran were named to the second team. A 2021 Samford graduate, Megan Curry is in her first season at the helm of her alma mater after spending two seasons at Asbury and a year at Birmingham Southern.

Series History vs Samford:
WCU and Samford have an even 25-25 head-to-head record entering play on Friday afternoon in Cullowhee. The Bulldogs come into play on Friday with back-to-back wins in the series, both victories coming in the 2024 SoCon tournament, as Western Carolina earned a series win in Birmingham during the regular season. The Catamounts have had control of the series in Cullowhee with a 16-8 record, including wins in five of the last six matchups held in Cullowhee.

In the five head-to-head meetings in 2024, Lily Bell led the offensive attack with a .389 average (7-for-18) with four doubles and three stolen bases as Tessa Juett hit at a .357 clip (5-for-14) with two runs along with a double and a homer. Mattie Mentel went 3-for-9 with a double and three runs scored. Juett claimed two wins in 22 innings of work in the circle as she tossed three complete games with 13 punchouts.

On Deck for Western Carolina:
The Catamounts play nine of their next 12 games on the road, beginning on Tuesday, April 1, with a visit to Knoxville to battle nationally ranked Tennessee. The single game with the Lady Vols is slated for 6 p.m. from Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. The midweek tilt is scheduled to be shown on SECN+ (paid subscription required), and live stats will be available through links 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.

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