Cullowhee, N.C. – After a perfect 5-0 weekend in the home-opening Catamount Classic, the Western Carolina softball team begins a seven-game road swing on Tuesday with a trip to Clinton, S.C., to battle Big South foe Presbyterian in a doubleheader. The Catamounts and the Blue Hose are set for a 1 p.m. start from the PC Softball Complex, with live stats available through a link on CatamountSports.com.

GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHAT: Western Carolina (7-9) at Presbyterian (9-8)
WHERE: PC Softball Complex (Clinton, S.C.)     
WHEN: Tuesday, March 4 - 1 p.m. (Doubleheader)
LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast (Game One) | Stat Broadcast (Game Two)  

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TWITTER: @CatamountSB

About the Catamounts:
The Catamounts used an offensive explosion to spur a perfect 5-0 weekend at the Catamount Classic, led by senior Mattie Mentel (.600), sophomore Lily Bell (.571), and the SoCon Softball Player of the Week Maya McPherson with a .500 batting average. As a team, WCU hit .429 (54-of-126) with 42 runs scored and 12 extra-base hits with eight doubles and four homers. In the tournament, McPherson led the attack with 14 RBIs.

McPherson collected the league's player of the week honor on Monday afternoon. The second-year corner infielder tallied three multi-hit games as part of WCU's sweep of the competition in the Catamount Classic. A native of Lancaster, Calif., McPherson posted one of her best collegiate weeks, finishing 10-for-22 (.455) with two doubles and a home run with three runs scored. She also finished with a team-high 16 RBIs, tied for the national lead with 16 runs knocked in.

In the circle, WCU also dominated with five complete games from three different pitchers, scattering 19 hits and allowing just one earned run. Freshman Amanda Fulton tossed a pair of complete game shutouts with 18 strikeouts, while classmate AG Batson had a pair of complete games with one unearned run allowed. Senior Tessa Juett had seven strikeouts and an earned run allowed in a win over PC on Saturday.

Bell begins the week second in the SoCon in batting average (.457) while ranking in a two-way tie for third in stolen bases (7). Bell also ranks third in on-base percentage (.536) as she's eighth in the league in hits (21). Bell also carries the team's longest on-base streak to Clinton with 11 straight reached safely.

McPherson starts Tuesday's action third in the conference in runs batted in (20) as junior Rylee Butler is tied for seventh in on-base percentage (.500).

Fulton is one of three players in the league with multiple shutouts, sitting in a tie for second with a pair of shutouts. She also begins the midweek tilt in fourth in strikeouts per seven innings (6.9), third in walks allowed per nine innings (1.63), and first in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.25). As a team, WCU is third in the league with nine complete games, just behind Wofford (14) & Chattanooga (11), as the Catamounts have six complete games in the last eight contests.

Scouting the Opposition – Presbyterian Blue Hose:
Presbyterian (9-8) left Cullowhee by closing the tournament with wins over N.C. A&T and Rhode Island, with a defeat to WCU sandwiched in between. The finish to the Catamount Classic came on the heels of a pair of one-run losses to the Aggies and Rams on Friday.

PC returns to the friendly confines of the PC Softball Complex, where the Blue Hose played their first 12 games before last weekend's trip to Cullowhee. Among those seven home victories, one was a win over SoCon foe ETSU.

Two-way standout Kasey Wolfe leads the Blue Hose with a .469 average. She's tallied five doubles, two homers, and 14 RBIs. Wolfe leads the Big South with her .469 average and a conference-high .550 on-base percentage. Senior Mallory Fletcher has posted a .404 average (21-of-52) as she's recorded a team-best six doubles and 16 RBIs with three homers. Junior Blair Darby joins Wolfe and Fletcher with double-digit RBIs as she's the team leader with five homers and 14 RBIs.

In the circle, junior Peyton Duncan leads the squad with a 5-3 record and a team-best 2.54 ERA. Duncan has totaled a team-high 32 strikeouts over 49.2 innings with five complete games. Wolfe is 2-4 with a 3.10 ERA, tallying 25 strikeouts in 40.2 innings.

Presbyterian was picked seventh in the seven-team Big South preseason poll led by Wolfe, who garnered all-conference honors from the league's coaches. David Williams is in his seventh season at the helm for the Blue Hose as 2025 begins his 20th season coaching with previous stops at Mars Hill and Morehead State. Williams has totaled 463 wins in his coaching career.

Series History:
WCU and PC have played 28 times before Tuesday's doubleheader in Clinton, with the Blue Hose holding a 15-13 lead in the all-time series. Western Carolina increased its win streak to three in a row on Saturday with the 8-2 win in Cullowhee. In the current three-game win streak, Lily Bell has gone 11-for-13 at the plate with five RBIs and a double over the win streak. Tessa Juett has tossed 18.1 innings in the circle, allowing four earned runs and tallying 19 strikeouts. Mattie Mentel has six hits in the past three contests, including a home run on Saturday.

On Deck for Western Carolina:
Following Tuesday's doubleheader in Clinton, the Catamounts return to the Palmetto State on Friday, March 7, for the Eagle Classic hosted by Winthrop University in Rock Hill. WCU will play five games, facing Boston and Winthrop two times apiece, along with a single matchup against Norfolk State. All five games will have live stats available through links on CatamountSports.com. Friday night's matchup against the host Winthrop will also be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required). 

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