Softball 4/11/2025 12:00:00 PM Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Softball Hosts Wofford in Pivotal Conference Series

Cullowhee, N.C. – Following its second Southern Conference series win of the season and a full week hiatus from the diamond, Western Carolina softball returns to the friendly confines of the Catamount Softball Complex for a pivotal three-game weekend league series with Wofford. The two begin the weekend within a game of one another in the SoCon standings as both secured series wins last weekend.

The three-game set begins on Saturday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader before the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Cullowhee. All three games will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and live stats will be available 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: Wofford (24-15, 5-4 SoCon) vs Western Carolina (20-20, 4-5 SoCon)
WHERE: Catamount Softball Complex (Cullowhee, N.C.)
WHEN: Saturday, April 12 – 1 p.m. (DH) | Sunday, April 13 – 1 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Sidearm Stats (All 3 Games)
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ (Saturday G1) | ESPN+ (Saturday G2) | ESPN+ (Sunday)

FOLLOW THE ACTION
TWITTER: @CatamountSB
GAME NOTES

About Western Carolina:
The Catamounts continued their road swing through Tennessee last weekend as WCU took 2-of-3 from preseason favorite Chattanooga to pick up their second series win in SoCon play. Junior Rylee Butler and sophomore Lily Bell both hit .500 (5-of-10) on the weekend as Butler had a double and three RBIs, while Bell scored six runs and totaled four stolen bases with a pair of walks. Sophomore Maya McPherson added a pair of doubles with three RBIs. Senior Tessa Juett and freshman Amanda Fulton both tallied a win in the circle with Fulton also earning a save.

Bell is among the nation's leaders in hits, batting average, and stolen bases. She enters the weekend leading the SoCon in batting average (.455), base hits (56), and on-base percentage (.524), while ranked second in the league in stolen bases (21). Bell is closing in on history in WCU program history as the Woodstock, Ga. native needs just one stolen base to set the record for steals in a career. She enters the weekend with 55 stolen bases in a season and a half, entering the weekend tied with former Catamount Brooklynn Brewington (2022-23).

Bell has hits in 10 of the last 13 games with a team-high 20 multi-hit games while reaching base safely in 36 of the team's 40 games. Bell has tallied seven multi-hit games in her last 11 contests.

McPherson starts the weekend tied for fourth in the league in runs batted in (37) as she leads the squad with nine doubles and is second on the team with six home runs. Sophomore Sydney Dirks has a team-best eight home runs after last weekend's series against Chattanooga. She is tied for fifth in the league in long balls.

In SoCon play, Bell is one of two players in the league with 14 hits, boasting a .500 batting average, second in the conference. She's also tied for second in runs scored with 11 and is ranked tied for second in on-base percentage at .562. McPherson is fifth in the league with an .833 slugging percentage.

Freshman Amanda Fulton is tied for third in the SoCon with nine complete games and is tied for fifth with nine victories. She also begins the weekend in fifth in strikeouts per seven innings (6.3), sixth in walks allowed per seven innings (2.4), and sixth in overall strikeouts (77). Juett is third in the league in strikeouts per seven innings (7.0), tied with fifth in complete games (8) and third in total strikeouts (95).

As a team, WCU is fourth in the SoCon with a .292 batting average including the third-most hits (297) including the third-most home runs (27) as part of the ranking fourth in slugging (.424). WCU is fourth in scoring with 178 runs and is third in RBI (168). On the base paths, the Catamounts are third in stolen bases (54) while on the pitching side, WCU is second in strikeouts (209) including the second-most looking with 57. The Catamounts are tied for fourth in shutouts (4) and third in complete games (21).

Scouting the Opposition – Wofford Terriers:
Wofford (24-15, 5-4) heads to Cullowhee following a 4-0 shutout in midweek action against Presbyterian on Tuesday. The Terriers most recently claimed a three-game SoCon sweep of Mercer last weekend in Spartanburg, while taking 2-of-3 to begin conference action against Furman in the opening weekend. WCU and Wofford have four common opponents in the 2025 season, Gardner-Webb, Presbyterian, Winthrop, and North Carolina A&T. The Terriers have a 4-2 mark compared to a 7-3 mark for the Catamounts.

Redshirt sophomore infielder Kate Platte leads the Wofford offense with a .336 batting average with 37 hits including three doubles and a pair of triples to accompany 10 RBI. Freshman infielder Brianna Stanley comes in with a .331 average with a team-high 39 hits including three doubles and four homers with 21 runs knocked in. Senior catcher Hope Ingle leads Wofford with six homers and eight doubles while knocking in a team-high 27 RBIs on a .290 average.

Wofford's pitchers boast the top earned run average in the SoCon (2.03), led by junior Margaret Axelson, who is 11-6 with a 1.76 ERA and a team-high 14 complete games including three shutouts. Freshman Natalya Salo is 5-4 with a 2.81 ERA as she's tallied 50 strikeouts in 67.1 innings of work. Sophomore Abby Greenwood leads the pitching staff with 83 strikeouts on a 7-4 record with a 2.33 ERA in nine complete games. Wofford has a league-best 27 complete games while ranking third in strikeouts (206) and fewest home runs allowed (16).

Wofford was picked fifth in the eight-team SoCon preseason poll under the direction of Chelsea Butler in her second year at the helm for the Terriers. Axelson and Platte both were named to the first team in the preseason all-conference honors.

Series History vs Wofford:
This weekend's series is the first between WCU and Wofford in Cullowhee as the now second-year program took 2-of-3 from WCU in Spartanburg a season ago. WCU opened last year's matchup with an 11-4 win before Wofford evened the series with a 4-3 extra-inning win before the Terriers claimed a 7-2 series clincher in the finale. In the 2024 matchups, Maya McPherson had a team-high .500 average (6-of-12) with a pair of doubles. Lily Bell tallied four hits and four runs scored with a pair of stolen bases. Tessa Juett tallied a win in the circle with 10 strikeouts over a pair of outings last season.

On Deck for Western Carolina:
Following the weekend in Cullowhee, the Catamounts open a five-game road swing beginning on Tuesday, April 15, with a doubleheader against Big South foe USC Upstate. The Catamounts and Spartans begin the doubleheader at 3 p.m. from Cyrill Softball Stadium on USC Upstate's campus.

Both games are slated for ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats provided at 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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