Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina baseball remains on the road Tuesday evening as the Catamounts travel to Clinton, S.C., for the second of three seasonal meetings with nonconference foe Presbyterian at the on-campus PC Baseball Complex and Elton Pollock Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
 
Tuesday's game will be broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network with live streaming audio available online at CatamountSports.com.
 
Western Carolina (16-19) looks to snap a four-game slide, which comes on the heels of a three-game win streak, including nonconference wins over Appalachian State and Gardner-Webb. WCU dropped the return trip against the Mountaineers last Wednesday before being swept in Southern Conference play at East Tennessee State.
 
Presbyterian (16-18) enters the midweek nonconference tilt well rested, idle since a 16-2 road loss in seven innings at seventh-ranked Georgia at Foley Field last Tuesday. The Blue Hose did not play over the weekend and look to snap a two-game seasonal slide after taking 2-of-3 from Longwood in Big South Conference play.
 
About Western Carolina:
After finding their way back above the .500 mark thanks to the three-straight nonconference wins over App State and Gardner-Webb, the Catamounts are again behind the chains entering the week amidst a season-long four-game winless drought. WCU also looks to solve the road question with just three victories away from the friendly confines of Childress Field / Hennon Stadium – 2-13 in true road games with the one neutral field win over Big Ten foe Michigan State.
 
The Catamounts enter the week third in the SoCon with a team .304 batting average, including the fourth-most overall hits with 363. WCU's 74 doubles are tied for the most in the league, adding six triples and 36 home runs. The squad is averaging 7.9 runs on 10.1 hits per game while surrendering an average of 8.5 runs on 10 hits with a .294 batting average against.
 
About Presbyterian:
The Blue Hose enter the week batting .290 as a team with 323 total hits including 65 doubles, seven triples, and 22 home runs. PC is averaging 5.7 runs on 9.5 hits per game while surrendering an average of 7.8 runs on 9.5 hits per game. A combined 12 of Presbyterian's 16 victories have come at home in Clinton.
 
Four Blue Hose batters are hitting above the .300 threshold on the year. Junior designated hitter Jake Randolph leads PC offensively with a .394 batting average with 43 hits, 27 runs scored, and 25 RBI. He has also posted three doubles, a triple, two homers, and a .495 slugging percentage. Randolph set PC baseball history with a perfect 6-for-6 effort in a win over Longwood including five singles, a lead-off homer, and three RBI.
 
Projected Pitching Match-Up:
WCU – Fr. RHP Carter Burnette (1-0, 6.35 ERA) vs. PC – LHP Mason McDaniel (1-0, 6-46 ERA)

• Burnette has 15 strikeouts against seven walks on the season with nine of his K's coming in his last three outings … Burnette did not see action against Presbyterian in the first meeting … He has tossed 3+ innings twice including a career-long 3.2 in relief at Mercer and 3.0 against Appalachian State in the road loss in Boone;
• Burnette scored his first collegiate victory in the series finale victory over Big Ten foe Maryland, tossing one complete inning of hitless, scoreless relief and issuing a walk … Elijah Smith hit the walk-off three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to make Burnette a winner;
• Mason McDaniel has 10 strikeouts against 12 walks this season over 15.1 total innings … First out of the bullpen in the first meeting at WCU, McDaniel struck out three over 4.2 relief innings, holding the Catamounts scoreless with just two hits and a pair of walks allowed;
• Over the past two seasons, WCU has not fared well against McDaniel ... the left-hander from Sanford, Fla., earned his first collegiate win against WCU (Feb. 22, 2024) as he tossed six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts;

Western Carolina vs. Presbyterian – The Series:
The Catamounts and Blue Hose have met on the baseball diamond 13 times previously with the series dating back to 1992, though the majority of the meetings have occurred since 2014. The two teams meet for the fourth consecutive season. WCU leads the series 9-4 including a 4-2 record all-time in games played in Clinton. WCU has won three straight series meetings – and four of the last six overall.
 
Last Time We Met – Western Carolina 4, Presbyterian 2:
In the first meeting back on March 18, Western Carolina plated all the runs it would need in the first two innings as the Catamounts scratched out four runs including a three-run bottom of the first as WCU claimed the first of the three nonconference meetings against Presbyterian 4-2 at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
 
Mason Holton (1-2) struck out five over five solid innings in the starting role and four Catamounts combined to drive home the four runs. Trent Turner (2-for-3) and Brayden Corn (2-for-3) both singled twice with run-scoring hits in the home half of the first inning. Hayden Friese (1-for-3) doubled and scored in the first before adding an RBI groundout that allowed a second-inning insurance marker to come home in the form of Holton who doubled to start the frame.

Cam Murray (1-for-3) singled with a sacrifice fly that scored Cole Jones (1-for-3) with the eventual game-winning run. Wyatt Stanley reached twice with a pair of walks in a game that lasted just two hours and 12 minutes.
 
Jake Randolph (3-for-4) doubled as part of collecting three of Presbyterian's seven base hits, legging out a two-base hit in the first inning where he was driven home on a run-scoring double to left center by Amman Dewberry (1-for-4). Dewberry scored PC's second run after reaching on a fielder's choice in the sixth as Nick Smith (1-for-4).
 
Presbyterian starter Mikey Marroquin Jr. (0-2) suffered the loss after allowing all four runs on five hits with a pair of walks in two innings of work. Mason McDaniel threw 4.2 innings of two-hit, scoreless relief, working around a pair of walks with three strikeouts to highlight PC's four relievers.
 
Western Carolina vs. the Big South Conference:
The Catamounts have faced all nine current members of the Big South Conference, boasting a 158-69-2 record in those meetings. WCU is above .500 against eight of the nine current members with one series – vs. Longwood (1-1) – all-even at a win apiece.
   
On Deck for Western Carolina:
WCU makes a brief, three-game pitstop at home this week, hosting Wofford in SoCon play in a special Thursday through Saturday series on Easter Weekend. Games are scheduled for 5 p.m. on Friday, a special 4:30 p.m. start on Friday before a regional television audience on TheCW62, and a 2 p.m. start on Saturday.
 
Including Tuesday's roadie, eight of WCU's next 12 games will be played on the road including midweek stops at PC and UNC Asheville, with a nonconference home game against Gardner-Webb on April 29. The Catamounts also have weekend road series at Samford (April 25-27) and Georgia Tech (May 2-4).
 
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