Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina baseball plays seven of its next eight games on the road, beginning on Wednesday (April 23) when the Catamounts play the backend of the midweek nonconference home-and-home with mountain-rival UNC Asheville. The first pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Asheville's on-campus Greenwood Field.
 
Wednesday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available online through CatamountSports.com. Fans can also listen to the Catamount Sports Network broadcast LIVE with online audio available through CatamountSports.com. Admission for games at Greenwood Field is free courtesy of Ingles.
 
Idle since last Saturday when it claimed the Southern Conference series over visiting Wofford, Western Carolina (19-20) is riding a two-game win streak and has wins in three of its last four games dating back to last week's road tally at Presbyterian – just the squad's third victory in a true road game. Last time out, the Catamounts walked off a 15-5, series-clincher in eight innings against Wofford to win its league series, the first for WCU at home against the Terriers since 2017.
 
UNC Asheville (13-24) enters the week riding a high after taking 2-of-3 from Big South Conference leader High Point, rebounding from a 15-3 loss in the opener with close 4-2 and 11-10 victories that halted a seven-game win streak for the Panthers.

Projected Starting Pitching Match-Up:
WCU - Fr. RHP Carter Burnette (2-0, 5.82 ERA) vs. AVL - Sr. RHP Shea Walker (0-3, 7.09 ERA)
- Asheville, N.C., native and Asheville High product Carter Burnette is expected to make his 15 seasonal appearance and third start in an expected short role on Wednesday in his hometown against the Bulldogs as WCU plans a "staff day" ahead of this weekend's SoCon series at Samford;
- Burnette tossed a career-long 4.0 innings at Presbyterian back on April 15, striking out three in the winning effort .. His career-high is six strikeouts over 3.2 innings at Mercer (March 29) ... Burnette did not see action against UNCA in the first meeting this season;
- Asheville starter Shea Walker is in his second season on staff for the Bulldogs after throwing in seven games a year ago ... the San Antonio, Texas, product transferred from Dodge City CC ahead of the 2024 season;
- Walker tossed two innings against the Catamounts back on March 25, surrendering two runs on two hits including a homer with a strikeout.
 
Last Time We Met – Western Carolina 9, UNC Asheville 8:
Cole Jones delivered a walk-off, two-run single up the middle to plate both Mason Holton with the game-tying run and Brayden Corn with the game-winner as Western Carolina rallied past mountain rival UNC Asheville 9-8 in nonconference midweek action. WCU overcame an 8-2 deficit after being limited to just three base hits over the first five frames to earn the victory, scoring the game's final seven runs over the final four innings to earn its fifth-straight victory in the series with the Bulldogs.
 
WCU's nine base hits were spread between eight different players with Trent Turner (2-for-3) driving in three with a two-run homer and a sacrifice fly. Corn (1-for-4) had the solo home run with Wyatt Stanley (1-for-2) and Trey Spees (1-for-3) both doubling for the Catamount extra-base hits. Jones (1-for-2) reached base three times in the win, drawing a pair of walks and his two-run single, while Jack Spyke finished 1-for-1 with an RBI on the sacrifice fly.
 
The Bulldogs hit a season-best five home runs on a gusty afternoon at the ball yard including back-to-back long flies to open the game by Corbin Lanowitz (2-for-5) and Logan Lowe (3-for-5), the first in the career of the latter. Jake Minarik had the best day offensively for Asheville, going 4-for-4 and finishing a triple shy of the cycle with two home runs, a double, and a single, with three RBI. Cannon Pierce reached twice with an HBP and a two-run home run.
 
Noting Western Carolina:
The Catamounts enter the week ranked third in the Southern Conference with a .308 team batting average, with the league's second-most base hits with 412, including a SoCon-best 86 doubles, eight triples, and are fifth with 40 home runs. WCU is fourth in scoring with 313 runs, averaging eight per game on 10.6 hits per contest. The Catamounts surrender an average of 8.2 runs on 10.1 hits per game.
 
WCU's pitching staff is fifth with 332 combined strikeouts, including a SoCon-best 104 strikeouts looking.
 
Seven WCU regulars are batting over the .300 threshold, with an eighth – Wyatt Stanley (.291) just below. Hayden Friese (.342) leads the Catamounts entering the week in both batting average and base hits (53). Jack Spyke overtook Elijah Smith for the team lead in doubles, 13-to-12, and Trent Turner has a team-best seven homers.
 
Spyke enters the week having reached base safely in 15 straight games, WCU's longest active streak that includes a four-game hitting streak. Elijah Smith has hit in five straight games, with Trey Spees carrying a four-game hit streak into Wednesday's tilt.
 
About UNC Asheville:
The Bulldogs are on a two-game win streak, snapping a four-game slide that included a pair of one-run losses and two by double-digit margins. Asheville was picked seventh in the nine-team Big South Conference preseason poll. WCU has also faced the preseason No. 2 pick USC Upstate, splitting the home-and-home. WCU has taken two of the three meetings with No. 3 pick Gardner-Webb, and the first two of three against the No. 4 pick Presbyterian.
 
Bulldog junior starting pitcher Colby Guy was named a preseason All-Big South Conference selection as well as the league's preseason Pitcher of the Year.
 
Asheville is batting .261 collectively as a team with 318 hits, including 58 doubles, four triples, and 21 home runs. Blaize Johnson (.333) leads the Bulldogs with nine doubles as part of 13 extra-base hits, while Jake Minarik (.231) has a team-high six home runs. Patrick Gillen leads four 'Dogs with 20 or more RBI with 23 total on the year.
 
Western Carolina vs. UNC Asheville – The Series:
The Catamounts and Bulldogs meet for the 84th time on Wednesday, with WCU carrying a 58-25 edge in the all-time series. WCU has won five straight over the Bulldogs over the past two seasons after the Bulldogs won eight of the nine series meetings between 2015 and 2022.
 
The Catamounts have won six of the last 10 series meetings. WCU has a pair of nine-game win streaks, the longest in series history. WCU has won 23 of the 35 series meetings played in Asheville, including meetings between Greenwood Field and historic McCormick Field.
 
Up Next for Western Carolina:
Coming off a three-game set against the Wofford Terriers, WCU's "canine" portion of the schedule continues after Wednesday's matchup against the UNCA Bulldogs as the Catamounts travel to Birmingham, Ala., to face the Samford Bulldogs (April 25-27) in Southern Conference play ahead of another meeting with the Runnin' Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb (April 29) in Cullowhee.