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Full
Rylee Butler vs N.C. A&T @ Catamount Classic
Samuel Wallace - WCU Communications and Marketing
7
Winner Western Carolina WCU 19-20
3
Chattanooga UTC 26-10
Winner
Western Carolina WCU
19-20
7
Final
3
Chattanooga UTC
26-10
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Western Carolina WCU 3 0 1 0 1 1 1 7 6 1
Chattanooga UTC 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 6 2

W: Fulton, Amanda (9-4) L: Long (9-1)

3
Winner Western Carolina WCU 20-20
2
Chattanooga UTC 26-11
Winner
Western Carolina WCU
20-20
3
Final
2
Chattanooga UTC
26-11
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Western Carolina WCU 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 3 8 2
Chattanooga UTC 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 8 0

W: Juett, Tessa (8-9) L: Goold (14-5) S: Fulton, Amanda (1)

Game Recap: Softball | | Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Softball Sweeps Doubleheader, Secures Series over Chattanooga

Cullowhee, N.C. – Behind timely hitting and solid pitching throughout, Western Carolina softball picked up its second Southern Conference series win of the season with a doubleheader sweep of preseason favorite Chattanooga, winning 7-3 and 3-2 in doubleheader action on Saturday afternoon at Frost Stadium.
 
Junior Rylee Butler went 5-of-7 at the plate to lead the offensive attack with a double and three RBI, while sophomore Lily Bell finished 3-of-6 with a team-high six runs scored and four stolen bases. With her four thefts, Bell has tied the school record for career steals with 55, matching Brooklynn Brewington (2022-23). Classmate Maya McPherson went 3-of-7 at the dish with a pair of doubles and three RBIs and sophomore Sydney Dirks had a double and her team-high eighth home run on Saturday.
 
In the circle, freshman Amanda Fulton (9-4) opened the day with her team-high ninth complete game of the season as she struck out seven and limited the Mocs to three runs, two coming in the first inning. In game two, senior Tessa Juett grabbed her eighth win of the season, going six innings and only allowing one earned run with three strikeouts. Fulton returned to the circle in the seventh to pitch a scoreless inning with two strikeouts to secure her first career save and give WCU the series win.
 
WCU improved to 15-3 on the season when scoring first and an 11-3 record when scoring at least six runs this season. Saturday marked the seventh time the Catamounts have taken both ends of a doubleheader from their opposition this season.
 
Game One – Western Carolina 7, Chattanooga 3
A three-run first inning followed by single runs in each of the final three frames was all the separation the Catamounts needed to claim game one of Saturday's doubleheader with Chattanooga 7-3 to even the series with the Mocs.
 
Junior Rylee Butler (2-for-4) and sophomore Sydney Dirks (2-for-3) led the offensive attack in game one for WCU. Butler, Dirks, and sophomore Maya McPherson each collected doubles, while Dirks connected on her eighth homer of the season. Sophomore Lily Bell reached base with a single and a pair of walks while matching the single-game program record for runs scored with four.
 
The Catamounts jumped out front early as a Bell walked, followed by a sacrifice that led to McPherson lining an RBI double to center field before Dirks deposited one over the left field wall and gave the Catamounts an early 3-0 lead.
 
Chattanooga answered the offense with some of its own on a two-run shot to make it a 3-2 contest after just one inning. Freshman Amanda Fulton tallied back-to-back strikeouts after the Mocs offense to limit the damage.
 
In the third, Bell reached base for the second time on a walk and after a stolen base followed by a single from Butler to move the sophomore down to third. WCU pushed the lead to 4-2 on an RBI groundout from McPherson. The Mocs once again answered, though, with a sacrifice fly in their half of the frame to make it 4-3 after three complete innings.
 
Western Carolina added to its advantage in the fifth inning with a two-out RBI double off the bat of Butler that scored Bell and pushed the score to 5-3. The Catamounts stretched the lead to three, 6-3, in the sixth, following a Dirks leadoff double as she advanced to third before a sacrifice fly from Taylor Waitley gave WCU a three-run advantage. Fulton dialed up a 1-2-3 sixth inning to send the action to the seventh, with the Catamounts leading by three.
 
Bell tallied a leadoff single in the seventh, and after she swiped her second base of the game, she came all the way around to score on a pair of defensive miscues from the Mocs and would give WCU plenty of cushion for the 7-3 win in game one.
 
Fulton (9-4) tossed her ninth complete game of the season on Saturday, scattering six hits and allowing just three runs with seven strikeouts.
 
Taylor Long (9-1) suffered the loss for Chattanooga as she went the distance, allowing six hits and seven runs, with six being earned. Long also recorded 10 strikeouts in the loss for the Mocs.
 
Game Two – Western Carolina 3, Chattanooga 2
In a different style of game compared to the opener, a two-run fifth inning with back-to-back hits from junior Rylee Butler and sophomore Maya McPherson proved to be enough of a margin for Western Carolina to hold on for the 3-2 victory against Chattanooga in game two and complete the doubleheader sweep.
 
Butler (3-for-3), McPherson (2-for-3), and sophomore Lily Bell (2-for-4) pounded out seven of WCU's eight hits in the tight win on Saturday afternoon. Bell grabbed her team-high 20th multi-hit game while it marked 10 for McPherson and nine for Butler after her two multi-hit games on Saturday.
 
After both teams stranded a runner in the first, Chattanooga (26-11, 5-3 SoCon) threatened in its half of the second as the hosts loaded the bases with one out before a popout and groundout to WCU's game two starter Tessa Juett erased the threat and kept the game scoreless after two complete.
 
WCU broke the scoreless tie in the third inning, though with a one-out single from Bell, who swiped second and quickly advanced to third before an RBI single from Butler gave the Catamounts a 1-0 lead. UTC took advantage of a defensive miscue in the bottom half of the frame to quickly even the score at a run apiece after three.
 
Chattanooga took its first and only lead of Saturday's action in the fourth inning with an RBI single down the left field line to jump in front 2-1 after four complete.
 
UTC's lead was short-lived as a one-out single by Bell was followed by another stolen base, that tied the school record. She came around to score on an RBI base knock from Butler for the second time in the game. The Catamounts regained the lead five pitches later with an RBI double from McPherson to take a 3-2 lead to the home half of the frame.
 
Chattanooga threatened in the bottom half of the inning with back-to-back walks before a pair of groundouts, and a foulout kept the Mocs off the scoreboard. UTC continued to try to push the tying run across in the sixth with a one-out single and a two-out walk being stranded on base.
 
Freshman Amanda Fulton returned to the circle in the seventh and pitched a 1-2-3 final frame with a pair of strikeouts to help secure the doubleheader sweep on Saturday for the Catamounts.
 
Juett (8-9) earned the victory, going six innings, scattering eight hits, and allowing two runs, with one of those being earned and tallying three strikeouts. With her win on Saturday, Juett tied Mendy McKenzie (35, 2006-07) for second in career wins. Fulton (1) pitched a perfect seventh inning with a pair of strikeouts to secure the save for WCU.
 
Peja Goold (14-5) suffered the loss for UTC. She pitched the full 7.0 innings and allowed eight hits and three runs with 12 strikeouts.
 
Western Carolina (20-20, 4-5 SoCon) returns to the friendly confines of the Catamount Softball Complex on Saturday, April 12, to open a three-game SoCon series against Wofford. Saturday will feature a doubleheader set for 1 p.m. before Sunday's series finale scheduled for 1 p.m. All three 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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