Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina baseball steps away from league competition this weekend, concluding a stretch where eight of nine games will be played away from home as the Catamounts travel to Atlanta for a three-game nonconference series against Georgia Tech. The series opens Friday with a 6 p.m. first pitch at Russ Chandler Stadium, continuing Saturday at 4 p.m., before concluding Sunday with a 1 p.m. start.
 
Each game will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra (ACCNX, paid subscription required) and the Watch ESPN app with Andy Demetra and Dusty Isaacs on the call. Links for live streaming audio from the Georgia Tech radio network with Colin Lacey on the call, as well as live stats through StatBroadcast available online at CatamountSports.com.
 
Western Carolina (23-21) moved two games above the .500 mark for just the second time this season with Tuesday's 19-7, seven-inning run-ruled victory over Gardner-Webb in Cullowhee. WCU moved to 22-20 with wins at Samford before moving two games to the good, 23-21, this week. On Tuesday, the Catamounts rallied from a three-run deficit with an 11-run second inning to power past the Runnin' Bulldogs. Eight of WCU's season-high 19 hits went for extra bases, including a season-best five home runs and three doubles.
 
Georgia Tech (30-14) halted a season-long, seven-game slide with a 7-6 win in 10 innings at home against Virginia on Sunday. Before the extra-inning tally, the Yellow Jackets suffered five straight losses in ACC play and two against nationally ranked SEC competition. Among the seven losses were a pair of one-run defeats, with five decided by three runs or fewer.
 

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About Western Carolina:
The Catamounts had a strong close to April, winning seven of their last nine games overall, including a season-long five-game winning streak. WCU has won two out of three games in both of its last two weekend series, winning the league set over at home against Wofford and at Samford last weekend.
 
Over the past nine games, WCU is batting .325 collectively with 104 hits, including 22 doubles, three triples, and 16 home runs. The Catamounts have averaged 9.2 runs on 11.6 hits during the same stretch. Two Catamounts – Mason Holton (.447) and Jack Spyke (.429) are batting over .400 during the most recent run, Holton with a team-best 17 hits, including five for extra bases – two doubles, a triple, and two homers – while Spyke has 15 hits with a team-best six doubles and a home run. Trent Turner and Wyatt Stanley have both driven home 11, while Spyke and Hayden Friese have 10 RBI.
 
Boasting a team seasonal batting average of .308 entering the weekend, eight Catamount regulars have individual batting averages at .300-or-better, paced by Jack Spyke at .351 (46-of-131). With a SoCon-best 17 doubles, Spyke leads WCU with 21 extra-base hits, one ahead of Trent Turner with 20 which includes a team-best 10 home runs – the second-most of his collegiate career after hitting 13 as a sophomore at USC Union.
 
Active Hitting Streaks:
9 games – Jack Spyke (one shy of his season-long)
6 games – Brayden Corn (one shy of his season-long)
4 games – Wyatt Stanley
3 games – Trent Turner
2 games – Jackson Lyda, Elijah Smith

• WCU's longest hitting streak was 15 games by Trent Turner

 
Active Reached Base Safely Streaks:
20 games – Jack Spyke (WCU's longest streak this season)
8 games – Brayden Corn
7 games – Wyatt Stanley
3 games – Elijah Smith, Trent Turner
2 games – Jackson Lyda, Josh Ossiander
 
Misc. Catamount Game Notes:

• WCU enters the weekend with three wins over Power Four competition, taking 2-of-3 from Big Ten foe Maryland in Cullowhee and rallying for a neutral-field victory over Michigan State in early March to make the Catamounts 3-1 against Big Ten – the nation's fourth-best overall conference – foes this season … WCU also has a couple of wins against the Sun Belt Conference (Georgia State, App State), a league that ranks fifth nationally in RPI;
• Western Carolina is hoping for a similar finish after facing an ACC foe with two league series remaining a year ago when the Catamounts visited Wake Forest … Despite suffering a trio of losses in Winston-Salem, WCU went on to close the regular season by winning five of its last seven games, sweeping Mercer at home and taking 2-of-3 from VMI in Lexington, Va., to win its last two SoCon series;
• Similarly, the last two times that WCU has played a three-game series in Atlanta against the Jackets – 2019 and 2016 – the Catamounts went on to win at least one game in the SoCon's postseason tournament … In 2016, WCU made a run to the tournament championship in capturing the SoCon crown and the league's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament;
• WCU holds a 19-1 record when carrying a lead past the fifth inning … the Catamounts are undefeated this season when leading after seven innings (16-0) and after eight innings (15-0);
• Jack Spyke enters the weekend leading the Southern Conference with a league-best 17 doubles, a mark that ranks him tied for 33rd in the country with his 0.44 doubles per game average ranking tied for 22nd in the NCAA;
• Junior CF Brayden Corn has nine sacrifice bunts this season, tied for third in the SoCon and tied for 20th nationally;
• Senior SS Trent Turner was listed on the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List for a second straight season … he was one of four shortstops in the SoCon to appear on the list … the award goes to the nation's top collegiate shortstop;
• Junior transfer reliever Brandon Langley appeared on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List, one of two representing the Southern Conference among the 56 nationwide … Langley has eight saves on the season to lead the SoCon and ranks 18th in the country – and have him tied for ninth in WCU's single-season record book, matching Daniel Ottone (2009) and David Pember (1998);
• WCU has nine games against teams currently ranked in Quad 1 (Mercer, ETSU, and Georgia Tech), currently with a 1-5 record … the Catamounts are 2-5 against Quad 2 teams with both wins coming at Samford last weekend and three games against UNCG remaining … WCU is 4-3 against Quad 2 teams and 16-8 against teams in Quad 4 with four games remaining.

 Catamount Individual Highlight Notes:

• Senior shortstop Trent Turner snapped a mini-slump over the past two games as he's gone six for his last nine (.667) with a double and three home runs … Over the six games prior, the Waynesville, N.C., product was 3-for-23 (.130)  with three singles;
• Senior third baseman Mason Holton has six multi-hit games over his last eight outings, batting .447 (17-of-38) with two doubles, two homers, and a triple, and nine RBI;
• Senior Jack Spyke is on a team-long nine-game hitting streak, batting 15-for-35 (.429) with seven extra-base hits – six doubles and a home run – with 10 RBI;
• Sophomore Elijah Smith has just four hits over his last six games, batting 4-for-23 (.174) with one extra-base hit with a triple … He ranks second on the WCU squad with 13 doubles;
• True freshman middle infielder Trey Spees has four multi-hit games over his last nine outings, batting .394 (13-of-33) with four extra base hits, including three doubles and a home run … He collected a career-best four base hits (4-for-5) against Wofford (April 19);
• Junior OF Brayden Corn has a six-game hitting streak, each coming on one-hit efforts (6-for-22, .273) with a triple and a double;
• Redshirt freshman Wyatt Stanley has hits in six of his last seven games, including a four-game hitting streak (5-for-14, .357) with two doubles and a home run, and seven RBIs;
• Junior Hayden Friese has hits in five of the last seven games, batting 11-of-29 (.379) with three extra-base hits and 10 RBI;
• Redshirt freshman Noah Quarless has five hits over his last five outings (5-for-14, .357) with three home runs and four RBI
• Junior reliever Owen Austin has tossed four-plus innings in his last two appearances, striking out a combined nine over 8.2 innings – but has issued seven combined walks, with six against Wofford;
• Junior reliever Ryan White has recorded 18 strikeouts over his last seven appearances and 9.2 innings, including a season-best four strikeouts over a season-long 2.2 relief innings at Samford (April 26);
• Junior closer Brandon Langley has 14 strikeouts over his last seven outings with three saves;

Projected Pitching Matchups:
Friday, May 2  |  6 p.m.  |  Coverage: ACC Network Extra  |  GT Audio  |  Live Stats
WCU – Junior LHP Davis Wright (3-5, 4.33 ERA) vs. GT – RHP Tate McKee (5-2, 4.07 ERA)

• WCU's starter transferred from Spartanburg Methodist, opening the season on the backend of the Catamount weekend rotation before working his way to the No. 2 starter before taking over as the Friday starter … Wright leads the SoCon with 69 strikeouts, including a conference-best 22 strikeouts looking – recording four or more strikeouts in each appearance … WCU has won five of the 11 games in which he has started … Strong match up between two strikeout pitchers … Has a three-pitch mix for the most part – fastball, curveball, changeup.

Saturday, May 3  |  4 p.m.  |  Coverage: ACC Network Extra  |  GT Audio  |  Live Stats
WCU – Junior RHP Dusty Revis (4-4, 4.50 ERA) vs. GT – RHP Brady Jones (4-2, 4.70 ERA)

• Revis is a preseason first-team All-SoCon selection who transitioned from an extended reliever a season ago into a weekend starter … He was also dubbed the  SoCon's top pitcher in the preseason by Perfect Game … Revis has recorded two or more strikeouts over his 11 seasonal appearances, all starts, with a career-high nine Ks against Gardner-Webb (April 5) … Has a four-pitch mix, including fastball (92-96), slider, changeup, and curveball.

Sunday, May 4  |  1 p.m.  |  Coverage: ACC Network Extra  |  GT Audio  |  Live Stats
WCU – TBA vs. GT – RHP Jaylen Paden (4-1, 2.67 ERA)

• Who the Catamounts have to use through the first two games of the series will determine who gets the ball in game three on Sunday afternoon … WCU has used multiple starter on the backend of the weekend this season, including, LHP Owen Austin, RHP Josh Ossiander, infielder Mason Holton, RHP Cannon Pickell, with freshman RHP Carter Burnette seeing multiple starts and longer outings, including a career-long 5.0 effort in the midweek start against UNC Asheville.

 
Around the Southern Conference:
Six of the eight teams in the Southern Conference square off head-to-head this weekend, while WCU (at Georgia Tech) and Samford (Miami-Ohio) both have three-game nonconference series.
 
Top-ranked ETSU (8-4, .667) travels to seventh-place VMI (5-10, .333) as the Buccaneers try and fend off second-place Mercer (9-6, .600), who travels to last-place Wofford (3-9, .250). The battle for fourth-place has the upstart Bulldogs of The Citadel (7-5, .583) visit preseason favorite UNCG (7-5, .583) in Greensboro with three weeks remaining before the SoCon Baseball Championship, presented by Holston Gases, May 21-25.
 
Western Carolina (6-9, .400) enters the week sixth in the conference standings with its final two league opponents meeting in Greensboro this weekend. WCU hosts The Citadel May 9-11 before visiting UNCG to conclude the regular season, May 15-17.
 
Scouting Georgia Tech:
Having already locked in a sixth consecutive 30-win season, the Yellow Jackets and longtime head coach Danny Hall enter the weekend at 30-14 overall. Tech has a prolific offense that ranks tied for second in the nation with an ACC-leading 117 doubles, averaging 2.66 per game (4th), all on the NCAA's 12th-best team batting average at .319. Georgia Tech has 392 runs, averaging 8.9 per game, coming on 476 base hits, or 10.8 hits per game.
 
Seven GT regulars are batting over the .300 threshold to date, led by Kent Schmidt with a team-best .402 average (37-of-92) with 12 doubles and three homers. Kyle Lodise  (.365) has 58 hits, including 32 for extra bases with 18 doubles and a team-high 14 home runs. All told, six Yellow Jackets have double-digit doubles and three – Lodise (14), Drew Burress (13), and Alex Hernandez (10).
 
On the mound, Georgia Tech has a combined 4.54 team ERA, paced by Sunday starter Jaylen Paden at 2.67, with reliever Mason Patel (9-1, 2.74 ERA) over 15 relief appearances with three saves. Like WCU's Langley, Patel is on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List. Tech's three weekend starters each have at least 34 strikeouts, paced by Friday starter Tate McKee with 61.
 
Western Carolina vs. Georgia Tech – The Series:
The all-time series between the Catamounts and Yellow Jackets dates to 1971 with the Catamounts trailing, 17-26 all-time and 16-25 all-time in Atlanta. Georgia Tech has won seven straight over WCU dating back to 2014, and has won nine of the last 10 meetings overall. This year marks just the third, three-game series between WCU and Tech all-time – 2016, 2019, and 2025.
 
Western Carolina's last series win came in Cullowhee in 2009 when the Catamounts rallied to upset then the fourth-ranked Jackets, 10-9. It's the only series meeting between the two played in western North Carolina.
 
Familiar Faces:
Former Western Carolina head coach Bobby Moranda, who guided the Catamounts for 14 seasons and a program-best 406 victories, was a former assistant and associate head coach under Georgia Tech's Danny Hall from 2001 through 2007. He was formally introduced as WCU's head coach on July 19, 2007.
 
During his six season at Tech, Moranda helped guide the Yellow Jackets to four, top 10 finishes, four Super Regional appearances, three ACC titles, and a pair of appearances in the NCAA College World Series in Omaha (2002 and 2006).
 
Western Carolina vs. the ACC:
Western Carolina has played 12 of the current 14 members of the ACC all-time, having never met Boston College or Pitt on the diamond. The Catamounts are a collective 62-168 against the current memberships, with Clemson (81, 16-65) representing the most-played.
 
SoCon is 7-12 against teams from the ACC this season, with UNCG earning four of the victories, upending Wake Forest, Pitt, and Virginia Tech twice. ETSU took two from Pittsburgh, with Mercer winning at Florida State. The Bears have one more game against Georgia Tech on the season schedule.
 
The ACC is ranked second nationally in collective RPI out of the 30 teams rated … the SoCon is eighth overall in the NCAA.
 
About the Southern Conference:
Founded in 1921, The Southern Conference gave rise to two of the NCAA's current Power Five conferences – the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 1932 and the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1953. The SoCon is the nation's fifth-oldest athletics conference. Only the Big Ten (1896), the Missouri Valley (1907), the Pacific 10 (1915), and the Southwestern Athletic (1920) are older in terms of origination. Eight current ACC schools can trace their conference lineage to the Southern Conference. Clemson (1921-53), Duke (1928-53), Georgia Tech (1921-32), North Carolina (1921-53), NC State (1921-53), Virginia (1921-37), Virginia Tech (1921-65), and Wake Forest (1936-53) were each members of the SoCon.
 
However, only one team officially played baseball in the Southern Conference, according to conference records – Virginia Tech. The Hokies competed as a SoCon member from 1954 until 1965, winning the regular-season championship in '54.
 
On Deck for Western Carolina:
Following the three-game series on The Flats, Western Carolina returns home for its final four-game homestand, including the final mid-week nonconference game of the season against Presbyterian (May 7) before hosting The Citadel (May 9-11). WCU has won the first two midweek meetings with the  Blue Hose and looks for the seasonal sweep, while the Catamounts have won four-straight over The Citadel, sweeping last year's series in Charleston.
 
WCU then wraps up the regular season with a Thursday through Saturday series at UNCG (May 15-17). The Spartans have taken nine of the last 11 overall, though the Purple & Gold claimed the last series meeting by one, 7-6, in Cullowhee last April.
 
Each remaining game is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats linked online at CatamountSports.com.
 
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