Charleston, S.C. – Western Carolina softball opened the road side of the 2026 campaign Friday at the Low Country Invitational, posting a commanding 13-3 run-rule victory over Penn University before dropping a tight 3-2 decision to the co-host College of Charleston to split its opening day.
Juniors Sydney Dirks, Lily Bell, and Maya McPherson paced the squad with three hits apiece over the two games. Dirks put power on full display with a double, triple, and home run, along with five RBI. McPherson picked up her first homer of the season and tallied three RBIs, while Bell had four runs scored and a pair of RBIs to go along with a steal.
Senior Taylor Waitley recorded her second double of the season to match for the team high, to go along with three RBIs, as sophomores Courtney Marks and Tatum Martin got in the hit column, and senior Rylee Butler added a two-bagger.
In the circle for WCU, senior Riley Pennington went the distance for her first win at WCU as she had a pair of punchouts while allowing three early runs. Sophomore Amanda Fulton matched Pennington as she also went the distance on Friday with seven strikeouts to run her seasonal total up to 15 in the early going.
Game One – Western Carolina 13, Penn 3 (5 Innings)
Tied at three after both teams traded early three-run frames, Western Carolina used a four-run second and tacked on six more runs over the final three innings to continue its strong offensive start to the season, opening tournament play with a 13-3 run-rule victory over Penn.
Maya McPherson led the way with her third multi-hit game of the season, recording three hits, including her first homer of the season, along with three runs knocked in. Lily Bell, Sydney Dirks, and Taylor Waitley each picked up a pair of hits as Dirks homered, while both she and Waitley doubled. The trio combined for eight RBIs as Dirks and Waitley both picked up three apiece.
With Bell aboard, Dirks deposited her second homer of the season over the left-centerfield wall to push WCU to the early 2-0 lead on Friday. Four pitches later, McPherson followed suit and gave the Catamounts the early three-run advantage.
Penn (0-1) answered the early offense, though, with a one-out RBI double followed by a two-run single to even the early action at three.
WCU took over from there. In the second inning, Courtney Marks singled and stole second ahead of Tate Stewman, who drew a walk. The two scampered into scoring position on a wild pitch ahead of Waitley, who delivered an RBI single before Bell beat out an infield single to push the lead to 5-3. McPherson capped the scoring with a two-run base hit to push the WCU lead to four, 7-3.
Riley Pennington settled in after the opening frame and worked around a one-out single and a fielding error to keep Penn off the scoreboard in the second.
Following a Rylee Butler leadoff double, the Catamounts took advantage of a Penn fielding miscue to score Butler and push the lead to 8-3.
The Catamounts broke a middle-inning stalemate in the fifth, capitalizing on a pair of fielding miscues and an HBP to load the bases for Waitley. She then lined a double to left field to score a pair and make it 10-3. A third miscue in the inning pushed another run across before Briony Bunisc added an RBI groundout, and Dirks capped the scoring with a RBI double and a 13-3 lead.
Pennington (1-0) worked around a one-out base knock without trouble to help secure the 10-run victory on Friday morning, earning the win as she went the distance, allowing five hits and three runs. The WCU senior picked up a pair of strikeouts en route to her first victory in the Purple & Gold.
Sienna Acosta (0-1) suffered the loss as she was chased after just one inning, allowing four runs on four hits with a strikeout. Kelly Zybura went the remaining four innings, allowing seven hits, nine runs, three earned, with five strikeouts.
Game Two – College of Charleston 3, Western Carolina 2
College of Charleston (5-2) jumped in front with a three-run first inning, then withstood a late charge by the Catamount offense to score the tight 3-2 decision, forcing WCU to a split on the opening day in Charleston.
WCU's potent offense throughout the early season was limited to just three hits as Lily Bell, Tatum Martin, and Sydney Dirks each delivered base knocks. Dirks' two-run triple was the only extra-base hit for Western Carolina in the second game.
The Cougars wasted no time in the home half of the first, taking the lead it would never relinquish with an RBI double. Following consecutive strikeouts, CofC tallied a two-run single to push the early advantage to 3-0.
Both offenses were stymied throughout the matchup on Friday as the Catamounts sent one over the minimum in the second and third, while Charleston stranded five baserunners in the same span as Amanda Fulton picked up three strikeouts.
In the fourth, Dirks and Rylee Butler both walked, but the Cougars' defense limited the damage, not allowing anyone past second base.
WCU's best threat of the contest came in the fifth as Bell reached on a fielding error, and after a Martin single, Dirks lined a triple to right that scored both of the runners and made it a one-run game.
Both pitchers kept the bats guessing, though, as only one runner over the final two frames reached second base as the hosts held on for a 3-2 victory.
Fulton (1-1) suffered the defeat, as she went the distance, allowing eight hits and three runs, while tallying seven strikeouts.
Mackenzie Mathis (2-0) matched Fulton, scattering three hits and allowing two runs with six strikeouts and five walks.
The Catamounts continue the Low Country Classic on Saturday, battling Akron at 12:30 p.m. before a rematch against the co-host College of Charleston at 5:30 p.m. Both games will be played at Patriots Point in Charleston, and live stats will be available through links on CatamountSports.com. Saturday night's showdown against the Cougars will also be shown on FloSports (paid subscription required).
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