Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina baseball completed its season-opening, three-game series sweep of George Washington, claiming both ends of its Saturday doubleheader against the Revolutionaries at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
 
WCU rode the strength of a seven-run sixth inning in the first game of the twin bill to a 13-4 victory, before Noah Quarless delivered his second walk-off RBI in as many days with a pinch-hit, game-winning double in the home half of the ninth to cap a three-run rally as the Catamounts claimed the nightcap, 5-4.
 
WCU (3-0) earned its first three-game, season-opening home series sweep since 2024, when the Catamounts took all three from Iona in Cullowhee. The three wins were the first-ever against George Washington (0-3) in the first meetings on the diamond for the two programs.
 
Additionally, last season, the Catamounts were just 3-22 when trailing in games after seven innings and won just twice in 26 attempts (2-24) when trailing after eight. Already this year, WCU is 2-0 in both of those categories after the two opening-weekend walk-off victories.
 
Saturday saw several heroes through the doubleheader sweep. Making his Catamount debut, sophomore transfer Walker Fox – a product of Canton, N.C. – collected three hits in the twin bill, two going for extra bases, including a three-run home run in his first plate appearance in game one. He also tied the finale with a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth inning.
 
Fifth-year senior Trent Turner homered as part of a four-RBI effort in game one, while Quarless finished 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI, plating a run as the starting catcher in game one and delivering the game-winning double in the second.
 
Game One – Western Carolina 13, George Washington 4
Walker Fox blasted a three-run home run in the bottom of the second inning in his first trip to the plate as a Catamount, staking the home squad to a 3-0 lead it would never relinquish as Western Carolina pulled away for the series-clinching 13-4 victory in game one of Saturday's doubleheader.
 
Fox finished 2-for-3, reaching base three times, adding a fifth-inning HBP and a run-scoring single in the decisive sixth inning. Trent Turner went 1-for-4 with a fifth-inning three-run blast, reaching a second time with an RBI walk. Wyatt Stanley finished 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI, with Noah Quarless (1-for-2), Jackson Lyda, and Mason Holton each driving in runs.
 
GW was led by catcher Robbie Lavey, who doubled twice in a 3-for-4 effort with a pair of RBI in the seventh inning on an infield single. The squad's remaining four hits were scattered among four players, with Travis Peitz legging out a double.
 
Fox put the Catamounts on the board in the second inning with a three-run blast over the fence in right, plating both Quarless and Brody Raleigh. The 3-0 margin stood until the fifth inning when Peitz doubled home Charlie Walsh to trim the deficit to two, 3-1.
 
Turner responded for the Catamounts in the bottom of the fifth with a second, three-run homer for WCU, plating Fox and Trey Spees for a more comfortable 6-1 lead through five complete.
 
Western Carolina then blew the game open in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring seven runs on just three singles, while capitalizing on five walks – three of which drove in runs. Fox plated his fourth with a left-side single before Jackson Lyda, Mason Holton, and Turner all drew bases-loaded walks. Wyatt Stanley drove home a run on a second single before Quarless capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly to right-center.
 
Three runs in the top of the seventh inning by George Washington forced the game to its full length, though the Revs would pull no closer over the final two frames.
 
Catamount starter Carter Burnette (1-0) struck out seven over his five-inning start, limiting GW to a run on three base hits, and worked around a pair of walks. Ryan White struck out two in his inning and a third of relief, with freshman Tyler Oaks striking out one in his collegiate debut, recording a pair of outs. John Lobs posted the final three of WCU's combined 13 strikeouts in two innings out of the bullpen.
 
GW starter Andrew Cutler (0-1) suffered the loss, tagged with six earned runs on five hits with three strikeouts against a pair of hit batters. Four Revs relievers combined to allow seven runs on just three hits but walked five in the nine-run loss.
 
Game Two – Western Carolina 5, George Washington 4
George Washington stretched its one-run lead to two in the top of the ninth inning, making the hill tougher to climb for Western Carolina, which was stymied much of the evening in the finale of Saturday's doubleheader. However, down to their final out, Walker Fox delivered a two-run double to left field that knotted the game at four and, at worst, secured extra innings for the home squad for the second-straight day.
 
Noah Quarless then entered the chat again, stepping to the plate as a pinch hitter and belting a game-winning, RBI double off the fence in left to plate Fox as the Catamounts rallied for a walk-off, series-sweeping victory, 5-4.
 
Two of WCU's six hits in the nightcap came in the final frame, with Wyatt Stanley starting the one-out rally with a walk and Brody Raleigh catching it high-and-tight on the wrist to put a pair of runners aboard. A seemingly harmless wild pitch pushed both runners further into scoring position ahead of Fox, who came through with the two-bagger. Quarless then capped his second come-from-behind Catamount win with his pinch-hit, game-winning double.
 
Catamount reliever James Fordham (1-0) earned the victory out of the pen after dancing around a walk, a double, and two singles over three innings of work with just one run allowed. Bryant Kimbrell was touched for two runs on just one hit with a strikeout and a walk in his first two innings of the season. Freshman starter Evan Myers struck out four – all looking – while scattering five hits with one run allowed on a solo homer in his first four innings as a collegiate pitcher.
 
Revolutionaries' starter Declan Wywoda was solid through six innings, fanning six with just two runs while limiting the Catamounts to four base hits. Jonas Aponick struck out two in his inning of relief before Drew Harris (0-1) was tagged with the loss, allowing three runs on two hits with a walk and an HBP over 1.2 innings.
 
WCU's six hits in the finale were spread between six different players, with Fox, Quarless, and Jaylen Jones each legging out doubles. Robbie Lavey doubled for George Washington, with Michael Bravette (2-for-5) and Charlie Rogan (2-for-4) posting multi-hit games. Rogan and Tyler Jones both homered for the Revs in the losing effort.
 
On Deck for Western Carolina:
Western Carolina plays its lone road game among its first eight games, traveling to Spartanburg, S.C., to face perennial Big South power USC Upstate on Tuesday, Feb. 17. The front end of the nonconference home-and-home is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Harley Park with coverage scheduled on ESPN+ (paid subscription required).
 
WCU returns home next weekend to host Bowling Green (Feb. 20-22) before the seven-game home stretch concludes with a Tuesday (Feb. 24) meeting with a second MAC-foe, Akron. All four games of those home games are slated for broadcast on ESPN+.
 
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