Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina baseball split Saturday's doubleheader with Bowling Green, claiming the three-game series with a 5-0 shutout victory in the nightcap of the twin bill. The Catamounts led for most of game two before the Falcons rallied for the 6-5 win, forcing the series rubber match in game three.
 
WCU's shutout victory in game three was its first since March 19, 2023, a 9-0 home win over Radford in Alan Beck's first season as head coach.
 
The Catamounts out-hit Bowling Green, 25-to-14, on Saturday with a .362-to-.209 batting average difference offensively. Jackson Lyda collected a team-best five hits in a 5-for-8 (.625) effort with two doubles and an RBI. Wyatt Stanley went 4-for-7 (.571) with all four games in the finale, legging out a double and belting one of two Catamount home runs.
 
Jaylen Jones (3-for-6), Mason Holton (3-for-7), and Trent Turner (3-for-9) each collected three hits apiece over the doubleheader. Noah Quarless led the team with three RBI, playing in the first game and hitting a three-run homer.
 
WCU's pitching staff limited Bowling Green to six runs on 14 total hits, with a .209 opponent batting average. The Catamount hurlers combined for 25 strikeouts over the twin bill.
 
Western Carolina improved to 5-2 overall, including a 5-1 mark at home at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium this season. Bowling Green earned its first victory of the year with a 1-5 start, collecting their program's 1,800th victory all-time in Saturday's come-from-behind triumph.
 
Game One – Bowling Green 6, Western Carolina 5
Noah Quarless staked WCU to an early 3-0 lead with a towering home run to left, and the Catamounts led 4-1 through four complete in Saturday's doubleheader opener. But Bowling Green scored five-straight runs between the fifth and ninth innings to carry a 6-4 lead into the home half of the final frame.
 
WCU managed to close to within a run and had the tying marker 90 feet away before a game-ending strikeout stranded two as the Falcons held on for the 6-5 victory to even the series at a game apiece.
 
Trent Turner paced four Catamounts with multi-hit games, finishing 3-for-5 with a double and two singles, while Quarless was 2-for-4 with three RBI coming on his second homer of the season. The bottom two in the WCU order, Jackson Lyda and Jaylen Jones, both finished 2-for-4, with Lyda legging out a fourth-inning double and giving the Catamounts the 4-1 lead.
 
Walker Fox reached base twice in a 1-for-3 effort, doubling and reaching on an HBP.
Zack Horky finished a double shy of the cycle to lead Bowling Green, finishing 3-for-5 with two RBI and a pair of runs scored to lead three Falcons with multiple hits. Andrew DiLodovico (2-for-3, BB) and Vinny Salvione (2-for-5) also had multi-hit efforts.
 
Turner lifted a two-out double to right-center on the first pitch of his at-bat before Wyatt Stanley walked to put two aboard. Quarless then belted a three-run homer to left for the 3-0 lead after one.
 
With the lead cut to two, 3-1, Jackson Lyda doubled off the bag at first before scoring from third on a sacrifice fly as Mason Holton lined out to left to push it to a 4-1 margin. Anthony Mitta doubled home Sam Seidel in the visitors' fifth, again closing to within two, 4-2.
 
Horky ignited a three-run eighth with a high-flying triple off the left-field fence, scoring on a Pauly Mancino single. The Falcons then used a squeeze sacrifice bunt by Chase Chopin to allow Mancino to race home with the game-tying run before Salvione doubled home the go-ahead marker. Horky later added an insurance run with a ninth-inning solo homer to push the lead to 6-4.
 
Already having shown the panache for come-from-behind wins, WCU did not go quietly in the home half. Trey Spees reached on a lead-off walk before Jaylen Jones put two aboard with a single to center. With two outs, Cole Jones delivered a run-scoring single to right field to pull WCU back within one with runners at the corners. However, it was as close as the Catamounts would get as a strikeout ended the rally.
 
Catamount starter Carter Burnette struck out a career-high nine over a season-long 6.0 innings in the start, but did not factor into the decision. He scattered four hits, three walks, and a hit batter, as he held BG to two runs. Davis Budd (0-1) was tagged with the loss, giving up three runs on five hits with a strikeout. Ryan White struck out two in his 1.2 relief innings.
 
Nate Kress (1-0) earned the victory out of the bullpen with a solid 5.0 inning relief appearance, scattering two runs on three hits with a pair of strikeouts against a walk. Starter Carson Sova struck out three with two walks and an HBP, touched for three runs on six hits. Kade Arn earned his first save of the season, striking out two with a pair of hits allowed.
 
Game Two – Western Carolina 5, Bowling Green 0
Wyatt Stanley collected four base hits and drove home two of WCU's five runs as the Catamounts claimed the backend of Saturday's twin bill and took the nonconference series over Bowling Green with the 5-0 victory at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
 
WCU's pitching staff combined to toss a three-hit shutout in its best performance of the season. The Catamounts did not allow a base hit after the fourth inning, retiring 13 straight to close the game.
 
Wyatt Stanley finished 4-for-4, with two singles, a double, and his second home run of the weekend to drive in two of WCU's five runs in the winning effort. Mason Holton and Jackson Lyda both finished 3-for-4, with Holton reaching base four times and Lyda legging out his second two-base hit of the doubleheader as the Catamounts rapped out a season-high 14 base hits.
 
BG's three hits were scattered among three players, with Anthony Mitta (1-for-4) doubling, while Pauly Mancino (1-for-4) and Zack Horky (1-for-4) both singled. The Falcons also drew a pair of walks, but did not move a runner past second base in the loss.
 
Freshman starter Evan Myers (1-0) struck out a career-high six in a career-long 5.0 innings in Saturday's finale, scattering three hits and working around a pair of walks. John Lobs struck out all three of the batters he faced in the sixth inning, with Bryant Kimbrell striking out one in a relief inning. Junior transfer James Fordham tossed two innings with a pair of strikeouts, retiring all six batters he faced in helping lock down the shutout.
 
BGSU starter Andrew Heffernan (0-1) took the loss, giving up four runs on eight hits with a pair of strikeouts as the first of five Falcon pitchers. Heffernan worked 3.1 innings in the start. Jackson Miller struck out two over 2.1 relief innings.
 
Stanley struck with a two-out single to score Holton in the first inning for the early lead. In the second, Cam Murray doubled and was scored on a Jackson Lyda single before crossing the plate on a base knock by Cole Jones for the 2-0 lead through two.
 
Lyda was involved in the fourth-inning marker, leading off with a double, and was sacrificed into scoring position by Jaylen Jones. Holton then tallied his third hit of the day with a run-scoring single for the 4-0 lead. Stanley later capped scoring with a solo home run to left field after the stretch in providing the final tally, 5-0.
 
Western Carolina closes its four-game home stand on Tuesday, Feb. 24, hosting Mid-American Conference (MAC) foe Akron at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m., in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required).
 
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