Cullowhee, N.C. – Winners of four straight and seven of its first nine to begin the 2026 season, Western Carolina softball hits the road for an in-state nonconference doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon as the Catamounts travel to Boiling Springs to battle their second straight Big South foe, facing Gardner-Webb at the Brinkley Softball Stadium.
Tuesday's matchup with the Runnin' Bulldogs is slated for a 3 p.m. start in Boiling Springs, and will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available online at CatamountSports.com.
SOFTBALL MATCHUP: Western Carolina (7-2) at Gardner-Webb (9-5)
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 24
Time: 3 p.m. (Doubleheader)
Site: Brinkley Softball Stadium (Boiling Springs, N.C.)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast (Game One) | Stat Broadcast (Game Two)
Live Video: ESPN+ (Game One) | ESPN+ (Game Two)
Twitter: @CatamountSB
About Western Carolina:
Western Carolina closed a stretch of nine games in seven days last time out, sweeping both ends of a doubleheader over Big South counterpart Winthrop, winning 9-2 and 11-5 at the Catamount Softball Complex.
Senior Taylor Waitley led the team over the twinbill with five hits, including a 4-for-4 performance in game one that included her first home run of the season. Junior Maya McPherson added four hits, tallying a pair of doubles and her second big fly of the season. Classmate Sydney Dirks continued her torrid start to 2026 with three more extra-base hits, now with four homers of the year.
In the circle for WCU, sophomores Amanda Fulton and Batson both spun complete games in the winning effort. Fulton matched her season-high with eight strikeouts as the pair only allowed a pair of earned runs.
WCU improved to 7-2, marking the best nine-game start to a season since 2022, when the Purple & Gold also opened the year 7-2.
Over the opening nine games for WCU, McPherson ranks second in the league with a .500 batting average, while posting a team-high 15 hits. Junior Lily Bell's 15 runs scored place her in a two-way tie for second in the league, as senior Taylor Waitley is in a tie for eighth with four doubles.
Junior Sydney Dirks has a team-best eight extra-base hits to open the season, collecting three doubles, a triple, and four home runs. She holds a team-high .967 slugging percentage along with 17 runs knocked in, good enough for third in the SoCon. McPherson (.500 BA), Waitley (.417 BA), Dirks (.400 BA), Bell (.353 BA), Stewman (.350 BA), and Marks (.348 BA) have helped push the squad to a .333 team batting average through the opening nine games, which ranks third in the league.
In the circle, sophomore Amanda Fulton leads the team with a 1.62 ERA, tied for fourth-best in SoCon, as one of just 10 pitchers in the league with three or more wins. Fulton has the fifth most strikeouts in the Southern Conference with 31. Classmate AG Batson also has three wins in just 15.1 innings, with a 2.28 ERA, as the team's ERA sits at 3.44 after nine games.
As a team, WCU is 12th in the country in RBIs per game at 7.89, 14th in the nation in scoring at 8.44, 30th in RBIs per game (7.29), while sitting tops in the SoCon in both categories.
Scouting the Opposition – Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs:
Gardner-Webb (9-5) finished off the Jacksonville State tournament with an 8-2 win over the host Gamecocks last time out. The Runnin' Bulldogs did earn two wins over SoCon foe Furman and one over future SoCon opponent Tennessee Tech. GWU has defended its home turf so far in 2026 to the tune of a 6-3 mark, including a three-game home win streak entering Tuesday's twin bill.
The Runnin' Bulldogs were tabbed sixth in the seven-team Big South Preseason Poll. Gardner-Webb is led by Bailey Wigness, who's in her ninth season coaching after spending three years at USC Beaufort.
Sophomore infielder Caitlin Colley paces the Runnin' Bulldogs with a .400 batting average, as she's tallied a team-high tying 20 hits, including four doubles and a team-best five homers with 23 runs driven in. Senior pitcher Alli Stidham has a .395 batting average with three homers and 13 runs knocked in. Sophomore outfielder Lauren Spainhower leads Gardner-Webb with 14 runs scored and 13 walks drawn to go along with six steals.
As a team, Gardner-Webb is second in the league with a .339 batting average, first in the league in hits with 135, and a SoCon leader with 103 runs scored.
Freshman Glenna McLamb leads the Runnin' Bulldogs with a 3-0 mark over nine outings, totaling 19 strikeouts in 30.1 innings. Stidham is also tied for the team-high with three victories.
Stidham earned preseason All-Big South team honors, as announced by the league's coaches.
All-time Series History:
The Catamounts and Runnin' Bulldogs have met 23 times before Tuesday's doubleheader, with WCU holding a tight 13-10 lead in the series. Western Carolina earned three of four wins against Gardner-Webb a season ago, earning both wins at home and splitting the contests in Boiling Springs. GWU has the edge in games played in Boiling Springs, 7-4, including wins in three of the past four games.
Last Season vs Gardner-Webb:
During the four 2025 matchups with the Runnin' Bulldogs, Sydney Dirks posted a team-best .444 batting average, going 4-for-9 with a triple. Courtney Marks posted a .429 batting average, going 6-for-14 with two doubles. Maya McPherson and Lily Bell both picked up four hits in last year's matchups, with McPherson connecting on a homer. Amanda Fulton earned a pair of wins with two complete games, tallying seven strikeouts and allowing four runs.
On Deck for Western Carolina:
Following Tuesday's doubleheader in Boiling Springs, the Catamounts head to Nashville, Tenn., for the Purple & Gold Classic, hosted by Lipscomb. WCU is set to play Southern Illinois and the host Bisons in a pair of matchups while taking on Power Four opposition, Purdue. The Saturday afternoon action with Lipscomb in the Music City is slated to be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), while all five games will have live stats available through links on CatamountSports.com.
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