Nashville, Tenn. – Western Carolina softball opened its weekend in the Music City at the Purple & Gold Challenge, falling on the wrong side of a tight 6-5 decision against Southern Illinois before reversing the script on event host Lipscomb, winning 4-3 in eight innings to earn the split first day action from Draper Diamond.
Friday's win marks a 2-0 record for WCU in extra innings on the season after a 2-1 victory in the final day of the Low Country Invitational against UConn. Friday's matchups also mark four of the first 13 games for the Catamounts that have been one-run battles.
Juniors Maya McPherson and Sydney Dirks led the way with three hits apiece over the two contests. Dirks connected on her team-best sixth home run of the season against Southern Illinois. Sophomore AG Batson and junior Becka Wonsick both tallied two hits, with Batson connecting on a game-tying big fly against the host Bisons.
Seniors Rylee Butler and Taylor Waitley also picked up a hit, with Butler doubling. WCU also played unselfish ball throughout Friday, with five sacrifices led by freshman Briony Bunsic, who had three, including the game-winning sacrifice fly against Lipscomb.
Batson was sensational in relief in game one, tossing 4.2 shutout innings and tallying three strikeouts. Sophomore Amanda Fulton picked up her team-high fourth win of the season in game two, tossing her fourth complete game of the season, allowing three runs and matching her season-high with eight strikeouts.
Game One – Southern Illinois 6, Western Carolina 5
Southern Illinois used six runs over the opening three innings and then withstood a late charge from Western Carolina for an event-opening 6-5 victory in game one at the Purple & Gold Classic.
WCU was held to just five hits by the Salukis, led by a two-hit game from Sydney Dirks, who belted her team-best sixth homer of the season. Maya McPherson, Becka Wonsick, and Rylee Butler each got in the hit column, with Butler doubling in the defeat.
The Salukis loaded the bases in the first frame with a pair of walks and a single before game one starter Riley Pennington recorded three straight outs without harm to keep the game scoreless. WCU wasn't as fortunate in the second inning as SIU struck with a one-out RBI single before a three-run homer to left field in consecutive at-bats allowed Southern Illinois to race out to a 4-0 lead.
The Catamounts responded in the home half of the second by loading the bases on singles from McPherson and Wonsick before an SIU error loaded the bases. Two batters later, Butler lined a double to the left-center wall, plating two runs. Briony Bunsic added a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 4-3 after two.
The Salukis pushed the lead back to three in the third, though, riding an RBI single and a fielder's choice that made it 6-3.
In the home half of the sixth, Taylor Waitley reached thanks to an error and advanced on a wild pitch before Dirks deposited her sixth homer of the season over the fence to make it a 6-5 game. It was as close as WCU would get, as neither offense produced in the seventh, and the Salukis held on for a 6-5 win.
Riley Pennington (2-1) suffered the loss for the Catamounts, allowing six runs on six hits over 2.1 innings of work with a strikeout. AG Batson kept SIU off the scoreboard down the stretch, tossing 4.2 scoreless innings of work, scattering two hits and tallying three punchouts.
Emma Gipson got the start for Southern Illinois and went 2.0 innings, scattering three hits and allowing three runs, with two of those being earned. Emily Delgado (2-1) tossed three shutout innings with a pair of strikeouts in relief of Gipson. Brooklynn Danielson (1) went the final two innings with one hit allowed and a pair of runs with four strikeouts to earn the save for SIU.
Game Two – Western Carolina 4, Lipscomb 3 (8 Innings)
Trailing 3-0 after four innings, Western Carolina used a two-run fifth and tacked on insurance markers in the seventh and eighth to rally all the way back and knock off the event host Lipscomb 4-3 in eight innings to earn a split of Friday's action.
The Catamounts picked up seven hits in game two against the Bisons, led by two-hit efforts from Maya McPherson and AG Batson, who belted a seventh-inning big fly that tied the game at three. Taylor Waitley, Sydney Dirks, and Becka Wonsick each got in the hit column in game two.
Lipscomb struck first with a run-scoring RBI double and an RBI single in the opening frame to jump out to a 2-0 lead. The hosts added an RBI single in the second to increase the lead to three after two frames.
Amanda Fulton settled in after the three early runs, striking out four over the opening four frames to keep the score at 3-0.
The Catamounts threatened in the first four frames with traffic on the bases, including a bases-loaded first, but were unable to scratch across any runs. Western Carolina (9-4) did answer in the fifth, though, as one-out singles from Waitley and Dirks were followed by an RBI base knock from McPherson. Pinch-hit Tatum Martin drew a bases-loaded walk to plate a run, cutting the deficit to one, 3-2.
The scoreboard remained empty until the seventh, when Batson connected on her second homer of the season with one out to tie the game at three, ultimately forcing extra innings. Fulton locked down the Bisons 1-2-3 in the home half with a pair of strikeouts to send the action to extras.
Using the international tiebreaker rule at second base, Becka Wonsick advanced Tate Stewman to third before Briony Bunsic had the sacrifice fly to give WCU a 4-3 lead.
The Bisons followed WCU with a runner advanced to third on a sacrifice, but a flyout was unsuccessful in scoring a runner. Lipscomb continued to threaten, putting runners aboard with a hit-by-pitch and a stolen base before Fulton finished off the win with her eighth strikeout of the game to earn the 4-3 extra-inning victory.
Fulton (4-2) earned the win in the starting role, tossing her fourth complete game of the season, scattering 10 hits and allowing just three runs. Fulton tied a season-high with eight strikeouts to run her seasonal total to a team-best 42 punchouts.
Brooke Beam made the start for Lipscomb, allowing five hits and two runs, while tallying six walks, but didn't factor into the decision. Chloe Ellis (1-2) went the final 3.1 innings, allowing two hits and two runs, with one of those being earned. Ellis added a pair of strikeouts.
The Catamounts continue with the second day of the Purple & Gold Classic on Saturday, hosted by Lipscomb. WCU is set to play the host Bisons at 1:30 p.m. ET before squaring off against Southern Illinois at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Saturday afternoon action with Lipscomb in the Music City is slated to be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), while both games will have live stats available through links on CatamountSports.com.
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