Cullowhee, N.C. – Four Catamounts belted home runs to power the offense, and Carter Burnette struck out a career-high 10 as Western Carolina bounced back to even its four-game series against Morehead State, blanking the Eagles 11-0 in seven innings on Friday evening in nonconference action at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
 
Freshman catcher Carlos Diaz capped the home run barrage with his first career round-tripper in the bottom of the seventh inning with one on and two gone, sailing a pitch over the fence in left for a two-run, walk-off shot.
 
The shutout victory was WCU's fourth of the season, the most for a Catamount baseball team since blanking five opponents in the 2011 season. WCU has shutout wins over Bowling Green (5-0), at East Carolina (2-0), vs. Radford (10-0, 7 inn.), and Friday's win over Morehead State (11-0, 7 inn.).
 
Friday's victory evened the four-game series and halted Morehead State's five-game win streak. Action continues on Saturday with a 2 p.m. first pitch, live on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats online at CatamountSports.com.
 
Western Carolina (12-7) blew open a 3-0 game with a six-run fifth inning. Trent Turner, who returned to the starting lineup on Friday, opened the onslaught with a solo home run that carried the centerfield batter's eye for a 4-0 lead. With Brody Raleigh aboard after a walk, Jackson Lyda hit his second homer in as many days with a two-run blast to right-center for the 6-0 lead.
 
After Jaylen Jones doubled, Wyatt Stanley crushed one over the scoreboard in right-center to cap the six-run rally and handed WCU a 9-0 lead through five complete. Then in the seventh, Stanley walked before Diaz, a late-inning defensive substitution, cranked his first collegiate home run over the middle section of the left-field fence for the run-ruled ending.
 
Seven of WCU's nine base hits in the victory went for extra bases, with five home runs and two doubles. The Catamounts also capitalized on five walks, three of which scored.
 
Lyda reached base four times in a 2-for-2 effort with a pair of walks to accompany a single and a two-run home run. Stanley reached three times with a team-best three RBI and three runs scored. He plated a first-inning run on a bloop single to left before his towering two-run blast in the decisive fifth.
 
Jaylen Jones reached base twice with a double and a walk, scoring two runs, while Walker Fox doubled and Turner homered, both in 1-for-3 efforts. Noah Quarless doubled for the third time in the series with a fifth-inning, two-bagger down the third-base line.
 
While the offense had one of its most electric days of the season, Carter Burnette (2-2) had one of the most dominant pitching performances for the Catamounts. The Asheville, N.C., scattered three hits over a career-long seven innings, striking out a career-high 10, and limited Morehead State to just one extra-base hit and just one runner to reach second base.
 
WCU's defense also turned in a double-play with Cole Jones and Lyda combining for the two outs to end the second inning, with Quarless throwing out one would-be base stealer.
 
The three Morehead State (10-9) base hits were spread among three different players, with Alex Kean and Kyle Krupp both delivering singles in the second and fourth innings, respectively. Catcher Caden Sheridan doubled with one out in the fifth, but was stranded at second base.
 
Eagle starter Alex Miller (0-1) was tagged with the loss, surrendering nine of the 11 runs on six hits with four walks against four strikeouts over 4.2 innings. Ethan Davis tossed the final two, striking out a pair with two runs allowed on three hits and a walk.
 
Saturday's game three is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Cullowhee before concluding with a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday. Left-handers Kamden Hawks (1-1, 10.13 ERA) for Morehead State and WCU senior Davis Wright (0-1, 8.10 ERA) are scheduled to start for their respective teams in the third game.
 
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