Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina softball continues its nine-game homestand on Saturday, March 21, with the curtain raiser in Southern Conference play as chromatic rival Furman visits the on-campus Betty Peele Field at the Catamount Softball Complex. The Catamounts and Paladins play a three-game series this weekend, opening with Saturday's twin bill.

Saturday's doubleheader is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch with the series finale at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. The doubleheader will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available for all three games via CatamountSports.com.

Admission to all WCU home games this season is free, presented by First Bank.

Furman ties ETSU as the most common SoCon opponent opener for Western Carolina, with this weekend marking the fifth all-time meeting between the two on the conference's opening weekend. WCU has played ETSU, Furman, Chattanooga, along with former SoCon members Appalachian State, Elon, and Georgia Southern in the first weekend of league play.

SOFTBALL MATCHUP: Furman (5-22) vs Western Carolina (16-9)

• Date: Saturday, March 21 & Sunday, March 22
• Time: 1 p.m. (Saturday DH) | 1:30 p.m. (Sunday)
• Site: Betty Peele Field at the Catamount Softball Complex, Cullowhee, N.C.
• Video: ESPN+ (Saturday Only)
• Live Stats: Stat Broadcast

About Western Carolina:
WCU looks to get back in the win column on Saturday after falling to #25/RV Clemson in midweek action on Wednesday, 7-3. The Catamounts are the only SoCon school to take the nationally-ranked Tigers the full seven innings, winning 9-1 over both Furman and Wofford in five innings. Clemson has six run-rule victories this season. WCU continues to protect its home field in 2026 with a 9-2 mark entering the weekend.

Maya McPherson continues to pace the squad with a .447 average, ranking second in the league, and is second in hits (38). She has a team-best 15 multi-hit games and is tied for fourth with seven homers and is second with 32 RBIs. Sydney Dirks joins McPherson with seven homers and 32 RBIs as WCU has 25 long balls as a team, third in the SoCon. The Catamounts have seven hitters at or above .300, which has pushed the team to a .311 batting average, second in the conference.

Amanda Fulton is tied for first in the league with seven complete games. She ranks fourth in ERA (2.39) and second in innings pitched (76). Fulton leads the conference in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.28), is third in strikeouts per seven innings (7.6), and ranks third in strikeouts (82). AG Batson is tied for third with Fulton and her seven wins, while ranking 10th in ERA at 3.46.

Additional offensive leaders include:

• Lily Bell – 29 runs scored (1st in SoCon), 14 stolen bases (3rd in SoCon), .300 average, 12-game reached base streak (active)
• Taylor Waitley – .368 average, four doubles, 20 runs, 15 RBIs
• Sydney Dirks - .373 average, 31 hits (t-3rd in SoCon), seven homers (t-4th in SoCon)
• Courtney Marks - .354 average, 20 runs scored, eight walks, four stolen bases
• Tate Stewman – .344 average, 12 runs, 14 RBIs, three doubles, four homers (third on the team)
• Batson – .314 average, three doubles, three homers, 11 RBIs
• SoCon team ranks: .311 average (2nd), 168 runs (2nd), 214 hits (3rd), 30 doubles (4th), 25 homers (3rd), 155 RBIs (1st), 36 steals (2nd), .472 slugging pct. (2nd).

In the latest RPI release, WCU ranked 96th, second in the SoCon behind Wofford (66).

Scouting Furman:
Furman (5-22) comes to Cullowhee after a midweek split with USC Upstate, taking the finale from the Spartans 14-2 in five innings, after dropping an 11-8 decision in the opener. The Paladins have four common opponents with WCU: Clemson (L, 1-9 (5)), Gardner-Webb (L, 9-10 & L, 2-10 (5)), Lipscomb (L, 4-14 (5)), and Queens (W, 5-1). Furman is 0-9 in true road games this season, and just one win away from Greenville.

The Paladins are led by:

• Sylvia Burroughs – team-high .348 average, six doubles, three homers, 11 walks, team-best 15 RBIs (first-team Preseason All-SoCon selection)
• Eden Fredrick – .328 average, 14 runs, 5 stolen bases
• AB Cipalla – .328 average, team-high seven doubles, 10 RBIs

 In the circle:

• Kristyn Embler – team-best four wins, 32 strikeouts in team-high 61.1 innings with five complete games
• Lily O'Bryan – one win, 36.1 innings, 18 strikeouts, three complete games

Catamounts and Paladins – All-time Series History:
WCU and Furman have met 67 times before Saturday's doubleheader, with the Paladins holding a 45-22 lead in the all-time series. The Catamounts look to continue their winning ways, though, after taking two of three from Furman a season ago in Cullowhee. The Catamounts had struggled before last season's series win, dropping 10 in a row between 2022 and 2024. WCU trails the all-time series in Cullowhee, 14-18.

In the 2025 series, Dirks led the way for WCU with a 7-for-10 (.700) as she totaled seven runs, two homers, and three RBIs. Bell added four hits and a pair of runs as McPherson picked up a double.

On Deck for Western Carolina:
After Sunday's action against Furman, WCU steps back out of conference for a midweek doubleheader against Big South counterpart USC Upstate on Tuesday, March 24. The two teams open their twin bill with a 3 p.m. first pitch. Tuesday's action will have live stats available on CatamountSports.com.

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