Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina softball looks to close its nine-game homestand on a high note beginning on Saturday, March 28, with the opening of a three-game Southern Conference series against UNC Greensboro on Betty Peele Field at the Catamount Softball Complex. Saturday's doubleheader is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch before the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Admission to all WCU home games this season is free, presented by First Bank. Coverage of all three games will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available via CatamountSports.com.

Both teams enter the weekend red-hot as the Catamounts have a five-game win streak and the Spartans enter Cullowhee with seven-straight wins, sweeping the three-game set over East Tennessee State last time out.

All eight teams continue SoCon play this weekend, including the lone unbeatens remaining in the league with UNCG and WCU meeting in an early-season showdown. Wofford (2-1) travels to Macon to battle Mercer (1-2), with Chattanooga (1-2) making the trek to Birmingham to square off with Samford (2-1). ETSU meets Furman in Greenville as both squads look to get into the win column in league action, swept by UNCG and WCU on the opening weekend.

SOFTBALL MATCHUP: UNCG (22-12, 3-0 SoCon) vs Western Carolina (21-9, 3-0 SoCon)

• Date: Saturday, March 28 & Sunday, March 29
• Time: 1:00 p.m. (Saturday DH) | 1:00 p.m. (Sunday)
• Location: Cullowhee, N.C.
• Site: Betty Peele Field at the Catamount Softball Complex
• Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
• Live Video: ESPN+

About Western Carolina:
The Catamounts used late-game offense to continue their winning ways, sweeping the nonconference doubleheader over USC Upstate on Tuesday with 6-5 and 8-5 decisions. The wins snapped an eight-game slide to the Spartans in the all-time head-to-head series, earning their first victories over Upstate since 2021.

Western Carolina improved to 14-2 at home this season. The Catamounts also advanced to 19-3 when hitting at least one home run, including a 10-1 record in games with multiple homers. WCU is now 15-2 when scoring at least six runs, and maintains a perfect 14-0 mark when out-hitting the opposition. Additionally, WCU is 14-1 when securing double-digit hits this season.

Last weekend, WCU opened Southern Conference play unbeaten for the first time since 2006. The Purple & Gold hold the best start in program history at 21-9, surpassing the previous benchmark of 21-10 set twice, both in 2006 and 2016.

Junior Maya McPherson continues to pace the squad with a .476 batting average, ranking second in the league and top 30 in the NCAA. Her 49 hits lead the SoCon and are top 15 in the nation, while she ranks tied for fifth in doubles (8), tied for first in home runs (11), second in RBIs (39), and first in slugging percentage (.893).

Classmate Sydney Dirks continues to keep pace with McPherson in home runs with a league-high tying 11 big flies to go along with a conference-best 40 RBIs. She's second in slugging percentage (.808) and is fifth in batting average (.394). Dirks and McPherson, along with senior Tate Stewman's eight home runs, have WCU with 43 homers, helping propel Western Carolina to the top spot in the league.

The Catamounts have seven hitters above .300, which has pushed their batting average to .324, second in the conference.

Amanda Fulton is second in the conference with 10 victories and is tied for first in the league with eight complete games. Her 2.67 ERA is sixth-best in the league, while her 91.2 innings pitched are second in the conference. Fulton is additionally third in strikeouts per seven innings (7.2), with her 94 strikeouts third in the SoCon, and the right-handed sophomore 15 punchouts looking are tied for the most in the league. She's also one of two players in the league with two saves.

AG Batson is fourth with her eight wins, while ranking ninth in ERA at 3.52, and is tied for fifth with nine punchouts of the looking variety.

Additional offensive leaders include:

• Lily Bell – 34 runs scored (1st in SoCon), 17 stolen bases (2nd in SoCon), .324 average, 17-game reached base streak (active)
• Taylor Waitley – .355 average, five doubles, 25 runs (6th in SoCon), 20 RBIs, 33 hits (t-7th in SoCon), two home runs, six stolen bases
• Courtney Marks - .347 average, 21 runs scored (t-10th in SoCon), 12 walks, four stolen bases
• Tate Stewman – .354 average, 16 runs, 21 RBIs, three doubles, eight homers (t-6th in SoCon)
• Becka Wonsick – .326 average, 14 hits, two doubles, four homers, 15 RBIs, two steals
• SoCon team hitting ranks: .324 average (2nd), 212 runs (2nd), 267 hits (1st), 37 doubles (4th), 43 homers (1st), 198 RBIs (1st), 48 steals (2nd), 98 walks (2nd), .399 on-base pct. (2nd), .536 slugging pct. (1st).
• SoCon team pitching ranks: 21 wins (3rd), 4.62 ERA (4th), 134 strikeouts (4th), 128 earned runs (4th), 4.8 strikeouts per seven (4th)

Scouting UNC Greensboro:

UNCG (22-12, 3-0 SoCon) enters the weekend on a seven-game win streak after taking three straight from ETSU last time out. The Spartans also have wins over Southern Miss, Tarleton State, and a pair of wins over Lehigh during the current win streak. The two teams have only one common opponent, Queens, with the Spartans 1-0 and WCU at 1-1. UNCG is 4-4 in true road games this season compared to an impressive 16-3 in home contests.

The Spartans are led by:

• Kaylyn Belfield – team-high .387 average (6th in SoCon), team-high 43 hits (2nd in SoCon), four doubles, one triple, 30 runs (t-2nd in SoCon). (Preseason First-Team All-SoCon Selection)
• Nya South – .376 average (8th in SoCon), 16 runs, 32 hits, five doubles, nine homers, 21 RBIs, 16 walks
• Avery Bouquin – .345 average, 17 runs, 30 hits, nine doubles, two homers, 17 RBIs, four steals
• Laney Deane – .330 average, 34 hits, 17 runs, 11 doubles, 10 homers (t-3rd in SoCon), 39 RBIs (t-2nd in SoCon)
• Macy Michael – .300 average, 19 runs, five doubles, seven homers (8th in SoCon), 14 walks (Preseason First-Team All-SoCon Selection)
• SoCon team hitting ranks: .284 average (4th), 169 runs (3rd), 254 hits (3rd), 53 doubles (1st), 32 homers (2nd), 158 RBIs (3rd), 22 steals (t-6th), 93 walks (4th), .362 on-base pct. (t-4th), .462 slugging pct. (3rd).

In the circle:

• Brooklyn Shroyer – team-high 11 wins (1st in SoCon), 1.43 ERA (1st in SoCon), eight complete games (t-1st in SoCon), seven shutouts (1st in SoCon), 93 innings, 112 strikeouts (1st in SoCon), 19 earned runs, .155 opp. batting average, 3x SoCon Pitcher of the Week
• Salem Ward – six wins, 1.88 ERA (2nd in SoCon), two complete games, 56 innings with 27 strikeouts. (Preseason Second-Team All-SoCon Selection)
• Rhyann Jones – three wins, 2.62 ERA, one complete game, 50.2 innings with 32 strikeouts, .231 opp. batting average.
• SoCon team pitching ranks: 22 wins (2nd), 2.17 ERA (1st), 191 strikeouts (1st), 71 earned runs (1st), 5.8 strikeouts per seven (1st), four shutouts (t-1st), 1.2 WHIP (1st).

Catamounts and Spartans – All-time Series History:
UNCG holds a 42-21 lead over Western Carolina in the all-time series, and has won 16 of the last 17 meetings against the Catamounts. Last season, the Spartans claimed a 9-1 and 7-3 decision a season ago in the Gate City. The Spartans hold a 17-7 edge in contests played in Cullowhee, with the Catamounts earning a 13-5 win in 2024 to snap a nine-game home slide to UNCG.

Bell led WCU with a pair of two-hit games last season in Greensboro, as McPherson and Stewman each added two hits for the Purple & Gold.

On Deck for Western Carolina:
WCU begins a four-game road swing on Tuesday, March 31, with a trip to the Queen City for just the second road trip of the month as the Catamounts battle the Charlotte 49ers. The two teams are set to play a single game from Sue M. Daughtridge Stadium at 5 p.m. as the game is slated for ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available on CatamountSports.com.

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