Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina softball opens a four-game road swing on Tuesday, making its second trip to the Queen City as the Catamounts face the Charlotte 49ers at the Sue M. Daughtridge Stadium. Tuesday's single-game matchup is slated for a 5 p.m. first pitch.
Coverage of the midweek nonconference action is scheduled to air on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available on CatamountSports.com.
Charlotte enters play after back-to-back wins in American Athletic Conference play over North Texas. The 49ers have won six of their last seven games. Making just its second road trip of the month, Western Carolina looks to rebound after being swept by SoCon preseason favorite UNC Greensboro.
SOFTBALL MATCHUP: Western Carolina (21-12) at Charlotte (20-16)
Date: Tuesday, March 31
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Charlotte, N.C.
Site: Sue M. Daughtridge Stadium
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Live Video: ESPN+
About Western Carolina:
Tate Stewman and Kayden Lyda hit fourth-inning home runs to lift Western Carolina to a 3-1 advantage over UNC Greensboro in Sunday's series finale. However, UNCG surged ahead with a grand slam in a decisive fifth inning and tacked on four insurance runs in the seventh to complete the Southern Conference series sweep with a 10-4 win.
WCU's offense was held in check during the weekend series against the league's best pitching staff. The Catamounts managed a .221 (19-of-86) average over the three-game set, despite collecting three doubles, a triple, and five home runs.
Junior Maya McPherson continues to lead the squad with a .478 batting average. She ranks second in the league after hitting .500 (9-for-18) last week with three doubles and three home runs. With a league-best 54 hits, she's the first player in the SoCon to reach 50. McPherson also sits third in doubles (10), first in home runs (13), first in RBIs (43), and tops in slugging percentage (.929).
Classmate Sydney Dirks has 11 homers, tied for third in the SoCon, and her 40 RBIs are the fourth-most in the league. On Tuesday, she faces her older sister, London, who plays for Charlotte. Dirks is third in the league in slugging percentage (.780) and eighth in batting average (.376). The pair is also tied for fourth in the league with 28 runs scored. McPherson (13), Dirks (11), and Stewman's 10 home runs give WCU 48 total homers, helping propel Western Carolina to the top spot in the league.
Amanda Fulton is tied for second in the conference with 10 victories and is tied for first in the league with nine complete games. Her 2.69 ERA is sixth-best in the league, while her 101.1 innings pitched are second in the conference. Fulton is additionally third in strikeouts per seven innings (7.2), with her 104 strikeouts second in the SoCon, and the right-handed sophomore has 18 punchouts looking, the most in the league. She's also one of two players in the league with two saves.
Additional offensive leaders include:
Lily Bell – 34 runs scored (1st in SoCon), 17 stolen bases (3rd in SoCon), .314 average.
Taylor Waitley – .337 average, five doubles, 26 runs (t-7th in SoCon), 21 RBIs, 35 hits (t-9th in SoCon), two home runs, seven stolen bases, 11-game reached base streak (active)
Courtney Marks - .325 average, 21 runs scored, 13 walks, four stolen bases
Tate Stewman – .333 average, 18 runs, 30 hits, 24 RBIs, three doubles, 10 homers (t-6th in SoCon)
SoCon team hitting ranks: .315 average (2nd), 224 runs (2nd), 286 hits (3rd), 40 doubles (4th), 48 homers (1st), 210 RBIs (1st), 50 steals (2nd), 106 walks (2nd), .390 on-base pct. (2nd), .528 slugging pct. (1st).
SoCon team pitching ranks: 21 wins (3rd), 4.71 ERA (4th), 148 strikeouts (4th), 146 earned runs (4th), 4.8 strikeouts per seven (3rd), two saves (t-2nd), 31 strikeouts looking (2nd).
Scouting Charlotte:
Charlotte (20-16) enters the midweek tilt having won six of its last seven games after taking back-to-back wins over North Texas before earning a midweek win over Radford and a three-game sweep of UAB. The 49ers have wins over three top 50 RPI squads in Virginia Tech, Clemson, and Florida Atlantic. The two teams have a pair of common opponents, Clemson and Southern Illinois, with the 49ers sitting at 1-2 and WCU winless in three games. Charlotte is 13-5 on its home field this season. Charlotte sits 16th in the latest DISoftball Mid-Major rankings as one of two opponents that WCU has squared off against this season with last week's opposition, UNCG sitting 20th in the same rankings. It's the highest mark the 49ers have held in the rankings throughout 2026 since week two when Charlotte sat eighth in the same poll.
The 49ers are led by:
Jenna Lord – team-best .441 average (2nd in AAC), 49 hits (1st in AAC), 12 doubles (t-1st in AAC), seven homers, 25 RBIs, 34 runs scored (2nd in AAC). (2025 AAC Player of the Year)
London Dirks – .341 average, 30 hits, 25 runs, five doubles, two homers, 14 walks.
Brelyn O'Hearn – .320 average, 24 hits, 11 runs, 18 RBIs, three doubles, three homers.
Olivia Williams – .319 average, 32 runs, 38 hits, eight doubles, two triples, two homers, 11 walks, five stolen bases
Teagan Ritchie – team-high nine homers, two triples, 25 RBIs, 23 runs
AAC team hitting ranks: .309 average (t-2nd), 202 runs (3rd), 289 hits (3rd), 48 doubles (t-4th), 10 triples (3rd), 33 homers (t-3rd), 181 RBIs (3rd), .487 slugging pct. (3rd),
In the circle:
Aubrey Yarnall – team-best 3.94 ERA, three wins, 42.2 IP, 11 strikeouts, 14 appearances, six starts
Taylor Jones – team-high tying seven wins, 4.17 ERA, 80.2 innings, 22 strikeouts, six complete games
Brooke Bowling – team-high tying seven wins, 66.2 innings, 5.56 ERA, team-high 56 strikeouts.
Catamounts and 49ers – All-time Series History:
WCU holds a 10-5 all-time lead over Charlotte. The 49ers have won each of the past three meetings. Tuesday is the first matchup since 2021, when Charlotte earned three wins over two days in the First Pitch Classic, hosted by the 49ers. Charlotte and Western Carolina have split 10 all-time meetings in the Queen City, as WCU looks to snap a four-game road slide.
On Deck for Western Carolina:
WCU continues its four-game road swing on Friday, April 3, with a trip to Johnson City, Tenn., for a holiday weekend SoCon series against East Tennessee State. The teams are set for a doubleheader Friday at 3 p.m., followed by a 1 p.m. series finale on Saturday at Betty Basler Field. Live stats for all three games are available on CatamountSports.com.
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