Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina softball returns to Southern Conference road action for the second-straight weekend, opening a three-game series at Samford on Saturday afternoon at the Samford Softball Field in Birmingham, Ala. Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT, with Sunday's finale at 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT.
 
All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats for all three games available on CatamountSports.com.
 
Both teams look to erase two-game skids as the Catamounts dropped both ends of a midweek home twin bill to Georgia State, including an 11-inning marathon in the nightcap. The Bulldogs dropped the final game of their series with Wofford and a midweek tilt against Ole Miss.
 
All eight teams return to SoCon play over the weekend. WCU (6-3) is third to date, battling second-place Samford (7-2). The battle for Tennessee takes place in the Scenic City as ETSU (3-6) heads to Chattanooga (3-6), while Furman (1-8) makes the trek to Macon, Ga., to square off against Mercer (4-5). The final matchup of the weekend has Wofford (4-5) hosting No. 1-seeded UNCG (8-1).
 
MATCHUP: Western Carolina (24-15, 6-3 SoCon) at Samford (17-24, 7-2 SoCon)
Date: Saturday, April 11 & Sunday, April 12
Time: 2 p.m. ET (Saturday DH) | 2 p.m. ET (Sunday)
Location: Birmingham, Ala.
Site: Samford Softball Field
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Live Video: ESPN+ 
 
About Western Carolina:
Western Carolina battled but fell in both ends of Tuesday's nonconference doubleheader with Georgia State, claiming a 9-1 win in game one before outlasting WCU in an 11-inning marathon, 8-6. The 11-inning affair in game two is the longest for WCU since 2015, when the Catamounts played a 12-inning showdown against mountain rival ETSU.
 
Freshman Kayden Lyda and junior Sydney Dirks led WCU's offense with three hits apiece, and both scored a run. Tate Stewman had a double and a home run, while classmate Rylee Butler doubled twice and posted a team-best four RBI to lead four players with two hits in the doubleheader.
 
McPherson continues her impressive play in 2026, leading the SoCon with a .466 batting average, a mark that has her inside the Top 30 in the NCAA. Her 61 hits lead the SoCon and are inside the top 15 nationally, while her 15 home runs and 50 RBI lead the SoCon. She also ranks fourth with 10 doubles. Combined, her .901 slugging percentage is tops in the SoCon. McPherson is batting .552 (16-for-29) in conference play, second in SoCon play with a league-best six homers and second with 10 runs.
 
Dirks continues to add to her strong offensive start with 11 homers and is fourth with 42 RBIs. The Mocksville, N.C. native ranks second in slugging percentage (.729) and eighth overall in batting average (.373). The Catamount power-hitting trio of Dirks, McPherson, and senior Tate Stewman, who has 11 home runs, has aided WCU to 51 home runs as a team, first in the SoCon by nine.
 
Amanda Fulton has 11 victories to rank second in the SoCon, while her 10 complete games are tied for first in the league. She boasts the fifth-best ERA at 2.61, coming in 118 innings pitched, the most in the SoCon. Fulton is additionally third in strikeouts per seven innings (7.2), with her 122 strikeouts second in the SoCon. The right-handed sophomore has 23 punchouts looking, the most in the league. She also holds the top spot in the league with three saves.
 
Additional offensive leaders include:

• Dirks — 31 runs (4th in SoCon), 48 hits (3rd in SoCon), 11 homers (t-4th in SoCon), nine doubles (t-5th in SoCon), 42 RBIs (4th in SoCon), .372 average (8th in SoCon), .729 slugging percentage (2nd in SoCon), 13 multi-hit games, 11 multi-RBI games | SoCon: .345 average, 10 hits, six runs, three doubles, two homers, five RBIs.
• Lily Bell – 43 hits (5th in SoCon), 38 runs (1st in SoCon), three doubles, two triples, .312 average, 14 RBIs, 19 stolen bases (t-2nd in SoCon), 13 multi-hit games | SoCon: .367 average, 11 hits, six runs, one double, one triple, five RBIs, four stolen bases
• Taylor Waitley – .336 average, five doubles, 28 runs (8th in SoCon), 21 RBIs, 40 hits, two home runs, seven stolen bases (t-8th in SoCon)
• Courtney Marks - .309 average, 23 runs scored, 29 hits, 14 walks, four stolen bases, eight RBIs
• Stewman – .315 average, 19 runs, 34 hits, 25 RBIs, four  doubles, 11 homers (t-4th in SoCon)
• SoCon team hitting ranks: .309 average (2nd), 249 runs (1ST), 331 hits (1ST), 47 doubles (t-4th), 51 homers (1ST), 232 RBIs (1ST), 58 steals (2nd), 113 walks (5th), .378 on-base pct. (3rd), .507 slugging pct. (1ST).
• SoCon team pitching ranks: 24 wins (3rd), 4.69 ERA (4th), 181 strikeouts (2nd), 173 earned runs (5th), 4.9 strikeouts per seven (3rd), three saves (2nd)

Scouting the Samford Bulldogs:
Samford took 2-of-3 from Wofford in its last conference series. The Bulldogs swept Chattanooga and won the series over both the Terriers and Mercer. Samford boasts the 31st-toughest schedule in the nation, having faced Power Four opponents Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Oregon, Mississippi State, Iowa, and most recently, Ole Miss.
 
The Bulldogs are led by:

• Olivia Shaw – team-high .363 average, team-high 45 hits, 23 runs, team-high 14 doubles, three triples, six homers, team-high 36 RBIs
• Katie Campbell – .319 average, 20 runs, 38 hits, seven doubles, team-high 13 home runs, 34 RBIs, eight hit-by-pitches
• Joi Hubbard – .311 average, team-high 30 runs, 33 hits, six doubles, 14 RBIs, team-high 10 hit-by-pitches, team-high 11 stolen bases
• Ella Nelson – .300 average, 19 runs, 33 hits, five doubles, two homers, 19 RBIs, 13 walks
• SoCon team hitting ranks: .279 average (5th), 181 runs (4th), 292 hits (4th), 47 doubles (t-4th), 10 triples (2nd), 35 homers (4th), 169 RBIs (4th), 28 steals (t-7th), 93 walks (7th), .353 on-base pct. (6th), .444 slugging pct. (4th).

In the circle:

• Brandy Phillips – team-high tying four wins, 3.93 ERA, 62.1 innings, 41 strikeouts, five complete games
• Makinley Turner – team-high tying four wins, 4.00 ERA, 56 innings, team-high 47 strikeouts, seven complete games, three shutouts
• Sara Bond – team-high tying four wins, 4.58 ERA, 36.2 innings, 20 strikeouts, one complete game
• SoCon team pitching ranks: 17 wins (4th), 4.81 ERA (5th), 165 strikeouts (4th), 174 earned runs (6th), 4.6 strikeouts per seven (4th), 1.7 WHIP (4th).

Catamounts and Bulldogs – All-time Series History:
Samford leads the tight all-time series, 28-25, over Western Carolina and has claimed the last five meetings. The Bulldogs swept the Catamounts in Cullowhee a season ago and claimed a pair of wins to eliminate WCU from the 2024 SoCon tournament. The last time the two squads met in Birmingham, the Catamounts took 2-of-3, though the Bulldogs hold a 13-8 lead in the contests played in Birmingham.
 
McPherson, Marks, and Butler led WCU with three hits apiece over the three-game set last year against Samford. McPherson and Waitley each tallied a double in the matchups a season ago.
 
On Deck for Western Carolina:
WCU returns to nonconference play at home for the final time in the 2026 regular season on Tuesday, April 14, for a doubleheader against Gardner-Webb. The two teams open the twin bill on Betty Peele Field at the Catamount Softball Complex at 3 p.m.
 
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