Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina baseball made its first appearance in the national Mid-Major Power Rankings on Monday, one of four previously unranked squads to move into the 11Point7 College Baseball power poll for Week 9. Coming off its three-game sweep of preseason Southern Conference favorite Mercer, which fell from the rankings this week, the Catamounts debut in the rankings at No. 20 this week.
 
WCU (23-14) is joined in the ranking by the current SoCon leader, Wofford (25-11), which also makes its debut this week at No. 22. The two are joined by Gonzaga (20-14) and Northern Illinois (20-11) as four teams appeared in the ranking for the first time this week.
 
Coastal Carolina (26-9) headlines the Top 25 mid-major programs ranked by the publication in its weekly tabulation. WCU's March 1 opponent, East Carolina, remains in the poll at No. 12 this week. In addition to the Catamounts and Pirates, the state of North Carolina is also represented by No. 13 Campbell and No. 14 High Point. Western Carolina (23-14, 6-3 SoCon) closes its five-game homestand on Tuesday as the Catamounts welcome longtime mountain rival Appalachian State (19-15) to Childress Field / Hennon Stadium in the back-end of a nonconference home-and-home. WCU claimed the front end in Boone, 13-3, back on March 10, and seeks a third-straight home victory over the former league foe, currently in the Sun Belt Conference.
 
First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 5 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available online at CatamountSports.com.
 
WCU returns to SoCon play this weekend with a three-game series at VMI, on post in Lexington, Va. That series opens Friday at 6 p.m., with each game scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
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