Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina baseball heads north this weekend, riding a four-game winning streak as the Catamounts square off against the VMI Keydets in a three-game Southern Conference series on Lamore Field at Gray-Minor Stadium. Action gets underway at 6 p.m. on Friday, followed by first pitch at 2 p.m. on Saturday and the finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
 
All three games are scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats linked online at CatamountSports.com.
 
WCU's current four-game win streak includes sweeping SoCon preseason favorite Mercer last weekend in Cullowhee and scoring a run-ruled midweek victory over Appalachian State on Tuesday. The Catamounts swept both nonconference meetings with the Mountaineers, winning both by 10 runs. VMI (25-11, 2-7 SoCon) snapped a three-game slide with an 8-4 road win over Norfolk State on Tuesday afternoon. The Keydets were swept last weekend at Samford, but handed Wofford its only league loss this year, a 13-12 decision in 10 innings, dropping 2-of-3 at home to the Terriers.
 
The Catamounts were picked fifth in the preseason coaches' poll, with VMI tabbed seventh in the eight-team league.
 
Around the Southern Conference:
The weekend includes three SoCon series, including WCU visiting VMI. The Citadel (17-19, 3-6 SoCon) visits ETSU (23-11, 6-3 SoCon), with the Buccaneers entering the weekend tied with the Catamounts for second-place in the conference. After sweeping the Keydets last weekend, Samford (17-18, 5-4 SoCon) travels to UNCG (15-22, 2-7 SoCon).
 
In nonconference play, Mercer (25-12) hosts Towson in Macon, Ga., while league-leading Wofford (26-11) plays a split series with UNC Asheville, meeting in Asheville on Friday before hosting the Bulldogs on Saturday and Sunday.
 
Projected Starting Pitchers:
Friday, April 17 – 6 p.m.
WCU: Soph. RHP Carter Burnette – (9 app., 9 GS; 2-4, 5.40 ERA, 50.0 IP, 46K, 15BB)
VMI: R-So. RHP Justin Spiegel – (4 app., 4 GS; 0-2, 10.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 10K, 4BB)
 
Saturday, April 18 – 2 p.m.
WCU: Sr. LHP Davis Wright – (9 app., 9 GS; 2-1, 9.25 ERA, 36.0 IP, 33K, 7BB)
VMI: Fr. LHP Buddy Baker – (15 app., 1 GS; 5-0, 1.90 ERA, 23.2 IP, 24K, 5BB)
 
Sunday, April 19 – 1 p.m.
WCU: Fr. LHP Evan Myers – (10 app., 8 GS; 3-1, 4.55 ERA, 31.2 IP, 20K, 19BB)
VMI: TBA
 
About Western Carolina:
As the weather has warmed this spring, so has the Catamount offense. WCU enters the weekend having scored in double figures in four of its last five games. During that stretch, the Catamounts are batting .355 (62-for-174) with 25 extra-base hits, including 13 doubles, 3 triples, and 9 home runs. WCU has averaged 11.4 runs per game, outscoring its opponents 62-51. In that same time frame, the Catamount defense has flipped six double plays, while the pitching staff has combined for 30 strikeouts.
 
Through three SoCon series – and nine total games – WCU is batting .322 (97-of-301) as a team in conference play, with eight regulars hitting above the .300 threshold. Two are batting over .400 in league play in Trent Turner (.432) and Trey Spees (.412).
 
WCU enters the weekend second in the SoCon with 359 combined hits, including 52 home runs to trail only Mercer and rank fourth with 75 doubles. The Catamounts have raised their seasonal combined batting average to .286, averaging 7.5 runs on 9.45 hits per game.
 
The Catamount pitching staff ranks fourth in the SoCon with 284 combined strikeouts, second in the league with 86 strikeouts looking. Last week, the WCU bullpen was the difference in silencing the SoCon's top offense in Mercer. Six Catamount relievers combined to limit the Bears to three runs on 10 hits over 18.1 relief innings, striking out 16.
 
Additional Catamount Diamond Notes:

• WCU fourth-year head coach Alan Beck picked up his 100th career victory with last Friday's series-opening win over Mercer … He is the seventh of WCU's 11 all-time head coaches to eclipse the 100-win mark in Cullowhee;
• Jackson Lyda leads six Catamount regulars batting above the .300 threshold with a .328 average … Five have five-or-more home runs on the season, with Wyatt Stanley leading the team with nine, followed by Trent Turner and Walker Fox with seven apiece;
• Entering the weekend, Wyatt Stanley has reached base safely in a team-best 21 consecutive games, though he was sidelined in the Mercer series with a hand injury … Trent Turner has the second-longest active streak at 15 games in a row;
• Five Catamounts have nine or more doubles, led by Noah Quarless with 12 and Walker Fox with 10 … Jaylen Jones, Trent Turner, and Mason Holton each have nine;
• The Catamounts have been denied a double-digit hitting streak this year with Noah Quarless coming the closest with a nine-game streak that was snapped against App State in the midweek … Quarless raised his seasonal batting average by nearly 50 points during the nine-game hit streak;
• Cole Jones enters the weekend having homered in two of his last three games – and in four of his last eight outings;

 
Scouting the VMI Keydets:
VMI enters the weekend tied for second in the Southern Conference with 25 seasonal victories, as the Keydets opened the year 9-1 as part of a 15-2 start into mid-March. The Keydets entered SoCon play with a 20-4 overall record, but have gone just 5-7 since March 27, opening league play at 2-7.
 
VMI ranks second in the SoCon in scoring with 306 runs this season, collecting 263 RBI. The Runnin' Roos also lead the SoCon – and NCAA – with 152 stolen bases, 60 more than second-place in the conference. Eight different Keydets have double-digit stolen bases this year, with three swiping 21 or more. Owen Prince has a team-best 25 thefts, while Cole Cook and Bradley Garner have 21.
 
Preseason SoCon Player of the Year, senior first baseman Grayson Fitzwater, paces a trio of Keydets batting above the .300 mark with a .373 average, slugging .841 with 12 doubles, a triple, and a SoCon-leading 15 home runs. Fitzwater and Bradley Garner (.296) were first-team preseason All-SoCon selections, with Prince earning a second-team nod.
 
The Keydets are 19-4 at home this season, with wins in five of their last seven hosted at Gray-Minor Stadium. This weekend is just the second home SoCon series for VMI this year.
 
Western Carolina vs. VMI – All-Time Series History:
The Catamounts and Keydets have met 102 times previously on the baseball diamond with WCU holding a 74-28 edge in the all-time series, including a 27-13 edge in games played in Lexington, Va. The Catamounts have won four of the last six games played on post at Gray-Minor, taking 2-of-3 in 2024 and 2022. The Keydets swept the series at home in 2018.
 
WCU dropped the series at home to VMI last year, but thumped the Keydets 15-1 in seven innings in the early rounds of the SoCon Baseball Championship in Greenville, S.C.
 
On Deck for the Catamounts:
Western Carolina remains on the road in the midweek before returning home in league play next weekend to close the April schedule.
 
The Catamounts play the return matchup in the nonconference home-and-home with Gardner-Webb next Tuesday, April 21, in Boiling Springs, N.C. WCU claimed the first meeting 8-4 in Cullowhee back on March 18. The weekend sees the Catamounts return home to host the ETSU Buccaneers at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium, April 24-26.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount baseball and WCU Athletics through social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports), Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountBSB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountbsb).