Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina softball looks to start April on a high note, beginning with a three-game holiday weekend set against mountain rival East Tennessee State. The series opens on Friday, April 3, at Betty Basler Field in Johnson City, Tenn., with a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m., and concludes on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Live stats for all three games are available on CatamountSports.com.

Both teams look to rebound from midweek defeats: the Catamounts fell to Charlotte, and the Bucs dropped a home doubleheader to Big South foe Radford on Tuesday.

All eight teams continue SoCon play over the holiday weekend, with the lone unbeaten UNCG (6-0) welcoming in Furman (0-6). Samford (5-1) makes the trip to Spartanburg to battle Wofford (3-3), with Mercer (3-3) heading to the Scenic City for a matchup against Chattanooga (1-5). WCU and ETSU both sit at 3-3, looking for early legs up in conference play.

SOFTBALL MATCHUP: Western Carolina (21-13, 3-3 SoCon) at ETSU (15-13, 3-3 SoCon)

• Date: Friday, April 3 & Saturday, April 4
• Time: 3:00 p.m. (Friday DH) | 1:00 p.m. (Saturday)
• Location: Johnson City, Tenn.
• Site: Betty Basler Field
• Live Stats: Stat Broadcast

About Western Carolina:
Junior Maya McPherson hit her team-leading 14th home run of the season on Tuesday as WCU led early at Charlotte before a pair of big innings led the 49ers to the 11-3, run-ruled victory.

Junior Lily Bell (2-for-3) collected two of WCU's four base hits with a pair of singles to go along with two runs scored, becoming the program's record holder for runs scored in a career with 124. Her second run in the third inning gave her a team-best 36 this season and pushed her past Bailey Huneycutt (2019-23) for the top spot in career runs scored. It's the second career record that Bell has broken in her career, along with 79 career steals, a mark she broke as a sophomore.

McPherson continues her torrid start to the 2026 season, ranked second in the SoCon with a .478 batting average – a mark that has her inside the Top 25 in the NCAA. Her 55 hits lead the SoCon and are 12th in the nation, while her 14 homers and 45 RBI lead the SoCon, and she also ranks third with 10 doubles. Her .948 slugging percentage is tops in the SoCon.

Classmate Sydney Dirks continues to add to her strong offensive start with 11 homers and is tied for third with 41 RBIs. The Mocksville, N.C. native checks into the weekend third in slugging percentage (.773) and eighth in batting average (.373). The Catamount power-hitting trio of Dirks, McPherson, and senior Tate Stewman, who has 10 home runs, has WCU with 49 home runs, helping propel the Purple & Gold to the top spot in the SoCon.

Amanda Fulton has 10 victories to rank second in the SoCon, while her nine complete games are tied for first in the league. Her 2.67 ERA is seventh-best, coming in 101.1 innings pitched, second in the SoCon. Fulton is additionally third in strikeouts per seven innings (7.2), with her 104 strikeouts second in the SoCon. 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 – 36 runs scored (1st in SoCon), 17 stolen bases (3rd in SoCon), .322 average, two doubles, two triples (t-5th in SoCon), 14 RBIs
• Taylor Waitley – .340 average, five doubles, 26 runs (t-7th in SoCon), 21 RBIs, 36 hits, two home runs, seven stolen bases (t-9th in SoCon), 12-game reached base streak (active)
• Courtney Marks - .317 average, 21 runs scored, 26 hits, 13 walks, four stolen bases
• Tate Stewman – .330 average, 18 runs, 24 RBIs (t-8th in SoCon), three doubles, 10 homers (t-6th in SoCon)
• SoCon team hitting ranks: .313 average (2nd), 227 runs (2nd), 290 hits (2nd), 40 doubles (4th), 49 homers (1st), 213 RBIs (1st), 50 steals (2nd), 107 walks (2nd), .388 on-base pct. (2nd), .526 slugging pct. (1st).
• SoCon team pitching ranks: 21 wins (3rd), 4.97 ERA (4th), 148 strikeouts (4th), 157 earned runs (4th), 4.7 strikeouts per seven (t-3rd)

Scouting ETSU:
ETSU (15-13, 3-3 SoCon) enters the weekend after dropping its midweek doubleheader to Radford. Similarly to WCU, the Bucs earned a three-game sweep of Furman in SoCon play last weekend after falling in three straight to UNCG during the opening weekend of conference action. The two teams have four common opponents: Furman, UNCG, Presbyterian, and Winthrop, with the Bucs 4-5 and WCU 7-3. ETSU is 5-7 in home contests this year, while going 10-6 away from Johnson City.

The Bucs are led by:

• Payton Moore – team-high .349 average, 22 hits, five doubles, six homers, .714 slugging percentage
• Whitney Boone – .330 average, 29 hits, seven doubles, two homers, 11 walks, 22 RBIs, 20 runs
• Tiare Rieger – .322 average, 19 hits, four doubles, eight walks
• Leinani Lutu – .315 average, 23 hits, six doubles
• Abigail Taylor – .307 average, 23 hits, 20 runs, 18 stolen bases
• SoCon team hitting ranks: .278 average (7th), 157 runs (6th), 213 hits (7th), 38 doubles (7th), 15 homers (6th), 141 RBIs (5th), 34 steals (3rd), 106 walks (4th), .371 on-base pct. (4th), .397 slugging pct. (7th).

In the circle:

• Caitlin Pennington – team-high four wins, 2.44 ERA, 37.1 innings, 15 strikeouts, one complete game.
• Eden Muncy – one victory, 2.58 ERA, 35.1 innings, team-high 27 strikeouts, .231 opponent batting average
• Taylor Suchy – team-high four wins, 3.50 ERA, team-best 40 innings, 15 strikeouts.
• SoCon team pitching ranks: 15 wins (t-4th), 3.73 ERA (2nd), 102 strikeouts (7th), 100 earned runs (2nd), 3.8 strikeouts per seven (7th), 1.54 WHIP (2nd).

Catamounts and Bucs– All-time Series History:
ETSU enters the weekend with a 27-23 lead over Western Carolina and has claimed the last two meetings. The two split four head-to-head battles last year, including a 12-9 ETSU win in Spartanburg to advance in the 2025 SoCon tournament. The Catamounts earned a 6-1 and an 11-0 win in Cullowhee, with the Bucs claiming the finale 5-2 in Cullowhee. The Bucs hold a 14-7 advantage in contests played in Johnson City, as the Catamounts took two of three two years ago at ETSU.

Bell led WCU with a 10-for-14 (.714) effort over the four games last year against ETSU, including four multi-hit games. Her 10 hits included a double, a triple, and five RBIs. McPherson posted a .545 (6-for-11) performance with three homers and a team-best six RBIs.

On Deck for Western Carolina:
WCU returns to nonconference play at home on Tuesday, April 7, for a doubleheader against Sun Belt counterpart Georgia State. The two teams open the twin bill on Betty Peele Field at the Catamount Softball Complex at 3 p.m., as the doubleheader is slated for ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available on CatamountSports.com.

Fans can follow WCU softball on Facebook, Twitter (@CatamountSB), Instagram, and CatamountSports.com.