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Schedule

Full
Sydney Dirks vs Gardner-Webb
Addison Roberts, WCU Creative Media
20
Winner Western Carolina WCU 31-17
1
N.C. Central NCCU 7-37
Winner
Western Carolina WCU
31-17
20
Final
1
N.C. Central NCCU
7-37
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 R H E
Western Carolina WCU 0 0 0 4 16 20 15 0
N.C. Central NCCU 0 0 0 1 0 1 6 5

W: Bunsic, Briony (6-3) L: Madeline Janssen (4-20)

8
Winner Western Carolina WCU 32-17
0
N.C. Central NCCU 7-38
Winner
Western Carolina WCU
32-17
8
Final
0
N.C. Central NCCU
7-38
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
Western Carolina WCU 0 1 1 3 1 2 8 13 1
N.C. Central NCCU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 3

W: Batson, AG (9-4) L: Simone Mack (1-13)

Game Recap: Softball | | Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Softball Sets More Records in Sweep at N.C. Central

Cary, N.C. – For the second time in as many weeks, Western Carolina softball put together a big offensive inning as the Catamounts scored 16 runs in the fifth inning, earning a 20-1 run-rule victory in game one of a midweek doubleheader over host N.C. Central from Thomas Brooks Park.  The Catamounts closed the day with an 8-0 shutout to stretch their seasonal win streak to five in a row with the sweep in Tuesday's final nonconference doubleheader.

The Catamounts rewrote the record book once again on Tuesday, breaking three single-season team records and setting a single-game team record against NCCU. Western Carolina (32-17) broke single-season records for runs scored (333), stolen bases (75), and runs batted in (308) with six games remaining in the regular season to add to their total, while also setting a single-game team record with 10 stolen bases in the opener.

Junior Lily Bell and senior Tate Stewman led the Catamounts in the two games, going 5-for-8 (.625) at the dish, with Stewman launching a grand slam and a double in a team-high 5 RBI performance. Bell scored four times and swiped four bases, including the single-season record setting bag in game two. Junior Becka Wonsick continued her strong work at the plate as she finished 4-for-7 (.571) with a three-run homer, a pair of stolen bases, and four runs scored.

Dirks added three hits with her 14th homer of the season, three RBIs, and three runs scored. Freshman Amari Burce, sophomore Courtney Marks, and junior Maya McPherson each had a pair of hits in the sweep. As a team, WCU hit .438 (28-of-64) over the course of Tuesday's action with two doubles, one triple, three homers, scoring 28 runs.

Freshman Briony Bunsic earned her sixth win of the season, backed by the opening game offensive explosion. She struck out a career-high five in five innings of work, allowing just one earned run. Sophomore AG Batson grabbed her ninth win of the season in her fifth complete game, in the game two victory, as she had four strikeouts in her first shutout of the season.

WCU climbed to 27-9 when homering at least once this season, which includes a 14-2 record when hitting at least two long balls in a game. The Catamounts are now 23-3 when scoring at least six runs this season and are 27-4 when holding their opponents to less than five runs, with a 17-0 mark when opponents scored two or fewer runs. The Purple & Gold improved to 19-7 when scoring first, and 23-0 when out-hitting their opponents.

Game One – Western Carolina 20, N.C. Central 1 (5 Innings)
Western Carolina used a 16-run fifth inning to turn a tight three-run game into a commanding 20-1 victory over N.C. Central in the opener of Tuesday's doubleheader.

WCU pounded out 15 hits spread among nine players. Lily Bell and Tate Stewman each put together 3-for-4 performances as Stewman connected on a grand slam to lead the Catamount offense with five RBIs. Becka Wonsick and Courtney Marks each added two hits as Taylor Waitley connected on a two-run triple. Wonsick and Amari Burce each scored three runs as WCU swiped a team-record 10 bases, led by Bell and Wonsick with two apiece.

Both offenses were stymied early as neither team scratched across a run in the first three innings, leaving traffic on the basepaths.

Stewman and Wonsick opened the fourth with singles, and a double steal moved the two runners into scoring position. Burce loaded the bases on an HBP before Marks drew a bases-loaded walk to get WCU on the scoreboard.

Kayden Lyda added on a sacrifice fly before Bell reloaded the bases with an Eagles wild pitch, scoring a run. The four-run frame was capped with a sacrifice fly from Waitley.

N.C. Central (7-38) got on the board with a one-out RBI single to cut the deficit to three, 4-1, after four innings.

The Catamounts opened the fifth, loading the bases with a Stewman walk, Wonsick reaching on a fielding miscue, and a Burce hit-by-pitch with Wonsick and pinch-runner Emma Kindle swiping a base. A wild pitch from the Eagles scored the first run of the frame before pinch-hitter Autumn Russell plated a pair on a two-run single.

Bell and pinch-hitter Kimber Shambley added singles to put runners on the corners before a Waitley two-run triple pushed the lead to 9-1 with still no outs. Dirks and McPherson drew walks to load the bases for a first-pitch grand slam from Stewman that saw the lead reach double digits.

Wonsick and Burce, in their second at-bats of the inning, reached on an error and a single, respectively, before Marks picked up an RBI single to score Wonsick. Lyda loaded the bases for Bell's second hit of the frame, which scored a run and kept the bases loaded with still no outs.

AG Batson drew a four-pitch walk to plate a run, and pinch-hitter Ava Giglio reached on the third fielding miscue for the Eagles that scored two runs. Stewman continued her strong day at the dish with an RBI single before pinch-hitter Emily Murphy reached on a fielding miscue from NCCU to score the 16th and final run of the inning and make it a 20-1 ballgame.

Briony Bunsic worked around a leadoff walk as she tallied her fifth strikeout of the day, a career-high, and helped lock down win number 31 for WCU. The freshman out of Morristown, Tenn. went the distance for the Catamounts, tossing 5.0 innings and scattering six hits and one run allowed with five strikeouts to earn the win.

Madeline Janssen (4-20) took the loss for the Eagles, allowing 11 runs on 10 hits with three walks in 3.1 innings of work, with 10 of the runs earned. Xenna Tompkins pitched an inning of relief with four hits and seven runs allowed, as five of those were earned. Simone Mack tallied the final two outs in relief with one hit and two unearned runs allowed.

Game Two – Western Carolina 8, N.C. Central 0 (6 Innings)
Western Carolina continued to put the offensive pedal to the metal in game two with runs in five of six innings, separating itself with a three-run fourth and a two-run sixth inning to earn the 8-0 run-rule shutout and sweep the doubleheader from NCCU.

The Catamounts continued their offensive onslaught with 13 more hits in the finale, spread amongst seven players. Sydney Dirks (3-for-4) led the way with her 14th homer of the season and three RBIs. Becka Wonsick, Lily Bell, Maya McPherson, and Tate Stewman each tallied a pair of hits, with Wonsick hitting her fourth homer in the last four games.

Both offenses went 1-2-3 in the opening frame before the guests got the bats going with singles from McPherson and Stewman before an NCCU wild pitch moved the pair into scoring position. Wonsick drove in McPherson on a sac fly to left field to give the Catamounts a 1-0 lead.

Game two starter AG Batson continued her strong start in the circle with a one-out single in the second, the only blemish over the opening two frames.

In the third, Bell added a one-out single and moved into scoring position before an RBI single from Dirks doubled the advantage after 2.5 frames.

WCU continued to put together strong offensive innings in the fourth with a fielding miscue from the hosts allowing Stewman to reach base safely with Wonsick blasting her ninth homer of the season to extend the lead to four. Burce followed with a double, and after advancing to third on a groundout, she scampered home on an RBI groundout from Lyda to make it 5-0.

Batson continued to put up zeroes in the circle with Dirks connecting on her 14th homer of the season in the fifth to extend the advantage to six.

Western Carolina capped the offensive performance in the sixth with an RBI single from Dirks, which followed a base knock from Bell. McPherson reached on her second single as the 3-4 hitters for the Catamounts methodically advanced with Dirks scoring on a wild pitch to cap the scoring at eight.

Batson worked around a leadoff single in the sixth with three straight outs, including her fourth punchout of the game, to secure the second WCU shutout of the season.

Batson (9-4) tossed 6.0 innings en route to the victory, surrendering five hits and striking out four to earn the win.

Simone Mack (1-13) made the start for NCCU, going 5.0 innings and allowing 10 hits and six runs, with five of those earned and three strikeouts.  Janea Hudson pitched the final frame for the hosts, giving up three hits and two runs with a strikeout.

WCU closes the home portion of its schedule with a three-game Southern Conference series against Mercer on Betty Peele Field at the Catamount Softball Complex. Live stats will be available for each game online at CatamountSports.com, with the weekend broadcast schedule to be announced.

Following the final out of the regular-season home finale, Western Carolina will honor its 2026 senior class, including catcher Taylor Waitley, outfielder Rylee Butler, pitcher Riley Pennington, and first baseman Tate Stewman.

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