Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina softball hosts Mercer for its final Southern Conference home series to cap its program-record 29-game home schedule, hosting the Bears for three games on Betty Peele Field at the Catamount Softball Complex. Action gets underway with a Friday doubleheader at 1 p.m. and concludes on Saturday with a senior day finale set for 11 a.m. (game times are subject to change).
Admission to all WCU home games this season is free, presented by First Bank. Live stats for all three games will be available at CatamountSports.com with the home finale against the Bears slated for Catamount Sports Network.
Following the final out of Saturday's 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.
Western Carolina is riding its second five-game win streak of the season after Tuesday's impressive doubleheader sweep of N.C. Central. The Catamounts plated 28 runs in the two games, including a 20-1 win in the opener and an 8-0 shutout in game two with the Eagles. Mercer, idle in the midweek, comes in on a three-game slide, swept last time out against the current league-leader UNC Greensboro. The Bears come to Cullowhee with just two wins in their last 11 games.
Conference play heads down the stretch, with the SoCon Tournament just two weeks away in Chattanooga. WCU (11-4) enters the weekend third overall, facing Mercer (5-10), which is in a two-way tie for sixth. SoCon leader UNCG (13-2) hosts Chattanooga (6-9), while Samford (11-4) heads to Johnson City to battle ETSU (5-10). The battle for Palmetto State closes out the penultimate weekend in the SoCon with Wofford (6-9) traveling to Greenville to battle Furman (3-12).
MATCHUP: Mercer (17-26, 5-10 SoCon) at Western Carolina (32-17, 11-4 SoCon)
Date: Friday, April 24 & Saturday, April 25
Time: 1 p.m. (Friday DH) | 11 a.m. (Saturday)
Location: Cullowhee, N.C.
Site: Betty Peele Field at the Catamount Softball Complex
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Live Audio: Catamount Sports Network (Saturday)
About Western Carolina:
The Catamounts rewrote the record book again on Tuesday, breaking three single-season team records and setting a single-game team record in the doubleheader sweep over N.C. Central. 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 five 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.
Junior Maya McPherson leads the SoCon with 69 hits, including 16 home runs, and a .423 batting average and .804 slugging percentage. With 54 RBI, the Lancaster, Calif. native is third in the league, while also ranking fifth with 12 doubles. McPherson is batting a team-best .383 in conference play, fifth in SoCon play with a league-best tying six homers, tied with Stewman, and is fifth in the league with 15 runs knocked in.
Junior Sydney Dirks has hit 14 home runs, ranking third in the conference, and ranks second with 55 RBIs. The Mocksville, N.C. native is fourth in slugging percentage (.723). The Catamount power-hitting trio of Dirks, McPherson, and Stewman, who also has 13 home runs, has aided WCU to 64 home runs as a team, first in the SoCon by 13.
Sophomore Amanda Fulton is second in the SoCon with 15 victories, while her 14 complete games are first in the league. She boasts the third-best ERA at 2.26 over 145.1 innings pitched, the most in the SoCon. Fulton is additionally third in strikeouts per seven innings (6.8), with her 141 strikeouts second in the SoCon. The right-handed sophomore has 27 punchouts looking, the most in the league. She also leads the league with four saves, ranking 13th in the nation.
Additional offensive leaders include:
Dirks — 39 runs (5th in SoCon), 59 hits (4th in SoCon), 14 homers (3rd in SoCon), 10 doubles (t-8th in SoCon), 55 RBIs (2nd in SoCon), .371 average, .723 slugging percentage (4th in SoCon), 16 multi-hit games, 16 multi-RBI games | SoCon: .348 average, 16 hits, eight runs, four doubles, four homers, 14 RBIs, nine walks.
Bell – 61 hits (t-2nd in SoCon), 47 runs (1st in SoCon), five doubles, two triples, .353 average, 17 RBIs, 25 stolen bases (1st in SoCon), 18 multi-hit games | SoCon: .347 average, 17 hits, nine runs, two doubles, one triple, five RBIs, five stolen bases
Stewman – .348 average, 31 runs, 49 hits, 35 RBIs (t-8th in SoCon), seven doubles, 13 homers (t-4th in SoCon), .674 slugging percentage (8th in SoCon) | SoCon: 15 hits, 10 runs, six homers, 12 RBIs
Waitley – .336 average, seven doubles, 36 runs (7th in SoCon), 28 RBIs, 49 hits, two home runs, eight stolen bases
Becka Wonsick – .326 average, 23 runs, 28 hits, four doubles, one triple, nine homers, 28 RBIs, six stolen bases | SoCon: .333 (11-for-33) average, 11 runs, two doubles, one triple, five homers, four walks, 13 RBIs, two steals
SoCon team hitting ranks: .318 average (2nd), 333 runs (1ST), 427 hits (1ST), 64 doubles (3rd), 64 homers (1ST), 308 RBIs (1ST), 75 steals (2nd), 152 walks (3rd), .391 on-base pct. (2nd), .520 slugging pct. (1ST).
SoCon team pitching ranks: 32 wins (2nd), 4.16 ERA (3rd), 218 strikeouts (2nd), 319.1 innings pitched (2nd), 190 earned runs (4th), 4.8 strikeouts per seven (4th), four saves (2nd), 49 strikeouts looking (2nd).
Scouting the Mercer Bears:
Mercer enters on a three-game skid after being swept in SoCon play by UNCG in its last conference series. The Bears have dropped nine of their last 11 games. Mercer has a series win over Wofford before its current skid entering the weekend. The two teams have seven common opponents: N.C. A&T, Southern Illinois, PC, Samford, UTC, Furman, UNCG, with the Bears 5-11 and WCU at 12-6. Mercer is 1-10 in true road games and is winless in six neutral site matchups away from Macon.
The Bears are led by:
Olivia Lenzen – team-high .364 average, 36 hits, five doubles, eight homers, 23 RBIs, 12 walks, six HBP, three steals
Grace Jones – .319 average, 38 hits, 17 runs, team-best nine doubles, five homers, 18 RBIs, 13 walks, four steals
Daniella Monaco – .308 average, 25 runs, 33 hits, four doubles, two triples, four homers, five steals
Avery Barton – 25 runs, 29 hits, five doubles, team-best 11 homers, 26 RBIs
Isabel Fernandez – team-best 14 stolen bases
SoCon team hitting ranks: .253 average (8th), 164 runs (8th), 259 hits (8th), 38 doubles (8th), two triples (8th), 42 homers (4th), 147 RBIs (8th), 36 steals (7th), 112 walks (7th), .339 on-base percentage (8th), .417 slugging percentage (5th)
In the circle:
Grace Jones – four wins, team-best 5.87 ERA, 14 appearances, 10 starts, 53.2 innings, team-best 47 strikeouts, two complete games, one save
Grace Roark – three wins, 5.95 ERA, 19 appearances, 12 starts, team-best 64.2 innings, 28 strikeouts, five complete games
Grace McKillop – team-best six wins, 6.91 ERA, 18 appearances, eight starts, 54.2 innings, 36 strikeouts, three complete games.
SoCon team pitching ranks: 17 wins (t-6th), 6.80 ERA (7th), 152 strikeouts (6th), 267.2 innings pitched (t-7th), two saves (t-4th), 260 earned runs (7th), 29 strikeouts looking (6th)
Catamounts and Bears – All-Time Series History:
Mercer leads the all-time series, 23-16, over Western Carolina, claiming a three-game series sweep last year in Macon. WCU and Mercer have split the last two series in Cullowhee, with each side earning three wins. The series in Cullowhee is tied 6-6 over the program's respective histories.
Courtney Marks and Bell led WCU with four hits apiece over the three-game set last season at Mercer. McPherson tallied two doubles in the series as Marks swiped three bases last year.
On Deck for Western Carolina:
WCU closes out the 2026 regular season with a trip to Spartanburg next Friday, May 1, for a three-game set against Wofford. The two teams open the twin bill at Wofford's Hope Field at 3 p.m. before the regular-season finale at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Live stats will be available via CatamountSports.com for all three games, with Friday's doubleheader to be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required).
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