Spartanburg, S.C. –
Noah Quarless smacked his eighth home run of the season and legged out his team-best 15th double in Friday night's Southern Conference series opener at Wofford. However, he was the only Catamount to collect a hit as WCU managed just three total base runners against the Terriers, falling 6-1 at Russell C. King Field.
First pitch of game two is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (
paid subscription required), with live streaming audio online from the Catamount Sports Network and live stats available online at CatamountSports.com.
Wofford starter Alec Bouchard (8-2) went the distance in earning the complete game victory, striking out 14, including seven of the first 10 batters he faced. Bouchard limited the potent Catamount offense to a pair of extra-base hits by Quarless, and just one run scored. His only blemish was an HBP to
Walker Fox to lead off the seventh inning, though Fox was stranded at first in the frame.
After retiring eight straight after the Quarless homer, and seven in a row after his double, Bouchard closed Friday's opener by sitting down nine straight Catamounts between the seventh and ninth innings.
Catamount starter
Carter Burnette (2-6) battled through six innings, working around a walk and three hit batters with four strikeouts. He was tagged for four runs – three of which were earned – on five hits, stranding five Terrier base runners. Three relievers combined for the final two frames, with
Jacob Arnberger and
John Lobs both striking out one in an inning of work.
Wofford's eight hits were spread among six players, with Cade Collins (2-for-3) and Marc Quarrie (2-for-4) both singling twice. Collins was plunked twice to reach base three times. Lucas Manning produced the game-winning run with a fifth-inning solo home run, with Logan Tribble driving home three with a run-scoring ground out and a two RBI single in the three-run seventh inning. Niko Brini plated a run on a sacrifice fly.
Wofford (31-15, 9-4 SoCon) capitalized on a two-base WCU error on a failed pickoff attempt with a groundout, giving the home squad the early lead in the opening frame. Quarless led off the second with an opposite-field home run to knot the game at one through two complete, where it stayed until the fifth.
Manning's home run started a five-run rally for the Terriers over the final four innings, in which they took swings, capped with a three-run seventh and an insurance marker in the eighth after three of the first four batters were put on by HBPs ahead of Brini's sac fly.
Western Carolina fell to 29-17 overall and 10-6 in SoCon play, slipping to 9-9 away from Cullowhee in true road games this spring. Wofford (.692) moved back atop the league standings, percentage points ahead of the second-place Catamounts (.625), while Mercer (.615) climbed to third in a tie with Samford at 8-5 (.615) after downing the Bulldogs on the road Friday.
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