Western Carolina University

Cullowhee, N.C. – Jackson Lyda and Wyatt Stanley started the day with solo home runs in the first and second innings, respectively, and Cole Jones capped the Catamount scoring with a two-run blast to right in the seventh as Western Carolina closed the regular season with a series-clinching, 7-2 victory over in-state Southern Conference rival UNC Greensboro on Saturday afternoon at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
 
Western Carolina (35-21, 14-7 SoCon) finished the regular season second in the SoCon standings, earning the No. 2 seed for next week's conference championship at Fluor Field at the West End in Greenville, S.C. The Catamounts finished a game behind Mercer, the only conference team to win the series over the Bears, sweeping the Orange & Black in Cullowhee back in mid-April.
 
The Catamounts finished with 21 home victories at Childress Field/Hennon Stadium this season, two more than last year's 19 and the most for WCU since finishing 23-5 in Cullowhee back in the 37-win 2014 season.
 
Eight of the nine position players in the lineup for Western Carolina collected base hits, with three posting multiple hits and five of the 12 total going for extra bases. Trey Spees (3-for-4) doubled in a three-hit effort to lead the Catamounts, while Jaylen Jones (2-for-5) and Mason Holton (2-for-4) both singled twice in the winning effort.
 
Lyda (1-for-4) hit his second lead-off homer in the first inning this season, reaching twice by adding a fifth-inning walk and a second run scored. Stanley (1-for-4) hit a two-out, second-inning homer to right, with Cole Jones (1-for-4) capping a three-run seventh with a two-run home run. Noah Quarless (1-for-4), who homered in each of the first two games of the series, delivered a run-scoring double for the Catamounts.
 
Among the eight seniors honored pregame, Trent Turner  (1-for-3) reached twice with a run-scoring single in the fifth and scored a run after being plunked in the decisive seventh.

UNCG's six singles were spread among five players, with Jacob Dilley (2-for-4) reaching twice to lead the squad. Luke Holland (1-for-3) drew one of the five walks and singled to reach base twice. Both Spartan runs were scored on groundouts, one coming on a bases-loaded double-play as WCU traded a marker for two outs, and the second on a Luke Jenkins run-scoring groundout to short.
 
In an anticipated shorter start with the conference championship event looming and a bullpen anxious for work after the starters excelled over the first two games, Catamount freshman Evan Myers (6-1) was credited with the victory, lifted after the fourth inning. The Denver, N.C., product tossed four scoreless innings, scattering two hits and working around a pair of walks and an HBP with three strikeouts.

Senior relievers Ryan White, Davis Wright, and Owen Austin each tossed an inning in relief, with White and Wright striking out two apiece. Austin benefited from a double-play from the conference's leading defense. Bryant Kimbrell and Davis Budd combined for 1.2 relief innings with a pair of strikeouts between them, with graduate transfer Scott Templeton summoned to record the final out of the game in the final regular-season game of his collegiate career.
 
Hunter Shuey (2-7) fought through six innings for the Spartans, striking out four against a walk, while limiting WCU to just four runs despite eight hits. John Horton, who scored the save in Thursday's 2-1 victory, was tagged for three runs on three hits with a strikeout in an inning, with freshman Thomas Hester tossing the eighth, recording a one-hit, scoreless frame with a punchout.
    Home runs by Lyda and Stanley gave the Catamounts a 2-0 lead through two complete innings on Saturday. Meanwhile, Myers and the Catamounts stranded a trio of Spartans before turning in a 1-2-3 third.
 
In the fourth, UNCG (22-31, 7-14 SoCon) got traffic from a pair of one-out walks before Myers again settled with a strikeout and an inning-ending flyout to right field. An inning later, the visitors again put two aboard with a two-out walk by Jake Mueller and a single by Dilley before Myers struck out Jacob Budzik.
 
Five straight Catamounts reached to start the fifth inning as senior Cam Murray was plunked, but caught stealing. Spees doubled, and Lyda walked to put two aboard before Jaylen Jones pulled a single through the left-hand side for a 3-0 lead. Turner then poked a run-scoring single through the right side to stretch it to a four-run cushion through five.
 
UNCG loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk to start the seventh inning before Austin and WCU's middle infield traded a run for a double-play. Ultimately, the Catamounts limited the Spartans to just the one marker and a 4-1 lead at the stretch. Then, a seemingly harmless two-out HBP to Turner sparked the decisive inning. Quarless delivered a run-scoring double to plate Turner, before Cole Jones lit the scoreboard with a two-run homer in his final at-bat in Cullowhee.
 
Series homers by Quarless (10), Stanley (10), and Cole Jones (10) give the Catamounts four players with double-digit dingers, joining Turner, who has a team-best 12.
 
The Spartans provided the final tally in the eighth as Holland singled and Tanner Berry walked to put two aboard, with a wild pitch moving both in to scoring position. WCU again traded a routine infield groundout for a run as Jenkins grounded out to Lyda to cap scoring.
 
Western Carolina turns attention to the SoCon Baseball Championship, presented by Holston Gases, earning one of the two byes until Thursday at 12:30 p.m. The Catamounts must wait until Wednesday to learn their first-round opponent, as No. 6 ETSU and No. 7 UNCG meet in Game 2 at 12:30 p.m. for the right to face third-seeded Samford at 7:30 p.m., with that winner advancing to face WCU.
 
The Catamounts have been one of the top two seeds 15 times since 1989. Most recently, WCU was the No. 1 seed after winning the 2013 and 2014 regular-season championships and the No. 2 seed in both 2016 and 2017, winning the conference crown by downing top-seeded Samford twice in '16.
 
Each game of the 2026 SoCon Baseball Championship, presented by Holston Gases, will be broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network with free, live streaming audio available and live stats available through links online at CatamountSports.com. Every game will also be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with Saturday night's championship game slated to air on ESPNU (check local listings).
 
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).