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Full
Kayden Lyda at Wofford
Greg Hartlage - WCU Athletics
4
Western Carolina WCU 33-20, 12-7 SoCon
5
Winner Wofford WOF 31-17, 8-11 SoCon
Western Carolina WCU
33-20, 12-7 SoCon
4
Final
5
Wofford WOF
31-17, 8-11 SoCon
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 R H E
Western Carolina WCU 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 10 2
Wofford WOF 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 5 9 1

W: Salo (10-3) L: Fulton, Amanda (15-7)

4
Western Carolina WCU 33-21, 12-8 SoCon
6
Winner Wofford WOF 32-17, 9-11 SoCon
Western Carolina WCU
33-21, 12-8 SoCon
4
Final
6
Wofford WOF
32-17, 9-11 SoCon
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Western Carolina WCU 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 4 7 1
Wofford WOF 0 3 0 0 3 0 X 6 10 1

W: Margaret Axelson (8-8) L: Bunsic, Briony (7-5) S: Sydney Baker (2)

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

Softball Drops SoCon Doubleheader at Wofford

Regular Season Finale Now Slated for 2:30 pm on Saturday

Spartanburg, S.C. – Western Carolina softball dropped both ends of Friday's final Southern Conference doubleheader of the season with Wofford at Hope Field. Wofford outlasted the Catamounts for a 5-4 win in a 12-inning series opener, before using a pair of three-run frames to take game two, 6-4.

The 12-inning affair in game one matches the longest for WCU since 2015, when the Catamounts played 12 innings in a showdown against mountain rival East Tennessee State before the Bucs earned the 12-10 victory.

Junior Lily Bell led WCU's offense with four hits, with a pair of two-hit games. Bell joined junior Maya McPherson with 70+ hits on the season as Bell has 72 following her four hits in Friday's action. Senior Tate Stewman picked up three hits as freshman Kayden Lyda, junior Becka Wonsick, and junior Sydney Dirks each had two hits on the day. Lyda led the way with a pair of RBIs coming in the 12-inning marathon. Sophomore Amanda Fulton pitched a career-high 11.2 innings as she allowed two earned runs with four strikeouts in the opener against the Terriers.

Game One – Wofford 5, Western Carolina 4 (12 Innings)
Wofford used a two-out sacrifice fly in the 12th inning after the two teams traded runs in the 10th to carry the hosts to a 5-4 extra-inning victory to open Friday's Southern Conference doubleheader.
Western Carolina used a two-run sixth off the bats of Kayden Lyda and AG Batson to push in front 3-2 before the hosts responded in the home half of the inning. The squads traded 10th-inning runs, which were all the offense till the 12th for the Terriers.

The Catamounts totaled 10 hits in the opener, spread among seven players. Lily Bell, Tate Stewman, and Lyda each had a pair of hits as Lyda had one of three doubles for WCU to go along with two-baggers from Batson and pinch-hitter Tatum Martin. Lyda picked up a pair of runs knocked in to pace the WCU offense.

Friday's series opener is the longest game in school history since 2015, when the Catamounts went 12 frames against ETSU.

After a scoreless first, Batson picked up a two-out double to the right-center gap before Lyda picked her on an RBI single to push the guests to the early 1-0 lead.

Wofford responded in the home half of the third with a pair of one-out RBI singles before taking advantage of a fielding miscue from the Catamounts to even the score at one.

The Terriers gained the advantage in the bottom of the fifth with a two-out RBI double to gain their first lead of the contest.

Western Carolina opened the sixth with an infield single from Stewman, followed by a base knock from Becka Wonsick. Martin, who entered as a pinch-hitter, drew a walk to load the bases.

Batson drove a flyball to center for the sacrifice fly to even the contest. Lyda answered quickly with an RBI double to push the guests in front by the score of 3-2.

The hosts quickly responded with an RBI single to make it a 3-3 game heading to the seventh inning.  

Following the back-and-forth battle in the first six innings, the next three frames saw both teams held scoreless until the 10th inning. Stewman started at second as the courtesy runner, and a first-pitch double from Martin scored her with one out to push the Catamounts in front at 4-3.

Wofford answered the WCU offense with a two-out RBI single to send the contest to 11 innings. After a scoreless 11th, the Terriers used a sacrifice fly to centerfield to propel the hosts to a 5-4 walk-off victory.

Amanda Fulton (15-7) went the distance for the Catamounts, going 11.2 innings, allowing nine hits and five runs, with two of those being earned, and four strikeouts.

Abby Greenwood opened the matchup for the Terriers and pitched 5.1 innings, but didn't factor into the decision with three earned runs on nine hits, paired with six strikeouts. Natalya Salo (10-3) went the final 6.2 innings, allowing one hit and an unearned run with a pair of strikeouts to pick up the relief win for Wofford.

Game Two – Wofford 6, Western Carolina 4
Wofford used a pair of three-run innings and withstood a late Catamount rally in the finale to earn a 6-4 decision and complete Friday's doubleheader sweep.

The Catamounts recorded seven hits in game two as six different players got in the hit column. Lily Bell led the offense with a 2-for-4 performance as Taylor Waitley, Sydney Dirks, Maya McPherson, Tate Stewman, and Becka Wonsick each had base hits, and McPherson and Wonsick each picked up RBIs.

Wofford (32-17, 9-11 SoCon) broke the early scoreless tie in the second with an RBI groundout before a two-out two-run single gave the hosts the early 3-0 lead.

Both offenses had traffic on the bases in the middle innings, but the Terriers and Catamount pitching staffs were able to squash the threats and keep the margin at three.

The Terriers in the fifth added to their advantage with a two-run homer and an RBI single to make it 6-0 after five innings.

Western Carolina (33-21, 12-8 SoCon) started the sixth inning fast with three straight singles from Bell, Waitley, and Dirks to quickly load the bases. McPherson picked up an RBI single before a Wofford miscue chased Waitley's homer along with Bell to make it 6-2.

Wonsick tallied an RBI single to cut the deficit to three, 6-3. Courtney Marks reloaded the bases with a walk before a Terrier's passed ball scored McPherson to make it a two-run contest. Wofford snuffed out the threat to keep it a two-run game. Both teams went 1-2-3 in the home half of the sixth and the top of the seventh to give Wofford the 6-4 win to complete the SoCon Friday sweep.

Briony Bunsic (7-5) went the distance, allowing six runs on 10 hits, with three strikeouts for WCU as she tossed her sixth complete game of the season, her fourth in league play.

Margaret Axelson (8-8) earned the win for the Terriers, going 5.0 innings and allowing six hits and four runs, with two of those runs earned and four strikeouts. Sydney Baker (2) tossed two shutout innings of relief work as she allowed just one hit to earn the save for the hosts.

Western Carolina closes out the 2026 regular season on Saturday, May 2, for a Southern Conference showdown against Wofford. The two teams are slated for a 2:30 p.m. first pitch in the finale from Hope Field in Spartanburg. Saturday's will have live stats available on CatamountSports.com.

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