Western Carolina University

Greenville, S.C. – Mason Holton and Noah Quarless belted two-run home runs for Western Carolina, but timely hitting ultimately eluded the No. 2 seed as the Catamounts left 13 runners on base in suffering a 9-5 loss to third-seeded Samford Thursday afternoon at the 2026 Southern Conference Baseball Championship, presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field at the West End.
 
WCU is relegated to the loser's bracket, returning to action in the nightcap on Thursday against the seventh-seeded UNC Greensboro in an elimination game. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., though the day was approximately an hour behind schedule at the start of Game No. 8 (check social media and CatamountSports.com for game time updates). Samford advances in the winner's bracket into the 12:30 p.m. game against the winner of Thursday night's WCU-UNCG game.
 
Thursday's elimination game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live streaming audio from the Catamount Sports Network available online at CatamountSports.com.
 
Both teams finished with 11 hits on the day, with three Catamounts recording multi-hit games. Trent Turner singled three times in a 3-for-5 effort with a run scored to lead the Catamounts. Quarless (2-for-4) hit his 11th home run of the season, with Holton (2-for-5) taking the team RBI lead with a two-run homer.
 
Jackson Lyda led off the first inning with a single as part of reaching base twice, with the bottom third of the lineup – Walker Fox, Cam Murray, and Trey Spees – each singling. Spees was also plunked and drew a walk to reach three times in a 1-for-3 performance, with Murray reaching twice, adding a walk.
 
The Bulldogs had four players post multi-hit games with Jeffrey Ince (3-for-5) and Jake Souders (3-for-5) both collecting a team-best three hits, including a double and home run by Ince. Luke Boykin (2-for-5) drove home three, hitting a two-run homer for Samford.
 
Carter Burnette (2-9) was saddled with the loss despite battling through 5.2 innings, striking out seven against four walks with five runs on five hits. Three relievers, Davis Budd, John Lobs, and Mason Snyder, combined for the final three and a third, with Lobs striking out two and Snyder fanning one.
 
Samford starter Noah Berry was knocked out of the first inning after just two-thirds of a frame after being struck in the back by a Quarless single. John Whitney (3-0) scored the victory as the first of four relief arms for the Bulldogs, striking out three over 3.1 innings of a three-hit shutout victory.
 
Samford (30-24) pulled out to a 5-0 lead through the first six innings, scoring one with a pair of doubles in the first inning before a pair of walks in the fourth came around to score for a 3-0 lead through four complete. Jeffrey Ince delivered a two-run double in the top of the sixth inning before an infield error allowed the Catamounts to get on the board with Cam Murray scoring an unearned run.
 
Luke Boykin doubled home two in the top of the seventh before Holton gave the designated home squad a charge with a two-run homer after the stretch. However, Ince struck again with an eighth-inning solo shot to give the Bulldogs back the four-run cushion, 7-3.
 
Quarless carried deep centerfield for a two-run shot to make it a two-run game, 7-5, in the bottom of the eighth inning, but the Bulldogs answered with a Boykin homer in the top of the ninth to provide the final tally as the Catamounts were unable to muster any late offense to extend the game.
 
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).
 
2026 SoCon Baseball Championship Schedule | Bracket (PDF)
Presented by Holston Gases
 
Wednesday | May 20 (ESPN+)
9:00 a.m. – No. 5 The Citadel 21, No. 8 VMI 11 (8 inn.)
12:30 p.m. – No. 7 UNCG 6, No. 6 ETSU 5   
4:00 p.m. – No. 5 The Citadel 13, No. 4 Wofford 7         
7:30 p.m. – No. 3 Samford 13, No. 7 UNCG 1 (7 inn.) 
 
Thursday | May 21 (ESPN+)
9:00 a.m. – No. 5 The Citadel 9, No. 1 Mercer 2
12:30 p.m. – No. 3 Samford 9, No. 2 Western Carolina 5
4:00 p.m. – No. 4 Wofford vs. No. 1 Mercer
7:30 p.m. – No. 7 UNCG vs. No. 2 Western Carolina
 
Friday | May 22 (ESPN+)
9:00 a.m. – Winner Gm5 vs. Winner Gm7
12:30 p.m. – Winner Gm6 vs. Winner Gm8
4:00 p.m. – If Necessary (Game 11)
7:30 p.m. – If Necessary (Game 12)
 
Saturday | May 23 (ESPNU)
7:30 p.m. – Championship Game