Baseball: UNCA series

How do you like those new UNCA uniforms?  

UNC Asheville Bulldogs
Location: Hennon Stadium & McCormick Field Dates: April 2 & 3
Times: 5:00 pm Cullowhee, 6:00 pm Asheville
Series:  The Cats own a 46-23 record against the Bulldogs
Live Stats: GameTracker
UNCA Record: 8-20 Overall, 1-8 Big South


The Catamounts play a midweek two game, home and home series with the UNC Asheville Bulldgos this week.

The Bulldogs bring a 8-20 overall record into the game, losing 10 of their last 11 games.  The Dogs are 2-11 on road games, and 4-7 at home.  Asheville currently has an RPI of 207.

Asheveille has had a measure of success against the Cats over the last two seasons, and are on a three game win streak against with Western Carolina.  The Bulldogs won the only meeting last season against the Cats, which was played at McCormick Field, 3-1 in 12 innings. Asheville swept the Cats in 2011 with a home and home victory in that series.

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The Citadel Games Two and Three Recap and Highlights

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WCU wins "Mountains vs Beach" meet

BOONE, N.C. – Western Carolina men's & women's track and field teams finished in first-place at the Beaches vs. Mountains Meet on Saturday afternoon.

The Catamounts, scored 148.5 points in the men's events, finishing ahead of the Mountaineers (137.5) and East Carolina (103) at the annual event.

The Catamounts also won the women's events with 159 points, and again, ASU was second with 120.50 points, followed by East Carolina with 110.50 points.

The meet typically matches Western Carolina and ASU against ECU and UNC Wilmington, combining the scores of the Beach schools and the Mountain schools to determine a winner, but the absence of UNCW changed the scoring system on Saturday.

 Results - Mountains vs. Beaches


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Saturday's WCU Games

SATURDAY, MAR 30
Sport	Opponent	Time	Coverage
Baseball	vs The Citadel	2:00 PM
Softball	vs Chattanooga	12:00 PM	Listen LIVE (Chatt. Radio)
Softball	vs Chattanooga	2:00 PM	Listen LIVE (Chatt. Radio)

Schedule Courtesy WCU Media Relations

Cats win game #1 over The Citadel

The Catamounts held on as The Citadel battled back from the Cats four-run lead in the top of the 7th to pull within one run in the ninth.  Preston Hatcher shut down the Bulldogs in the ninth to pick up the save, giving the Cats a 7-6 win in the opening game of this SoCon series Friday evening.

The Cats have now won 13 of the last 16 games against The Citadel played  in Cullowhee. The Catamounts moved to 15-12 overall and 6-4 in the conference.

Game two is set for Saturday at 2 p.m., to be followed by the finale Sunday at 1 p.m.  The weather forecast may dictate a Saturday doubleheader.

"Mountains vs. Beaches"

Western Carolina and mountain-rival Appalachian State will join forces to defend the Western part of the state as they compete in the "Mountains vs. Beaches" meet in Boone, N.C., against the team of UNC Wilmington and East Carolina.

It is the fifth-year of the East-vs.-West scored event with the Beaches halting the Mountain schools' four-year win
streak by taking last season's meet on both the men's and women's side in Wilmington, so it's 4-1 Mountains.


Courtesy WCU Media Relations

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Friday's WCU Games

FRIDAY, MAR 29
Sport	Opponent	Time	Coverage
Baseball	vs The Citadel	5:00 PM	Listen LIVE
Softball Women's Tennis Track	vs Chattanooga vs Charlotte at Mountains vs Beaches	5:00 PM 2:00 PM All Day

Schedule Courtesy WCU Media Relations

Cats Take University Cup from ASU

The Catamount men's and women's golf teams won the University Cup today over arch-rival Appalachian State.   The Catamounts won the co-ed competition, 7-to-6, at the Mimosa Hills Golf & Country Club.

This is the second time in three years that the Cats defeated their mountain-rival for a  Cup victory.  WCU Golf also won the first-ever meeting in 2011.

Photo Courtesy WCU Media Relations

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Carter & Bradshaw named to SoCon Women's T&F honors

Freshman Tayla Carter and sophomore Alisha Bradshaw have been named the Southern Conference’s Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week for meets over last weekend.

Cater was victorious in three events at the 2013 Beynon Sports Surfaces Catamount Classic Meet in Cullowhee, N.C. Cater won the 100m with a time of 11.67, won the 200m with an all-time personal-best performance of 23.93 and anchored WCU's winning 4x 400m Relay team with a total time of 3:47. Carter currently lead the SoCon in the 100m and 200m dashes and WCU’s 4 x400m Relay Team also leads the SoCon. 

Bradshaw claimed three individual titles at the 2013 Beynon Sports Surfaces Catamount Classic Meet. Bradshaw won the shot put with a throw of 43-4 1/4", the hammer with a toss of 162-9" and the discus with a toss of 148-3". The sophomore currently leads the SoCon in the discus and is ranked in the top-four in the other two events.

Purple & Gold congratulates both Tayla Carter and Alisha Bradshaw in their accomplishments.


Courtesy SoConSports.com

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Weaver named SoCon Track Athlete of the Week

Western Carolina's Josey Weaver has been named the Southern Conference’s Men’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week. 

Weaver won the 10,000m run at the Beynon Sports Surfaces Catamount Classic with an all-time best performance of 30:52.62.

This performance was a meet record and broke the Catamount Athletic Complex record set by Paul Katam of UNCG at last year's 2012 SoCon Outdoor Track & Field Championship meet.

Weaver's time also leads the SoCon.

Courtesy SoConSports.com

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Cats lead Track & Field Mid-Season Power Ranking

Western Carolina leads in the SoCon’s men’s and women’s power rankings midway through the Southern Conference outdoor track and field season.

The rankings are determined by the top eight times or scores that are reported by the schools for each event that will be conducted at the conference championship.

The Western Carolina men have 247 points, followed by Appalachian State with 185 and Samford with 182.  In women’s competition, the Catamounts have 182 points, followed by Appalachian State with 156. Samford also wraps up the top-three on the women’s side with 121 points.

Courtesy SoConSports.com

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The University Cup

Cats Face Appalachian State in University Cup

The two mountain rivals will meet on the golf course at the Mimosa Hills Golf and Country Club in Morganton, N.C., in the University Cup.

The third-year of the event featuring WCU and ASU is scheduled for Thursday, March 28 with tee times beginning just after 1:30 pm.

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Baseball: The Citadel

The Citadel Bulldogs
Location: Hennon Stadium, Cullowhee, NC
Date:  Friday - Sunday, March 29-31, 2013
Time:  Friday 5:00 pm, Saturday 2:00 pm, Sunday 1:00
Series:  Catamounst own a 75-59 record against the Bulldogs
Radio:  Catamount Sports Network
Live Stats:  GameTracker
Live Video:  Catamount All Access
The Citadel's Current Record: 15-10, 4-2 SoCon



The Citadel Bulldogs visit Hennon Stadium for a three game weekend series, with first pitch at 5 pm Friday, March 29, 2013.

The Bulldogs come into the series losers of three of their last four games, and are only 4-6 this season in games played on the road.   The Citadel has played two conference series thus far, winning both 2-1, against Samford at home, and Wofford on the road, giving them a 4-2 SoCon record, good enough for 2d place, right behind Georgia Southern at 8-1.

The Citadel leads the SoCon in batting with an average of .310, while the Cats lead in hits with 266 on the season.

Starting Pitchers this weekend for the Catamount -
Fri. - Sophomore RHP Jeremy Null (2-1, 3.45 ERA) - 5-or-more K's in all five seasonal starts
Sat. - R-Senior LHP Morgan McKinney (1-2, 3.92 ERA) - only lasted 2.1 IP in most recent start
Sun. - Junior RHP Jordan Smith (1-3, 4.86 ERA) - tossed team-long 8.2 in Sunday's pitcher's duel



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Baseball: Cats win, 5-2

Wednesday's WCU Games

WEDNESDAY, MAR 27
Sport	Opponent	Time	Coverage
Baseball	at Gardner-Webb	5:00 PM	Listen LIVE
Softball	at USC Upstate	4:00 PM	LIVE Blog
Softball	at USC Upstate	6:00 PM	LIVE Blog

Schedule Courtesy WCU Media Relations

Baseball: at Gardner-Webb

Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs
Date: March 27th, 2013
Time:  5:00 pm
Location: John Henry Moss Stadium, Boiling Springs, NC
Series: Cats lead the series 11-3-1
Radio:  Catamount Sports Network
Live Video: none
G-W Record:  13-9

On Wednesday March 27th, the Catamounts travel to Boiling Springs, NC to face Big South foe Gardner-Webb, for the first game of a home and home series with the Runnin' Bulldogs.

This game also opens a series of games against teams with Bulldog mascots.  After Wednesday's game against the Runnin' Bulldogs, the Cats will host the Citadel Bulldogs this weekend, then play a home and home series with the UNC Asheville Bulldogs for a mid week series of games.

The Runnin' Bulldogs are 13-9 on the season, and are 9-3 at home this year and 11-5 in out of conference play.  The Bulldogs are 2-6 out of their last 8 games, including losses to UNC, Wake Forest, and series losses to Campbell and Coastal Carolina.

The Bulldogs will not be a push over, as Gardner-Webb is currently #73 in RPI rankings, compared to 157 for the Catamounts.


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Cats lose to Wake Forest

The Demon Deacons put up two runs in the bottom of the second inning, which proved to be sufficient to win the second game of the home and home series with Wake Forest.    The Deacons put up an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh in route to their 3-1 victory.

The Catamounts have now lost 4 of their last 6 games, and is 3 games behind first place Georgia Southern.


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Catamounts Unite Tour - this week

The first two stops of the Second Annual "Catamounts Unite Tour" are scheduled for this week as members of Western Carolina University's athletic department and the Catamount Club open the two-month, 12-stop tour in the Piedmont Triad on Wednesday.

The first event is slated for Wednesday, March 27 in Greensboro, N.C., at the Embassy Suites (204 Centrepoint Drive) in Greensboro, with the second stop just one night later at the Carolina Ale House (7981 Skyland Ridge) in Raleigh.


WCU Director of Athletics Randy Eaton, Head Football Coach Mark Speir and Head Men's Basketball Coach Larry Hunter, as well as several other Catamount coaches, will travel across North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, reaching out to members of the Catamount Nation.


RSVP ONLINE for the "Catamounts Unite Tour" NOW


Courtesy WCU Media Relations

Hodge receives SoCon Post Graduate Scholarship

Western Carolina women's soccer player Samantha Hodge is the 2013 recipient of the William V. Moore Graduate Scholarship, presented by McMillan Pazdan Smith.

The scholarship is named in memory of former College of Charleston faculty athletics representative and SoCon President Bill Moore.

Hodge is a  mathematics major with a 3.94 grade point average, was a CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District selection in 2011 and 2012 and a semifinalist for the 2013 Wooden Citizenship Cup.

Courtesy WCU Media Relations

Tuesday's WCU Games

TUESDAY, MAR 26
Sport	Opponent	Time	Coverage
Baseball	at Wake Forest	6:00 PM	Listen LIVE

Schedule Courtesy WCU Media Relations

Cats win Low Country Intercollegiate team title

Maria Kjelldorf

The Western Carolina women's golf team won its third Low Country Intercollegiate team title on Monday at the par-72, 5,822-yard Moss Creek Golf Club in Hilton Head Island, S.C .

Catamount sophomore Maria Kjelldorff shared individual medalist honors, and freshman Mariah Hopkins finished in third-place overall.

WCU finished ahead of runner-up, Princeton (332) with Dartmouth finishing third at 335 followed by tournament host, Wofford (338) in fourth and DePauw University in fifth at 339.

Appalachian State tied for seventh at 341 with The Citadel finishing 15th in the 16-team field.

Congratulations to the golf team from Purple & Gold.


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Baseball: Starting Pitchers this week

Western Carolina's Projected Starting Pitchers this week: 

Tues. - Sophomore LHP Jacob Hoyle (1-0, 4.05 ERA) - will make third appearance, second career start

Wed. - Senior LHP Adam Curtis (1-1, 2.38 ERA) - returning from a team-mandated suspension

Fri. - Sophomore RHP Jeremy Null (2-1, 3.45 ERA) - 5-or-more K's in all five seasonal starts
Sat. - R-Senior LHP Morgan McKinney (1-2, 3.92 ERA) - only lasted 2.1 IP in most recent start
Sun. - Junior RHP Jordan Smith (1-3, 4.86 ERA) - tossed team-long 8.2 in Sunday's pitcher's duel

Courtesy WCU Media Relations

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Baseball: Catamount Baseball Bundle

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Nick White, Eric Newton join Strength & Conditioning Staff

Eric White (left) Eric Newton (left)

The WCU strength & conditioning staff has added a full-time assistant and an intern position. Nick White joins the staff as the Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coordinator, and Eric Newton has been named the Strength & Conditioning Assistant.

White and Newton join new Head Strength & Conditioning Coordinator, Evan Barr, who joined the Catamount Athletics staff in late January. In addition to overseeing the day-to-day operations of the weight room in the Jordan-Phillips Field House, Barr programs primarily for the WCU football, men's and women's basketball, volleyball and track & field teams. White supervises the strength & conditioning efforts for the Catamount baseball, softball, golf and cheerleading teams while also assisting with football, track & field and basketball with Newton assisting with football, basketball, track and women's soccer.

Courtesy WCU Media Relations

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ASU to the Sun Belt - maybe

This could be the big announcement ASU fans have been waiting on.... from Twitter

Tommy Bowman ‏@AppTrailWSJ33m

Appalachian State will accept an invitation to join the Sun Belt Conference this week, probably on Wednesday, according to a source at ASU

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Baseball: at Wake Forest

Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Location: Gene Hooks Field at Wake Forest Baseball Park
Date: March 26, 2013
Time:  6:00 pm
Series:  The Cats are 3-4 all time against Wake Forest
WF Head Coach:  Tom Walter, 4th season
Last Season's Record:  33-24, 13-17 ACC
This season:  14-13 (8-8 home)



The Catamounts travel to Winston-Salem on Tuesday for a midweek game against ACC foe, Wake Forest, which is the second game of a home and home series.

This will be the 9th overall meeting between the two teams and the Cats hold a 4-4 all time record against the Demon Deacons after the 7-2 win by the Catamounts back on February 20th in Cullowhee.

Tom Walter's Deacons are currently 14-13 this season, and are coming off a two game series win over Maryland on the road.  The Deacons are 5-5 in their last 10 games.


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Sunday's WCU Games

SUNDAY, MAR 24
Sport	Opponent	Time	Coverage
Baseball	vs Elon	2:00 PM
Softball	at Samford	2:00 PM	LIVE Blog
Men's Golf Women's Gold	at Furman Intercollegiate (18 holes) at Lowcountry Invitational	All Day All Day	Live Scoring

Schedule Courtesy WCU Media Relations

Saturday's WCU Games

SATURDAY, MAR 23
Sport	Opponent	Time	Coverage
Track Baseball	vs Beynon Sports Catamount Classic vs ElonM	M 1st  -  W 1st L, 8-5
Softball	at Samford	L, 5-1	LIVE Blog
Softball	at Samford	W, 6-2	LIVE Blog
Men's Golf	at Furman Intercollegiate (18 holes)	3d	Live Scoring

Schedule Courtesy WCU Media Relations

Baseball: Cats Take Game One over Elon

Aaron Attaway steals second bases  (Photo Mark Haskett)

Snapping Elon's current five-game win streak, the Catamounts slammed out nine hits on their way to a 7-5 victory over Elon.

The Cats take game one of a key Southern Conference baseball series with Elon, Friday afternoon at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.

Game starter Jeremy Null picked up a win with six innings of work, striking out seven, but giving up four runs.   Freshman Alex Barr allowed one run in one inning of relief, and Tyler Powell struck out two in his single inning pitched.

Preston Hatcher entered the game in the 8th, and earned his fifth save of the season.

The Catamount pitchers earned 14 strikeouts, just two short of their seasonal high.


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Friday's WCU Games

FRIDAY, MAR 22
Sport	Opponent	Time	Coverage
Baseball Men's Golf Track	vs Elon at Furman Catamount Classic	4:00 PM All Day All Day	Listen LIVE

Schedule Courtesy WCU Media Relations

Beynon Sports Catamount Classic

Western Carolina Track & Field hosts the 2013 Beynon Sports Catamount Classic on Friday and Saturday at the Catamount Athletic Complex, March 22 & 23.

"We are excited to be back at home this weekend," said head coach Danny Williamson. "This meet is really growing into something big."

Twenty schools will participate in the event in Cullowhee. The meet is set to begin at 2 p.m. on Friday as the men's decathlon begins with the 100m dash. Friday concludes with the men's 10,000m run. Saturday is slated to start with the remainder of the men's decathlon events at 10 a.m. with the first field event of the day - the men's shot put - set for 10:15 a.m.

The meet concludes with the running of the women's and men's 4x400-meter relays at 5:20 p.m. Saturday afternoon. All results can be found at CatamountSports.com following each day of the meet.


Teams Participating:
East Tennessee State
Tennessee Tech
Chattanooga
Wofford
UNC Asheville
USC Upstate
Brevard College
King College
Converse College
Emory & Henry
Lenior-Rhyne College
Livingstone
Mars Hill
Milligan
North Greenville
Piedmont
Tennessee
Temple
Tennessee
Wesleyan
University of the South

Courtesy WCU Media Relations

Keen Named SoCon Track Athlete of the Week

Junior Jocelyn Keen was named the Southern Conference's Women's Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week for meets over last weekend.

This is the second time Keen has received the honor. Keen won the 1500m run at the Georgia Relays with a SoCon-leading and personal-record performance of 4:36.31.

Keen also anchored WCU's winning sprint medley team (3:57.57) with a 2:09 800m leg, and split 57.0 on WCU's 4 x 400m relay squad that clocked 3:52.56.



Courtesy WCU Media Relations

WCU Spring Football Update 3-21-13

Courtesy WCU Media Relations 

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Baseball: Elon Phoenix

 Elon Phoenix
 Date:  Friday - Sunday, March 22, 23, 24, 2013
 Time:  4:00 pm, 2:00 pm, 1:00 pm
 Location: Hennon Stadium, Cullowhee, NC
 Radio:  Catamount Sports Network
 Live Video:  Catamount All Access
 Live Stats: GameTracker
 Series:  The Cats are 18-21 all time against Elon


The SoCon coaches' preseason favorite Elon Phoenix visit Cullowhee for a three game series this weekend, with first pitch scheduled for Friday, 3-22-13 at 4:00 pm (ET).

Along with their selection as preseason favorites, the Phoenix had four players selected to perseason all-league teams. Claiming preseason first-team honors were left-handed starting pitcher Dylan Clark, catcher Alex Swim and first baseman Ryan Kinsella, while right-handed reliever Nate Young was a second-team pick.

Head coach Mike Kennedy in his 16th season as the Phoenix skipper, went 33-26 overall and 20-10 in league action last season.

Kennedy and the Phoenix bring a 12-8 overall record this season into Friday's first game. The Phoenix are 5-1 in road games and are on a 5 game win streak, that includes midweek wins over Virginia Tech and Princeton,and a sweep of UNCG last weekend.

In conference play, Elon is currently 5-4, losing series to both Furman and Charleston, while sweeping UNCG:
Furman 1-2
Charleston 1-2
at UNCG 3-0


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9-Run Two-Out Rally Dooms Cats

Tennessee's 10 batters reaching base with two outs on 9 hits in the third inning propelled the Vols over Western Carolina, 10-5, on Wednesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

The Vols exploded in the third inning, scoring nine runs, all with two outs, on nine hits and two HBPs, after the Catamounts had rushed ahead with a big inning of their own and led 5-0 in the top of the second inning.

At that point, Tennessee freshman Trevor Charpie came out of the bullpen and put up six shutout innings of relief that improved his record to 2-0 on the year.

Video courtesy UT Media Relations

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Wednesday's WCU Games

WEDNESDAY, MAR 20 Sport Opponent Time Coverage Baseball at Tennessee 5:00 PM Listen LIVE Softball vs ETSU 4:00 PM Softball vs ETSU 6:00 PM

Schedule Courtesy WCU Media Relations

Baseball: Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee Volunteers
Date: Wednesday, March 20th
Time:  5:00 pm (game moved up 1 hour)
Location: Lindsey Nelson Stadium, Knoxville, TN'
Record: 7-18 all-time vs. Tennessee
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
Live Stats: GameTracker
Free Video: Vols All Access



On Wednesday, the Catamounts travel to Knoxville for a one game series with second year head coach Dave Serrano's Tennessee Volunteers at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

UT finished 24-31 in Serrano's first season as the skipper of the Volunteers.

The Vols are 10-9 this season and are coming off a SEC series loss to Alabama on the road, losing the rubber game by a final score of 15-1 to Alabama.  However UT has preformed well at home so far this season with a 7-2 record at Lindsey Nelson Stadium with a 6 game home win streak.

This is the first meeting between the Western and Tennessee since 2010 when the Cats split a home-and-home series, winning on the road.  Head coach Bobby Moranda has two wins against Tennessee, also winning in his first season in 2008.

The Vols are 7-3 in their last 10 games and are sporting an early season 69 RPI.

Freshman right-handed pitcher Aaron Quillen is expected to get the start for UT.


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Monday's WCU Games

MONDAY, MAR 18
Sport	Opponent	Time	Coverage
Women's Golf	at Spring Ocala Invitational	all day

Schedule Courtesy WCU Media Relations

Cats win series at Charleston

Alex Barr - Picks up first
win over CofC

The Catamount baseball team won their first series over the Charleston Cougars at Patriots Point, taking the rubber game Sunday afternoon from the Cougars by a 10-6 final score.

This will be the final regular season conference series with Charleston as with the Cougars zre moving to the CAA for next season.

The Catamounts exploded for 8 runs in the final two innings of the game, as they entered the eight inning down by a 6-2 score. The Cats tallied seven consecutive hits, including two home runs, in the top of the eighth inning that erased a four-run deficit, then added two more runs in the top of the ninth inning to secure the win.

Catamount starter Jordan Smith, pitched 6.1 innings, and was charged with all six of the Cougar runs, four earned, while striking out six. Reliever Alex Barr picked up the win for the Catamounts, pitching in the seventh and eighth innings and allowed just one hit. The Cougar's Drew Freie  suffered the loss coming into the game at the top of the eighth and could not record an out, allowing four runs on four hits.

The Cats were led by Jacob Hoyle who went 3-for-5 at the plate that included a double and three RBIs. Aaron Attaway posted a solo home run and Tyler White hit a two-run home run, both coming in the eighth inning.


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