Western Carolina 8 - Davidson 6

Cats celebrate their win over Davidson  -  Photo by Mark Haskett   

Adam Martin's grand slam in the seventh inning ignited a Western Carolina comeback, as the Catamounts rallied to defeat league leading Davidson, 8-6 in game one of the three game series that turns out to be for the regular season So Con Championship.

With the win, the Catamounts improved to 35-16 and reclaims first place in the Southern Conference with a 18-6 league record. The Wildcats drop to 28-15 overall and 17-6 in league play.

By winning the first game of the series, the Catamounts now need to win one more game of the two remaining, to claim the regular season championship for the second straight year.  Davidson will need to win both ends of the doubleheader between the two teams scheduled for Friday, to win the title.

Davidson led 6-1 going into the bottom of the seventh inning, with Martin's grand slam putting the Cats within one run of Davidson. The Cats scored three in the eighth, with a two-RBI double by Jacob Hoyle driving in the winning runs.

The Wildcats pounded out 16 hits to Western's nine, with the Wildcats stranding 13 base runners. Closer Tyler Powell earned his 12th save of the season, placing him third in the WCU single-season record books.

WCU head coach Bobby Moranda earned his 230th career victory, moving past former Catamount skipper Keith LeClair (229-135-2 in six seasons). Moranda picked up the win while serving a one-game suspension from being tossed last Sunday at Georgia Southern.


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