Cats sweep SoCon Weekly Baseball Honors

Western Carolina Catamount outfielder Bryson Bowman and left-handed pitcher Tristan Baker were named the Southern Conference "Player" and "Pitcher of the Week", for games played March 14-20.

The Catamounts swept the awards after posting a 4-0 record that included a win over a Gardner-Webb squad that entered the contest 17-1 on the year and a three-game sweep at the Big 12’s Kansas State.

Tristan Baker earned a save and a win on the week to win the Pitcher of the Week honors. He struck out eight against just three walks and did not allow a run. The rookie from Charlotte, N.C., went 2/3 of an inning against Gardner-Webb on Wednesday, walking two and striking out two in a scoreless outing to nail down his first collegiate save. Baker went a season-high seven innings Sunday in picking up his second career win, not allowing a run on six hits and a walk. He struck out six and retired seven straight batters from the third through fifth innings.



Bryson Bowman hit .471 and slugged 1.118 on the week, posting three multiple-hit games. Eight of his hits were for extra bases as he hit three home runs and two doubles and totaled nine RBIs and RBIs and three runs scored. He had a three-run home run in the first inning, a solo homer in the seventh and an RBI single in the eighth. He went 5-for-12 against the Kansas State Wildcats in their first nonconference three-game sweep at home since 1993. Bowman had two hits in each of the first two contests, including the eventual game-winning three-run homer in the seventh inning of Friday’s 7-5 victory. He had an RBI double and scored twice in Sunday’s 10-2 win.                         

Join the conversation and leave a comment below