Baseball: MPC comes to Cullowhee

 

GAMEDAY CENTRAL

WHAT: Presbyterian Blue Hose 
WHERE: Childress Field, Cullowhee, NC
WHEN: Tuesday, May 14  @ 5:00 p.m.
THE SERIES  Western Carolina Leads 8-4
PC Record:  26-25 overall, 17-11 home, 8-12 away, 1-2 neutral, 15-6 Big South

FOLLOW THE ACTION
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: WCU Live Stats

Gardner-Webb Running Bulldogs (Mid-Week Baseball)

 

Who: Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs
When: Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Time: 5:00 pm
Where: Childress Field, Cullowhee, NC
TV/video:  ESPN+
Live Stats:  WCU Live Stats
Nickname: Bulldogs
Colors: Scarlet and black
Students: 3,124 (Fall 2023)
Conference: Big South
Mascot: Mac and Lulu
Location: Boiling Springs

Head Coach: Jim Chester is entering his fifth year as the head coach of the Gardner-Webb baseball team after taking over the program in June 2019. In his time at GWU, Chester has amassed a 92-92 record, 16 All-Conference award winners, one Big South Pitcher of the Year, and one All-American selection

The Series: The Cats own an 19-12 overall record vs. the Runnin' Bulldogs, in a series that started in 1970. The Cats are 9-6-1 in games played in Cullowhee, amd 5-5 in the last ten games played. The Cats broke a 3 game skid to the Dogs winning in Boiling Springs in early April. 

Current record: 19-27, 14-14 home, 5-13 away, 0-0 neutral, 7-11 Big South

Gardner-Webb was voted second in the Big South's baseball preseason poll, additionally, Alec Burns was named to the first Big South preseason all-conference baseball team. The Runnin' Bulldogs are currently 8th in the Big South (BS) in hitting with a team average of .252; and 7th in team pitching with an 7. 25 ERA.

Gardner-Webb split their series ending doubleheader on Sunday afternoon against Wofford College taking game one in extra innings 6-5, and dropping game two 8-4 in a previously scheduled seven inning game.  The Dogs are 6-4 in their last 10 games.

at #13 Wake Forest (Weekend Series)

 

Who: Wake Forest Terriers
When: Saturday, May 4 thru Sunday, May 5, 2024
Time: Saturday 6:00 pm; Sunday 1 pm & Sunday 4:00 pm
Where: David F. Couch Ballpark, Winston-Salem, NC
TV/video: ACCNX / ESPN+
Live Stats: WF Live Stats
Nickname: Demon Deacons
Students: 8,963
Conference: ACC
Colors: Black and Gold

Head Coach: Tom Walter - Walter was named the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year, becoming the third Demon Deacon skipper to receive Coach of the Year honors (George Greer and Marvin Crater) after leading the 2023 Wake Forest ballclub to a historic season. With 420 wins as the Demon Deacon skipper, he sits as the second-winningest coach in program history, trailing only George Greer.

The Series: The Cats own a 5-8 overall record vs. Wake Forest, in a series that started in 1971. The Cats are 4-6 in games played in Winston-Salem, but are on a 3 game slide to the Demon Deacons. The Cats are 3-7 in the last 10 games played.

Current record: 29-16 overall, 18-7 home, 10-7 away, 1-1 neutral, 12-12 ACC

Wake Forest has been selected as the 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball preseason favorites by the league’s 14 head coaches. The Demon Deacons collected 10 of the 14 possible first-place nods from head coaches. 

The Deacons are #13 in college baseball national rankings (#15 in the coaches poll). 

Projected Pitching Matchups:

Saturday, May 4 | 6 p.m. | Coverage: ACC Network Extra | Wake Audio | Live Stats
WCU: Sr. RHP Gavin Mortenson (16 app., 9 GS – 2-4, 5.28 ERA, 44.1 IP, 43 K, 25 BB)
WAKE: Jr. RHP Chase Burns (11 app., 11 GS – 8-1, 3.26 ERA, 69.0 IP, 127 K, 21 BB)

Sunday, May 5 | Game 1 of DH – 1 p.m. | Coverage: ACC Network Extra | Wake Audio | Live Stats
WCU: Sr. RHP Dante Visconti (17 app., 5 GS – 3-0, 6.03 ERA, 37.1 IP, 32 K, 16 BB)
WAKE: Jr. LHP Josh Hartle (11 app., 11 GS – 4-2, 5.68 ERA, 52.1 IP, 56 K, 20 BB)

Sunday, May 5 | Game 2 of DH – 4 p.m. | Coverage: ACC Network Extra | Wake Audio | Live Stats
WCU: Fr. RHP Davis Budd (12 app., 6 GS – 2-1, 6.43 ERA, 35.0 IP, 33 K, 16 BB)
WAKE: TBD

USC Upstate (midweek baseball)

 

Who: USA Upstate
When: Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Time: 5:00 pm
Where: Childress Field, Cullowhee, NC
TV/video: CW62 /  ESPN+
                
Live Stats: WCU Live Stats
     -announcer: Daniel Hooker (PxP)
Nickname: Spartans
Colors: Green and 3 shades of Gray
Conference: Big South

Head Coach: Mike McGuire enters his fifth season as the head baseball coach at USC Upstate during the 2024 season after being introduced as the program’s fourth head coach on June 27, 2019. Under McGuire’s direction, Upstate advanced to the program's first-ever Big South Tournament Championship Game—the first conference championship game appearance for the program—in 2023. The Spartans also captured a program-record 38 victories in 2023, giving the program its winningest two (73) and three-year (110) stretches while being one of 23 Division I programs to win 35 or more games in each of the last three seasons (2021-23).

The Series: The Cats own a 9-5 overall record vs. the Spartans. The Cats are 4-3 in games played in Cullowhee, and are 7-3 in the last ten games played. The Cats lost a road game to the Spartans earlier this season.

Current record:  28-16 overall, 20-7 home, 8-8 away, 0-1 netural, 13 5 Big South

In preseason voting by the Big South coaches, the Spartans were selected to finish the season in first place. Upstate led all Big South teams in total all-conference selections with seven: redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Jake Cubbler, sophomore right-handed pitcher Mathieu Curtis, redshirt senior outfielder Daniel Gernon, senior left-handed pitcher Henry Proger, junior designated hitter Jace Rinehart, redshirt senior infielder Grant Sherrod, and junior utility player Noah Sullivan earned the honor.

The Spartans are coming off a road series vs. PC in Clinton, SC dropping two of there to the Blue Hose. The Spartans are currently in second place in the 9 team Big South standing, behind High Point. 

Wofford (Weekend Series)

 

Who: Wofford Terriers
When: Friday, April 26 thru Sunday, April 28, 2024
Times: Friday 5:30 pm; Saturday 2 pm; Sunday 1:00 pm
Where: Russell C. King Field, Spartanburg, SC
TV/video: ESPN+
Live Stats: Wofford Live Stats
Nickname: Terriers
Colors: Black and Gold

Head Coach: J.J. Edwards (first season as head coach) joined the coaching staff in the fall of 2011 as the volunteer assistant and was promoted to assistant coach in the summer of 2012. Now in his 13th season on the staff, he will continue to work with the hitters and infielders. In the summer of 2016 he added the responsibilities of recruiting coordinator and in the summer of 2021 was promoted to associate head coach.

The Series: The Cats own a 76-28-1 overall record vs. the Terriers, in a series that started in 1970. The Cats are 31-13-1 in games played in Spartanburg, but are 5-4-1 in the last ten games played. The Terriers took 2 of 3 in the series last year in Cullowhee.

Current record:   27-11 overall, 18-2 home,  9-9 away, 0-0 neutral,  7-4 SoCon  

Wofford tops the country in batting average (.347), OBP (.460), runs (415), scoring (11.2) and triples (24).  The Terriers are outscoring their opponents 415-217 this season, as nine Terriers are hitting over .300 with Brice Martinez (.420) hitting over .400.   Wofford's 110 stolen bases are currently fourth in the nation and Marshall Toole's 32 steals lead the nation. He also boasts a 37-game on-base streak.

Wofford's Brice Martinez owns a 23-game hitting streak, tied for second longest in program history. Wofford's 15 runs in the fifth inning against Presbyterian are a new program record for runs in an inning.  With 24 triples this season, the Terriers have set a new program record for triples in a season. Marshall Toole's seven three-baggers are tied for most by a player in a season in program history. 

The Wofford offense has been almost unstoppable so far in 2024, totaling 415 runs through 37 games of the season, tied for most in the nation. At an average of 11.2 per game, the Terriers lead the country in scoring per game. This is aided by the country's best on-base percentage (.460) and batting average (.347) and eighth-most hits (449). With 24 triples, the Terriers also top the nation and have set a new single-season program record. Wofford has scored double-digit runs in 20 games so far this season and outscored its opponents 415-217. The Terriers have recorded 20 or more runs four times, including twice scoring 29 runs, a new single-game program record. Three of Wofford's

20-plus scoring outings totaled 27 or more runs, making the Terriers one of only three teams in the nation to do so at least twice (Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Texas Tech). 

WCU Baseball: Samford (Weekend Series)

 

Who: Samford Bulldogs
When: Friday, April 19 thru Sunday, April 21, 2024
Time: Friday 5:00 pm; Saturday 2 pm; Sunday 1:00 pm
Where: Childress Field, Cullowhee, NC
TV/video: ESPN+
Live Stats: WCU Live Stats
       -announcer: Daniel Hooker (PxP)
Nickname: Bulldogs
Colors:  Blue and Red

Head Coach: Tony David, a long-time associate head coach at Samford, enters his third season as the program's head coach. David served on the Samford staff for the past 17 seasons, including the last 16 as associate head coach. David also served as the program’s recruiting coordinator from 2005 to 2017.

The Series: The Cats own a 22-30 overall record vs. the Bulldogs, in a series that started in 2009. The Cats are 13-8 in games played in Cullowhee, but only 3-7 in the last ten games played. The Cats went 1-2 in the series in 2023 played in Homewood, with a win that broke a 5 game skid to the Bulldogs.

Current record: 24-12 overall, 18-6 home, 6-6 away, 0-0 neutral, 8-1 SoCon

The Samford was picked as the favorite to win the Southern Conference, and junior pitcher Brooks Rice was tabbed as the league's preseason Pitcher of the Year.  Rice was joined on the first team All-SoCon team by starting pitcher Michael Ross and second baseman John Anderson. Samford's second team All-SoCon representatives were starting pitcher Will Lynch, relief pitcher Jake Holifield, catcher Lucas Steele and outfielder Josh Rodriguez.

As a team last season, Samford finished with a record of 37-25, going 15-6 in Southern Conference play to win the SoCon regular-season championship. The Bulldogs then went on to win the SoCon Tournament title and earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

So far this season, Samford has been led at the plate by John Anderson, batting .419 with 10 doubles, nine home runs and 42 RBI. Garrett Howe is hitting .394 with 10 doubles, five home runs and 27 RBI. Dating back to last season, Howe has currently reached base in 36-on secutive games, the third-longest streak in school history.  As a team, Samford currently leads the Southern Conference in home runs with 55 and ranks third in batting average at .317. Individually, John Anderson ranks second in the SoCon in batting average (.419), while Garrett Howe ranks fifth in the league (.394). Howe also leads the SoCon in walks (32) and ranks second in on-base percentage (.530).

WCU's Spring Football Game

Courtesy WCU Athletics Media Relations

Three different QBs combined to run four scoring drives in the first half as the Purple Team built a 28-10 halftime lead in Saturday’s annual Spring Game. The White Team’s late score before halftime sparked a 28-point comeback that included a 10-point run late in the second half. However, it wasn’t until C. J. Williams intercepted what turned out to be the last pass of the game and returned the ball 100 yards for his second pick-six of the game that the White Team was able to celebrate its comeback win.

Saturday's game featured 23 drives for both teams. Ten of those drives resulted in points with nine touchdowns and one field goal. Seven of the drives went three and out with the White team going three and out four times and the Purple going three and out five times. Five drives ended in interceptions with the White team's defense picking off four passes and the Purple team picking off one. The White team did not convert a single fourth-down attempt.

Cole Gonzales, the returning starter, completed 4 of 5 passes for 79 yards and a 64-yard TD to AJ Colombo. Bennett Judy, a redshirt freshman, completed 67% of his passes, including eight-straight at one point, for 285 yards and three touchdowns, but was also intercepted twice, while redshirt sophomore Brook Palhegyi was 3 of 9 for 36 yards. Colombo was one of nine receivers to catch passes for the Purple, totaling 96 yards and a TD, while tight end Jake Young had five catches and a TD, and Jai Boyd had five catches for 56 yards. Santana Fleming had two receptions for a score, and Branson Adams also had a receiving touchdown from behind the line. Receiver Eric Rasheed had the game's highest average per reception (1, 50 yards) and receiver Ca'lique Cunningham had the second highest average (51 yards).

Catamount Baseball: UNCG Spartans (Weekend Series)

 

Who: UNCG Spartans
When: Friday, April 12 thru Sunday, April 14, 2024
Time: Friday 5:00 pm; Saturday 3 pm; Sunday 1:00 pm
Where: Childress Field, Cullowhee, NC
TV/video: ESPN+
Live Stats: WCU Live Stats
    -announcer: Daniel Hooker (PxP)
Nickname: Spartans
Colors: White, Blue and Gold

Head Coach: Cody Ellis was named the Interim Head Coach in January 2024. Ellis joined the Spartans in October 2022 after three years as the head coach and assistant athletic director at Patrick Henry Community College (PHCC), starting in August of 2019. Ellis was most recently promoted to interim head coach for the Spartans in December 2023. Former HC Billy Godwin stepped down from his position as head coach of the UNCG baseball team on December 31, 2023, to rejoin the New York Yankees in a scouting role.

The Series: The Cats own a 37-48 overall record vs. the Spartans, in a series that started in 1992. The Cats are 12-17 in games played in Cullowhee, and only 2-8 in the last ten games played. The Spartans swept the Catamounts in the series played in Greensboro in 2023,

Current record: 17-14 overall, 12-5 home, 5-8 away, 0-0 neutral, 5-4 conference.

UNCG was picked to finish 6th in the SoCon preseason baseball poll. The Spartans finished the 2023 season with a 25-34 overall record and 9-12 in SoCon play to earn the sixth spot in the SoCon Preseason Coaches' Poll. UNCG concluded the season in the semifinal round of the SoCon Tournament, falling to No. 1 Samford, 9-5.

The Spartans swept the Mercer Bears in March, and went 2-1 with ETSU in Greensboro. UNCG was 1-2 vs. Wofford in Spartanburg last weekend. UNCG comes into this weekends matchup with the Cats owning a 17-14 overall record and 5-4 in SoCon play. As a team, UNCG is ranked in the top-30 nationally over three categories: sacrifice bunts (25), stolen bases (65) and stolen bases per game (2.17).  
Collectively on the year, UNCG enters the weekend batting a SoCon-low .268 with 99 total extra-base hits – 54 doubles, nine triples, and 36 home runs. The Spartans average 7.25 runs on 8.9 hits per game while limiting opponents to 6.0 runs on a matching 8.9 hits per contest.

Western Carolina vs. UNCG (Childress Field / Hennon Stadium)

Friday, April 12 | 5 p.m. | Cullowhee, N.C. | Coverage: ESPN+ | LiveStats
UNCG: Soph. RHP Julien Peissel (7 app., 7 GS – 0-2, 6.21 ERA, 33.1 IP, 33 K, 19 BB)
WCU: Sr. RHP Gavin Mortenson (12 app., 5 GS – 2-1, 3.16 ERA, 31.1 IP, 32 K, 18 BB)

Saturday, April 13 | 3 p.m. | Cullowhee, N.C. | Coverage: ESPN+ | LiveStats
UNCG: Jr. RHP Rob Ready (8 app., 8 GS – 3-1, 3.40 ERA, 47.2 IP, 30 K, 13 BB)
WCU: RHP Davis Budd (8 app., 3 GS – 0-0, 5.59 ERA, 19.1 IP, 21 K, 8 BB)

Sunday, April 14 | 1 p.m. | Cullowhee, N.C. | Coverage: ESPN+ | LiveStats
UNCG: Soph. RHP Jay Miller (7 app. 5 GS – 0-3, 5.87 ERA, 30.2 IP, 28 K, 13 BB)
WCU: TBA