Friday's schedule includes a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m., with Saturday's series finale also set for a 3 p.m. first pitch with each game slated to be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required).
WCU and Mercer are embroiled in a three-way battle for the SoCon's Red Division crown and the automatic berth into the conference tournament it brings. The Bears (12-6) enter the weekend tied for first in the division with Wofford (14-7) with matching .667 winning percentages, just ahead of WCU (10-6, .625). The Terriers, who host last-place The Citadel this weekend, took 2-of-3 from both Mercer and WCU earlier this season, but travel to Cullowhee next weekend before hosting Mercer to wrap up the regular season May 21-22.
Two of the top offensive-producing teams in the SoCon meet in Cullowhee this weekend. WCU paces the league in batting average (.305), on-base percentage (.421), and runs per game (8.4) while Mercer leads the SoCon in hits (422), total runs scored (338), RBI (307), doubles (93) and home runs (71).
The Race for Greenville, S.C.:
- Both divisional winners from the regular season qualify for the tournament. Then, the two teams with the next two best records or winning percentage after that will also qualify, regardless of division. The seeds will be done 1-through-4 based on the best winning percentages among those four teams that qualify.
- Entering this weekend's games:
- Blue Division Leader – Samford (14-7, .667)
- Red Division Leader – Wofford (14-7, .667)
- Next Two In:
- Mercer (12-6, .667)
- Western Carolina (10-6, .625)
- First Two Out:
- ETSU (9-11, .450)
- VMI (9-12, .429)
- Mercer (27-17, 12-6 SoCon) blanked in-state foe Kennesaw State 10-0 on Wednesday night at home, limiting the Owls to just four base hits … Mercer has taken 2-of-3 in its two most recent SoCon series, claiming the final two games at Samford (April 23-24) and bookending the series with ETSU with victories at home last weekend … All told, Mercer has won six of its last seven games on the year;
- Despite being picked second in the SoCon preseason behind Samford in both polls, the Bears managed just four preseason all-conference selections – each on the second team: Angelo DiSpigna (1B), R.J. Yeager (SS), Brandon Michie (OF), and Colby Thomas (OF);
- Hitting .287 collectively as a team – second in the SoCon – the Bears have seven regulars batting above the .300 threshold led by Garett Delano (.343), who was one of 17 players named to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year watch list … Mercer has three players with double-digit home runs – Brandon Michie (12), Angelo DiSpigna (12) and R.J. Yeager (11) with five players having 36-or-more RBI on the season;
- Mercer has had four different players earn SoCon Player of the Week honors this season – Brandon Michie (March 22), Bill Knight (March 29), Angelo DiSpigna (April 26), and Garrett Delano (May 3) … the Bears have also had three SoCon Pitcher of the Week accolades including Taylor Lobus (Feb. 22), Jackson Kelley (March 8) and the league's only two-way winner, Garrett Delano (March 15);
Projected Pitching Match-Up:
Gm 1: WCU – RHP Zach Franklin (5-3, 2.83) vs. MER – RHP Garrett Delano (4-1, 3.63)
Gm 2: WCU – RHP Tristen Campbell (2-1, 6.11) vs. MER – RHP Josh Farmer (4-0, 4.72)
Gm 3: WCU – RHP Jacob Corn (1-0, 5.29) vs. MER – TBA
Series History – Western Carolina vs. Mercer:
- Western Carolina trails Mercer in the all-time series, 10-11 … the Bears have won five of the last seven series meetings dating back to 2018;
- The two programs have not met in Cullowhee since 2018 with the Bears taking 2-of-3 in the series;
- WCU trails in the series meetings played at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium, 2-5;
Additional Catamount Diamond Notes:
- Catamounts with Active Streaks:
- Western Carolina enters the weekend ranked 61st in the nation in RPI as of Thursday … Five of WCU's previous seasonal opponents continue to rank inside the top 100 nationally in RPI: Tennessee (7), Charlotte (11), Wake Forest (74), Samford (85), and UNCG (95) … Two other seasonal opponents are just outside the top 100 in Wofford (102), Gardner-Webb (105) and UNCW at 106 … Mercer enters the weekend ranked 75th nationally in RPI;
- The Catamounts enter the weekend ranked sixth in the country in scoring with a SoCon-best 8.4 runs per game average – 302 runs over 36 games played – though WCU has been held below its seasonal average in its last seven games (4.86 runs per game, 2-5 record) … WCU also leads the SoCon in team batting average (.305, 11th in NCAA), on-base percentage (.421, 6th in NCAA) and hit by pitch (71, t-8th in NCAA), while ranking second in the SoCon in slugging percentage (.458), 40th in NCAA), runs scored (302, 22nd in NCAA), and RBI (248);
- Six Catamount regulars enter the weekend batting over .300, led by Will Prater with a SoCon-leading .438 average – sixth-best in the NCAA: Justice Bigbie (.371), Luke Robinson (.336), Daylan Nanny (.326), Daniel Walsh (.317), and Pascanel Ferreras (.301) … Junior outfielder Seth Graves is just below the .300 line at .296 on the season;
- Junior Justice Bigbie had a strong weekend at UNCG last week, raising his seasonal batting average by 30 points (.341 to .371) … Against the Spartans, Bigbie batted .727 (8-for-11) with four doubles and two home runs, scoring six runs while driving in three and drawing three walks;
- Junior Will Prater continues to pace the squad and the SoCon in seasonal batting average, ranking sixth nationally with a .438 average … Of his 49 seasonal hits, 44 have been singles as he has three doubles and two triples this season … Prater also leads WCU with a .489 (23-of-47) seasonal batting average with runners in scoring position (RISP);
- Junior Daylan Nanny continues to have reached base successfully in every game this season, a streak that has reached 36-consecutive games this season … Nanny's 36-game streak current ranks as the eighth longest in the NCAA this season – and is currently tied for the fourth-longest active streak entering the weekend … Matt McLain of UCLA and Campbell's Spencer Packard both had the longest streak this season at 46-consecutive including games from this season and last … Liam Spence of Tennessee boasts the longest active streak of 45-straight, 43 of which have come in the 2021 season;
- Junior Immanuel Wilder matched the WCU program record for being hit by a pitch in the series at ETSU … Wilder has been plunked 12 times this year – tied for the fourth-most in the SoCon (10th nationally at 0.48 HBP per game) – to give him 44 career HBP's, tying former Catamount Barrett Shaft (44, 2005-08) … Luke Robinson has been hit 14 times this season – second-most in the league this year giving him 41 career HBPs, fifth in WCU's record book;
- WCU ranks fifth in the SoCon with a collective team ERA of 5.19 while limiting opponents to a .268 batting average against – third in the league – while allowing the fewest hits this season (325) … the staff has 293 strikeouts on the season including 100 looking;
- Defensively, WCU has turned a SoCon-leading 31 double plays this season, t-25th nationally with an average of 0.86 double-plays per game … Freshman Pascanel Ferreras has been a part of turning 25 double plays, the most among individuals in the SoCon … Ferreras was one of three SoCon players listed on the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List this season.
On Deck for Catamount Baseball:
Western Carolina concludes the home portion of its 2021 regular season by hosting Wofford (May 14-15) in Cullowhee at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. WCU will honor its 2021 seniors on Saturday before the first game of the doubleheader.
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).
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Western Carolina Hosts Mercer in Key SoCon Divisional Series - catamountsports.com
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