Baseball Southern Conference

Western Carolina Returns To National Polls

Cullowhee, N.C. - Winners of 10 straight, including wins at Oklahoma State last week, the Western Carolina baseball team returned to the national rankings on Monday, May 5, coming in at 26th in Collegiate Baseball. The Catamounts, 34-14 and a Southern Conference-leading 19-5 record, were previously ranked 29th by Collegiate Baseball, which is the nation's oldest college baseball poll, on April 7.

Western Carolina, who was ranked 34th in the NCBWA last week, has won 11 of its last 12 since suffering a three-game sweep at UNC Greensboro April 12-13. This past week, the Catamounts went 5-0, winning two games at then-ranked #26 Oklahoma State and sweeping a three-game set from conference foe Wofford.

Western's 12-5 and 15-9 victories at Oklahoma State marked the first time since 1974 (29 years) that the Cowboys had lost consecutive games at home to a non-conference opponent, dropping a mid-week doubleheader to John Brown (4-21 and 4-5) on April 2, 1974. The last time the Cowboys lost a two-game series to a non-conference opponent at home on back-to-back days was 1954 when dropping two games to Sam Houston (3-4 and 4-5) on Mar. 26 and 27.

Western Carolina, who batted .342 at OSU and .359 at Wofford, leads the SoCon with a .315 team batting average. The Cats also lead the SoCon in home runs (51) and runs scored (392). During its 10-game win streak, WCU has posted a team batting average of .388 and has scored in double figures eight times with the exceptions being a 9-7 win over Georgia State and a 6-5 win over Wofford. Western ranks second in the SoCon with a 3.79 ERA. During the winning streak, WCU pitchers have held opponents to a .279 batting average, while having a 4.25 ERA.

The Catamounts will not play again until May 11 (Sunday) as the University administers final exams this week. Western will host Appalachian State in a doubleheader on Sunday at 3 pm. Prior to the game, the WCU athletics department will honor its eight seniors. On Monday, the Catamounts and Mountaineers will conclude their three-game set with a single game set for 6 pm at Childress Field/Hennon Stadium. The series will mark the final home games for WCU this season.