WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

Transcription

1 WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY GAME NOTES WCU ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS /// RAMSEY CENTER /// CATAMOUNTSPORTS.COM CATAMOUNTS CATAMOUNTS CATAMOUNTS CATAMOUNTS CATAMOUNTS CATAMOUNTS F E B R U A R Y 13 PURDUE SDN CULLOWHEE W PURDUE (GM 1) CULLOWHEE W 15 4 PURDUE (GM 2) CULLOWHEE L UNC ASHEVILLE SDN CULLOWHEE PPD 21 at UNC Wilmington $ Wilmington, N.C. L 4 6 vs. Wake Forest $ Wilmington, N.C. L vs. George Mason $ Wilmington, N.C. W at UNC Asheville Asheville, N.C. PPD 27 YOUNGSTOWN STATE SDN CULLOWHEE CANCELED 28 YOUNGSTOWN STATE SDN CULLOWHEE CANCELED M A R C H 1 YOUNGSTOWN STATE SDN CULLOWHEE CANCELED 2 VALPARAISO CULLOWHEE L VALPARAISO CULLOWHEE L HOLY CROSS CULLOWHEE W HOLY CROSS (GM 1) CULLOWHEE W HOLY CROSS (GM 2) CULLOWHEE L HOLY CROSS CULLOWHEE W at Presbyterian CSN Clinton, S.C. L vs. Penn State (Gm 1) CSN Lynchburg, Va. W 4 2 at Liberty (Gm 2) CSN & ESPN3 Lynchburg, Va. L at Liberty CSN & ESPN3 Lynchburg, Va. L KENNESAW STATE CSN CULLOWHEE W at UNCG * CSN Greensboro, N.C. L at UNCG * CSN Greensboro, N.C. W at UNCG * CSN Greensboro, N.C. L CLEMSON SDN CULLOWHEE L THE CITADEL * SDN CULLOWHEE W THE CITADEL * SDN CULLOWHEE W THE CITADEL * SDN CULLOWHEE W at Kennesaw State CSN Kennesaw, Ga. L 2 9 A P R I L 3 WOFFORD * SDN CULLOWHEE 6:00 PM 4 WOFFORD * SDN CULLOWHEE 2:00 PM 5 WOFFORD * ASN CULLOWHEE 1:00 PM 7 TENNESSEE SDN CULLOWHEE 6:00 PM 10 at Mercer * CSN Macon, Ga. 6:00 pm 11 at Mercer * CSN Macon, Ga. 2:00 pm 12 at Mercer * CSN Macon, Ga. 1:00 pm 14 at Clemson CSN Clemson, S.C. 6:30 pm 15 TENNESSEE TECH SDN CULLOWHEE 5:00 PM 17 FURMAN * SDN CULLOWHEE 6:00 PM 18 FURMAN * SDN CULLOWHEE 4:00 PM 19 FURMAN * SDN CULLOWHEE 1:00 PM 21 APPALACHIAN STATE SDN CULLOWHEE 5:00 PM 22 at Appalachian State CSN Boone, N.C. 6:00 pm 24 at East Tennessee * CSN Johnson City, Tenn. 6:05 pm 25 at East Tennessee * CSN Johnson City, Tenn. 2:05 pm 26 at East Tennessee * CSN Johnson City, Tenn. 1:05 pm M A Y 1 at UNC Asheville Asheville, N.C. 6:00 pm 2 UNC ASHEVILLE SDN CULLOWHEE 6:00 PM 8 at Samford * CSN Birmingham, Ala. 7:00 pm 9 at Samford * CSN Birmingham, Ala. 3:00 pm 10 at Samford * CSN Birmingham, Ala. 2:00 pm 11 at Tennessee Tech * CSN Cookeville, Tenn. 7:00 pm 14 VMI * SDN CULLOWHEE 5:00 PM 15 VMI * (GM 1) SDN CULLOWHEE 2:00 PM VMI * (GM 2) SDN CULLOWHEE 5:30 PM SoCon Championship % Charleston, S.C. TBA All times are listed as LOCAL * Southern Conference Game CSN Denotes the game will be broadcast with streaming audio from the Catamount Sports Network SDN Denotes the game will be video streamed online through the SoCon Digital Network ALL CAPS indicates home games at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium $ Hughes Bros. Challenge hosted by UNCW in Wilmington, N.C. % Denotes the 2014 Southern Conference Baseball Championship at Riley Park in Charleston, S.C. GAMES #26-28: WESTERN CAROLINA (12-13, 4-2) vs. WOFFORD (14-13, 2-1) April 3-5, pm / 2 pm / 1 pm Cullowhee, N.C. Childress Field / Hennon Stadium (1,500) GAME COVERAGE: SOCON DIGITAL BROADCAST: NETWORK ONLINE AUDIO: CatamountSports.com GAMETRACKER: CatamountSports.com SERIES: WCU leads (W 6) In Cullowhee: WCU leads 42-6 (W 8) In Spartanburg: WCU leads (L 1) Neutral WCU leads 2-0 (W 2) LEADING OFF FOR THE CATAMOUNTS: >>> This weekend s three-games represent the third-straight season that Western Carolina has hosted Wofford in Cullowhee for a SoCon series... WCU has swept the Terriers in back-to-back years and have won eight-straight home games over Wofford entering the weekend; >>> Western Carolina is amidst a streak where it will play eight of nine games at home in Cullowhee... Including this weekend s Wofford series, WCU will play four-straight home games, capping the stretch by hosting SEC-foe Tennessee (April 7); >>> WCU has won three of its last four games on the season and four of its last seven; GAME No. 1 PITCHING MATCH-UP: FIRST PITCH: 5:00 pm WOF: RHP Matt Milburn (6-0, 2.22) WCU: RHP B.J. Nobles (3-0, 2.03) GAME No. 2 PITCHING MATCH-UP: FIRST PITCH: 2:00 pm WOF: RHP Luke Leftwich (3-0, 4.57) WCU: LHP Bryan Sammons (2-3, 6.03) GAME No. 3 PITCHING MATCH-UP: FIRST PITCH: 1:07 pm WOF: LHP Adam Scott (4-1, 2.38) WCU: RHP Korey Anderson (2-2, 7.84) >>> WCU finished the month of March with a 9-10 record, 4-2 against league foes... WCU had a season-long, three-game winning streak in the SoCon series sweep of The Citadel; >>> Of Western Carolina s 12 victories this season entering the weekend Wofford series, NINE have come within the friendly confines of Childress Field/Hennon Stadium... WCU is 9-5 at home this year, having won seven of its last nine home games; >>> With 124 career Southern Conference victories, WCU head coach Bobby Moranda ranks second in WCU history behind Todd Raleigh ( ) who won 132 SoCon games at the head of the WCU program... All told, Moranda has 244 wins at WCU, just 13 shy of second-place Todd Raleigh s 257 in Cullowhee. WCU PROJECTED WEEKEND STARTING PITCHERS: # L/R CL. ERA W-L IP BB K NOTES 18 B.J. Nobles RHP So ERA vs. SoCon teams in 15; Tm Ks leader 32 Bryan Sammons LHP So Nine career victories, eight coming at home 22 Korey Anderson RHP So career record; 4th career start, all this year WCU PROJECTED STARTING LINE-UP: WOFFORD (RPI 141): Head Coach: Todd Interdonato Record at WOF: Career Record: same WESTERN CAROLINA (RPI 183): Head Coach: Bobby Moranda Record at WCU: Career Record: same POS. # B-T CL. GP-S AVG. HR RBI INDIVIDUAL QUICK NOTES DH 17 Matt Smith L-L So multi-hit games; has 5 RBI last three gms C 7 Danny Bermudez R-R Jr Leggett No. 7 Legacy recipient; 10 multi-hit gms 1B 27 Jacob Hoyle L-L Sr Missed 17 gms with injury; SoCon Pre Plyr of Yr 2B 1 Bradley Strong L-L Sr time Pre All-America; hits in 22 of 25 games SS 5 Brett Pope L-R Fr gm hit streak; started career 5-for-5 w/ 2B 3B 9 Reece Strong L-L Jr Batting team-high.474 (9-of-19) in SoCon play LF 12 Austin Atwell R-R R-Jr Hit.455 in series vs. Citadel with a 2B & 2 HRs CF 34 Matthew Koehler L-R Fr st career start, 1st career hit vs. KnSt (3/18) RF 2 Kramer Ferrell R-R Jr Is hitting.348 (8-of-23) in SoCon play PAGE 1

2 CATAMOUNTSPORTS.COM /// WCU GAME NOTES VS. WOFFORD WESTERN CAROLINA CAREER OFFENSIVE STATISTICAL LEADERS VERSUS WOFFORD: # NAME GP-GS AVG. AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB-ATT 7 Danny Bermudez Bradley Strong Jacob Hoyle Matt Smith Reece Strong Jason Smith WESTERN CAROLINA CAREER PITCHING STATISTICAL LEADERS VERSUS WOFFORD: # NAME ERA W-L APP GS CG SV IP H R ER BB K 26 Tyler Powell Colton Davis Jonathan Waszak B.J. Nobles Nate Williams WESTERN CAROLINA VS. WOFFORD THE SERIES: Western Carolina leads the all-time series with Wofford, 64-17, and enters the weekend having won six-straight over the Terriers all at home... WCU won nine of the first 10 alltime series meetings... the Catamounts enjoyed a 23-game series win streak from May, 2002 until April, 2010; WCU leads the series in games played in Cullowhee, 42-6, all told including eight-straight home victories dating back to the 2011 season... the Catamounts have won all nine league series meetings at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium including five series sweeps; WCU swept the Terriers in Cullowhee to clinch the 2013 Southern Conference regular season championship in the next-to-last weekend of the season; Wofford won the series in 2012 in Spartanburg to mark the first-time since the Terriers joined the SoCon in 1998 that they had won a three-game series over WCU. ABOUT THIS WEEKEND S OPPONENT WOFFORD COLLEGE: Wofford comes to Cullowhee after dropping a pair of midweek games at No. 1 Vanderbilt, 6-0 and the Terriers swept North Carolina Central in their most recent, threegame series... Wofford took 2-of-3 from VMI in their 2015 SoCon opening series; The Terriers are off to a tremendous start, opening the year at 23-9 the first SoCon school to eclipse the 20-win plateau of Wofford s 23 seasonal victories have come at home in Spartanburg as the Terriers are just 2-4 on the road; In the preseason, Wofford was picked in a tie for seventh in the coaches poll, eighth in the media tabulation... the Terriers had one preseason All-SoCon selection in OF James Plaisted... Two pitchers Adam Scott and Luke Leftwich have earned SoCon Pitcher of the Week honors while Will Stillman was named the SoCon Pitcher of the Month in Feb. SOUTHERN CONFERENCE SUCCESS FOR WCU: Over the past three seasons, the Catamounts have won 47 of their last 61 regular season Southern Conference games; WCU has claimed at least two wins in the trio of weekend against league foes in 17 of the last 21 conference series dating back to 2013; Western Carolina has 13 regular season titles including back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014 with nine tournament crowns.... WCU has also advanced to the SoCon Championship game 14 times. HOME-SWEET-HOME COOKING IN CULLOWHEE: Including a 9-5 record this season, Western Carolina holds a (.789) home record over the past three seasons including a 27-5 (.844) mark against league foes at home during the past three seasons 3-0 against SoCon opponents in 2015; WESTERN CAROLINA vs. WOFFORD SERIES Under WCU head coach Bobby Moranda 3/30/14 Western Carolina 6-1 Cullowhee 3/29/14 Western Carolina 11-4 Cullowhee 3/28/14 Western Carolina 11-4 Cullowhee 5/12/13 Western Carolina 10-7 Cullowhee 5/12/13 Western Carolina 3-0 Cullowhee 5/10/13 Western Carolina 6-1 Cullowhee 4/7/12 Wofford 6-5 Spartanburg 4/7/12 Western Carolina 4-2 Spartanburg 4/6/12 Wofford 2-0 Spartanburg 4/24/11 Western Carolina Cullowhee 4/23/11 Western Carolina 11-0 Cullowhee 4/22/11 Wofford 11-7 Cullowhee 4/11/10 Wofford 5-2 Cullowhee 4/10/10 Western Carolina 8-2 Cullowhee 4/9/10 Western Carolina 5-4 Cullowhee 3/29/09 Western Carolina 19-2 Spartanburg 3/29/09 Western Carolina (10) Spartanburg 5/4/08 Western Carolina 9-4 Cullowhee 5/3/08 Western Carolina 16-8 Cullowhee 5/2/08 Western Carolina 5-3 Cullowhee This season, WCU is hitting.323 at home vs..290 overall... the Catamounts have nearly doubled their hit total at home with 160 hits in Cullowhee, 89 away of the squad s 16 team home runs have been hit in Cullowhee and 31 of WCU s 50 doubles have been collected at home; WCU hit 29 home runs and legged out 64 doubles in Cullowhee a season ago as a part of a.329 team batting average at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium... the Catamounts averaged 9.5 runs per game while only allowing 5.1 to opponents; Western Carolina s pitching staff had a combined 4.27 ERA over the 234 innings pitched at home in WCU had 223 strikeouts against 110 walks while limiting foes to a.266 batting average against; WCU s Saturday starting pitcher, sophomore Bryan Sammons, recorded a 2.91 ERA in Cullowhee in 2014, striking out 47 against 22 walks... EIGHT of Sammons NINE career victories have come in Cullowhee. ON-DECK FOR WESTERN CAROLINA: Western Carolina wraps up its stretch of playing 8-of-9 at home by hosting the Tennessee Volunteers in Cullowhee on Tuesday, April 7... Following the home meeting with the Vols, WCU will be on the road for four-straight including the first-ever SoCon meetings at Mercer and the backend of the nonconference home-and-home with Clemson on April 14. PAGE 2 QUICK FACTS Location:... Cullowhee, N.C Pronounced KULL - uh - whee Founded: Enrollment:... 10,382 Nickname:... Catamounts Colors:... Purple and Gold Facility:... Ronnie G. Childress Field at Hennon Stadium Seating Capacity:... 1,500 Field Dimensions: 325 (LF) 375 (LC) 395 (CF) 375 (RC) 325 (RF) THE PURPLE MONSTER Sec. I: 20 tall & 50 long Sec. II: 14 tall & 50 long CENTERFIELD BATTER S EYE 20 tall & 50 long Affiliation:... NCAA Division I Conference:...Southern Chancellor:...Dr. David O. Belcher (Furman 78) Athletics Director:... Randy Eaton (UT-San Antonio 90) Ticket Office Phone:... (800) 34-GOWCU Official Website:... BASEBALL HISTORY: SoCon Championships:...22 (13 regular season; 9 tournament) NCAA Appearances:...11 (13-22 overall record) 1985, 86, 87, 88, 89, 92, 93, 94, 97, 2003, 07 Last Appearance: WCU COACHING STAFF: Head Coach:... Bobby Moranda (Eastern Kentucky, 1986) Head Coaching Record at WCU: (8th season) SoCon Record at WCU: (8th season) Overall Record:... Same Best Time to Interview Coach:...Contact SID ASSISTANT COACHES Alan Beck (3rd base)... Western Carolina, 2004 Bruce Johnson (1st base)...western Carolina, 2010 Dykota Spiess...Western Carolina, 2014 Baseball Athletic Trainer:... David Pryor (Slippery Rock, 2006) MEDIA RELATIONS INFORMATION: Asst. AD/Media Relations (BASE Contact):...Daniel Hooker Alma Mater, Year:...Western Carolina, Address:...dhooker@ .wcu.edu Office Phone:...(828) Cell Phone:...(828) Director of Media Relations:... Sean Forrester Address:...stforrester@ .wcu.edu Director of Media Relations:...Denise Gideon Address:... dgideon@ .wcu.edu Director of Video Operations:... Will Adams Address:... rwadams@ .wcu.edu Athletics Fax:... (828) Baseball Press Box Phone:...(828) Online Streaming Audio:... Online Stream Video:... Athletics Mailing & Overnight Address:...WCU Athletics Ramsey Center Cullowhee, N.C Southern Conference Contact:...Phil Perry Address:...pperry@socon.org Web Address:...

3 CATAMOUNTSPORTS.COM /// WCU GAME NOTES VS. WOFFORD HEAD COACH BOBBY MORANDA FULL NAME: Robert Steven Moranda BIRTHDATE: August 18, 1964 EDUCATION: Bachelor s degree in Broadcast Management with a minor in Marketing from Eastern Kentucky in 1986; Master s degree in Recreation Administration from Eastern Kentucky in PLAYING EXPERIENCE: Harper Community College, in Palatine, Ill. ( ); Eastern Kentucky University, in Richmond, Ky. ( ) COACHING EXPERIENCE: Assistant at Eastern Kentucky ( )... Head Assistant/ Recruiting Coordinator at Virginia ( )... Associate Head/ Recruiting Coordinator at Wake Forest ( )... Associate Head at Georgia Tech ( )... Head Coach at Western Carolina (2008-present) FAMILY: Wife, Pamela... daughter, Taylor Jade... son, Breyson Kade MORANDA S WCU HEAD COACHING RECORD YEAR OVERALL SOCON FINISH NCAA th-t th 2010 ^ th th th ST ST TOTAL ^ Advanced to SoCon Tourney Championship MORANDA VS. SoCon AS WCU HEAD COACH TEAM OVERALL HOME AWAY NEUTRAL The Citadel East Tennessee State Furman Mercer UNCG Samford VMI Wofford WCU S ALL-TIME HEAD COACHES HEAD COACH YRS SEASONS OVERALL SOCON Jim Gudger , Charles Seeger Ron Blackburn Bill Haywood David Wright Jack Leggett Keith LeClair Rodney Hennon Todd Raleigh Bobby Moranda pres CATAMOUNT BASEBALL CAREER CHARTS WATCH: Bradley Strong moved into a TIE for first-place on WCU s career triples charts with his 15 triples, matching all-time record holder Martin Barrow (15, )... Strong is tied for eighth in the SoCon s record books for triples, matching Barrow and Wofford s Mac Doyle (15, )... Strong is FIVE shy of the SoCon record of 20 held by Lee Curtis ( ) of the College of Charleston; Including a single-game, career-high six stolen bases in the neutral field victory over George Mason, Strong now has 61 career stolen bases moving him into FIFTH in school history... Strong has 79 career stolen base attempts, THIRDmost in program history... Wayne Tolleson (84-of-101, ) holds WCU s school benchmarks; Closer Tyler Powell has FOUR saves this year to give the senior 19 career saves to rank him TIED FOR FIFTH in program history, matching former WCU reliever and current Kansas City Royals All-Star closer Greg Holland (19, )... Former teammate Preston Hatcher (24, ) holds the school record... All told, Powell ranks tied for fourth in career appearances with Ryan Foster (121 appearances, ) has the school record; Jacob Hoyle moved into a tie for first place on WCU s alltime sacrifice flies list, matching Chris Moore ( ) with 17 sac flies... Hoyle also has 31 career homers in this his fourth season, moving into a tie for 17th in program history matching Mark Poarch ( ) and Mel Kinsey ( ). CATAMOUNTS CONTINUE TO BATTLE THROUGH INJURIES: Western Carolina was without the services of preseason Southern Conference Player of the Year, first baseman Jacob Hoyle due to a hand injury for 17 games... He left the lineup in the early season tournament in Wilmington... Hoyle returned on March He has only played in eight games with six starts, leaving the lineup on Feb. 21 making a defensive substitution against Penn State on March 13; Jacob Hoyle had a Southern Conference-leading 14 home runs a season ago... Of those 14, 12 were solo shots he hit a two-run home run at Samford and at home against Appalachian State... Of his 14, 11 came away from home his three homers at home came against Rider (March 15), Presbyterian (April 8) and App State (May 4); Starting centerfielder Matt Smith is out of the field due to a throwing arm injury... He has continued to contribute as the starting DH over the past four games entering UNCG in that time, has reached base 11 times with five walks, three HBPs and three base hits; Starting infielder J.D. Long is sidelined with a throwing arm / shoulder injury that will keep him sidelined for the foreseeable future; Outfielder Austin Atwell has missed time on the field after taking a HBP to his lead knee in tournament action at Liberty... He returned to the starting lineup in the series at UNCG. NOTING THE 2015 CATAMOUNTS: Bradley Strong had his career-long, 31-game streak of reaching base safely which that dated back to last spring snapped at UNCG... Strong saw his career-long hitting streak end at Presbyterian at 26-straight games that included 14 games dating back to last year; Western Carolina plated a SCHOOL-RECORD 15 runs in the bottom of the seventh inning of the home win over Holy Cross... the previous school benchmark was 14 accomplished a year ago against Rider at home; With the season-opening victory over Purdue, Western Carolina has won its season opener for SEVEN consecutive seasons all but ONE under Moranda, who dropped his first-ever game to Marshall, 14-9, back in 2008 before rallying to claim the series, two games to one; Including three games in Cullowhee against Purdue to open the 2015 season, Western Carolina played nine of its first 13 games inside the friendly confines of Childress Field / Hennon Stadium; WCU is the preseason favorite to win a third Southern Conference regular season championship, chosen by both the league s head coaches and the media; WCU appeared in the Others Receiving Votes portion of the Collegiate Baseball newspaper preseason poll; Freshman infielder Brett Pope had a tremendous start to his WCU career, posting a 5-for-5 showing at the plate with four singles and a double in his collegiate debut; Sophomore OF Matt Smith belted his first career home run in the season-opening win over Purdue... He hit his second round-tripper against Holy Cross... Both of his long balls have come at home; Fourth-year starters Jacob Hoyle and Bradley Strong, as well as classmate closer Tyler Powell are joined by junior catcher Danny Bermudez as team captains for the Catamounts... Bermudez is just the second underclassmen in recent years to be voted a team captain by his teammates, following two-time captain Cody Jones who also earned the honor as a junior. DANNY BERMUDEZ NAMED TO BENCH AWARD WATCH LIST: Western Carolina junior catcher Danny Bermudez appeared on the initial watch list for the 2015 Johnny Bench Award presented by BaseballSavings.com and announced by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission; Bermudez was one 75 catchers nationally and of three catchers from the Southern Conference to grace the initial watch list. He was flanked by sophomore Charlie Madden of Mercer and senior Matt Winn of VMI. B.J. NOBLES NAMED SoCon PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Western Carolina sophomore right-hander B.J. Nobles was named the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 16) for games played on the 2015 opening weekend... The weekly honor is the first in Nobles career and the first for a Catamount this season. Last year, WCU pitching scored three weekly awards, the most by the staff since earning four in 2009; Nobles tossed a career-long 6.0 innings in relief in WCU s 15-4 victory in Saturday s game one of the doubleheader against Big Ten foe, Purdue... the Raleigh, N.C., product struck out a career-high 11 batters including the first four hitters he faced after coming on in relief... Nobles entered the game with a runner at second base and no outs, but managed to strikeout the side to limit Purdue s rally to just one run that was scored prior to him entering the game, stranding the other base runner; All told, Nobles scattered three base hits to earn the victory, his first of the season and just the second of his WCU career. The win gave WCU the series victory over Purdue. ABOUT THE 2015 WESTERN CAROLINA CATAMOUNTS: Western Carolina s 2015 roster features three seniors including two preseason All-America selections including Bradley Strong at second base and the league s defending home run champion, preseason Southern Conference Player of the Year, first baseman Jacob Hoyle... That senior duo is joined by junior SS J.D. Long, junior C Danny Bermudez and sophomore OF Matt Smith as returning starters; On the mound, WCU returns a weekend starter in sophomore Bryan Sammons, who was named a Freshman All- America selection last season... On the back end, the Catamount pitching staff, which returns nine letter winners from a year ago, has junior set-up men, Colton Davis and Jonathan Waszak, and senior closer Tyler Powell, who is coming off a 13-save season in 2014 and was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List. PAGE 3

4 CATAMOUNTSPORTS.COM /// WCU GAME NOTES VS. WOFFORD HOYLE HEADLINES TRIO OF WCU ALL-SoCon SELECTIONS: Western Carolina senior first baseman Jacob Hoyle headlined three Catamounts named preseason All-Southern Conference first team... Hoyle was dubbed the league s preseason Player of the Year, the second-straight season a WCU player has garnered that honor; Hoyle, a two-time All-SoCon selection and a Louisville Slugger Preseason All-American this year, shared the So- Con lead with 14 home runs last season. The Hickory, N.C., product started all 55 games last year as the Catamounts won their second straight regular-season title, hitting.332 with 53 RBIs and a.570 slugging percentage. He also hit a team-best.379 in league play a year ago; Strong, a two-time preseason All-America selection entering 2015, hit a career-best.339 last spring including career-bests with 20 doubles, six triples and six home runs among his team-leading 81 base hits. The Richlands, Va., native drove home a career-high 53 RBI, swiped his singleseason best 20 stolen bases and led the SoCon with 58 runs scored, garnering post-season Louisville Slugger All- America third team plaudits in addition to first team All- SoCon from the coaches; Bermudez earned the first all-conference recognition of any kind of his career. Last spring, the catcher batted a career-best.305 with 32 hits, six going for extra bases including his first collegiate home run at Georgia Southern. A native of Cumming, Ga., Bermudez reached base safely in 20-straight games last year, the second-longest streak of his WCU career. POWELL NAMED TO STOPPER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST: For a second-straight season, WCU closer Tyler Powell was listed on the initial watch list for the 11th annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Award... The national honor is given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball annually; Powell secured a career-best 13 saves in 2014, third in Western Carolina s single-season record books, to give him 15 career saves entering his final season on the diamond. The Charlotte, N.C., product only allowed four runs a year ago, closing the season with a career-low ERA of 1.44 and a 2-0 record. The hard-throwing right-hander struck out 23 batters against just 10 walks, making 22 appearances out of the bullpen. He surrendered just 17 base hits with a mere three going for extra bases; All told, 37 pitchers nation-wide appeared on the initial watch list with Powell joined by two other SoCon hurlers Samford senior reliever Andres Gracia and junior Skylar Hunter from The Citadel. The trio of SoCon pitchers were among 25 of the 37 pitchers on the watch list that notched double-digit saves last season. HONORING THE LEGGETT NUMBER 7 LEGACY : Western Carolina junior catcher Danny Bermudez enters the 2015 season in select company as he has been chosen to wear the coveted No. 7 jersey as this season s Leggett No. 7 Legacy recipient, as chosen by head coach Bobby Moranda and the Catamount baseball coaching staff. Bermudez is the fifth WCU player to wear the legacy honor all-time, but the first underclassman as the four previous honorees were all in their senior seasons. Bermudez will wear the No. 7 jersey which was made famous at WCU by former coaching great, Jack Leggett. Bermudez joins another former Catamount catcher in Stephen Notaro who was the first recipient of the honor in its inaugural year in Left-handed pitchers Vance Chavis (2012) and Morgan McKinney (2013) also wore the No. 7 jersey in their final seasons. A year ago, senior utility player Luke Gragg had the honor bestowed upon him to continue the tradition. Entering his third season on the diamond for the Purple & Gold, Bermudez is a solid.273 career hitter which includes a career-best.305 average as a sophomore in In two seasons, he has appeared in 80 games with 53 career starts including 29 as a true freshman when he filled in for injured starter, Adam Martin. He has 12 career extra base hits including 10 doubles, and has driven in 22 runs over his first two years. Bermudez is also just the second junior team captain, following in the footsteps of former teammate Cody Jones who was a two-year captain. Coming off of his career-best season in 2014, Bermudez was named to the Cal Ripken Collegiate League All-Star game last summer while playing for the Alexandria (Va.) Aces. The annual Leggett No. 7 Legacy program was introduced by Moranda at the first Celebration of Catamount Baseball banquet held in conjunction with the 2011 season-opening weekend. The WCU coaching staff selects one player each year that is committed to keeping with the principles and integrity established by the former Catamount skipper during his tenure. To earn the honor of the Leggett No. 7 Legacy, a Catamount baseball player must have a passion for the game of baseball; show total intensity daily; do more with less; use adversity as preparation for greatness; and be committed to the ideals of T.E.A.M. by displaying: T-Toughness, E-Effort, A-Approach to find a way to M-Make it Happen. Leggett, who is entering his 22nd season on the bench with the Clemson Tigers, spent nine seasons in the dugout in Cullowhee, amassing a program-best 302 career victories from 1983 through He guided the Catamounts to 10 combined Southern Conference championships and five NCAA tournament appearances. He also helped shape the future of WCU baseball by recruiting and coaching his three successors in Keith LeClair ( ), Rodney Hennon ( ) and Todd Raleigh ( ). Leggett s three protégés combined to win 567 games and a combined eight SoCon titles in 15 seasons, while also capturing five SoCon Coach of the Year honors. It is an honor to continue to be remembered in such a manner at Western Carolina, Leggett was quoted as saying about the creation of the No. 7 Legacy. WCU and Catamount baseball is a big part of my life and coaching career. I am privileged to have that number 7 hanging on the fence at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium, and honored to have a deserving student-athlete wear the number during the season. During his tenure as an assistant coach at Wake Forest, Virginia and Georgia Tech, Moranda coached against Leggett s Clemson Tiger teams. CHILDRESS FIELD / HENNON STADIUM Ronnie G. Childress Field at Hennon Stadium has been the home of Western Carolina Catamount baseball for the past 35 years, moving to its present site prior to the 1978 season... WCU has won 72-percent of its game at home; The facility was officially renamed Childress Field at Hennon Stadium in a dedication ceremony on April 23, 1994; Prior to first pitch in 2011, the facility received one of its most dramatic face lifts... Off-season improvements in 2011 included such as the addition of a new brick back stop, lower level field seating, brick facade down both foul lines including bullpen benches, center field batter s eye and the construction of a courtyard plaza; The Catamounts moved approximately 200 yards to the east from Haywood Field early in the 1978 season... Bill Haywood, head baseball coach from 1969 through 1981, and Mr. E.J. Whitmire, longtime supporter and benefactor from Franklin, were the driving forces behind the building of the facility; WCU hosted the SoCon Baseball Tournament in Cullowhee at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium in 1984 and 1986, win- ning the title in the latter. Year Overall SoCon TOTALS (.716) (.706) PAGE 4

5 CATAMOUNTSPORTS.COM /// WCU GAME NOTES VS. WOFFORD WCU S ALL-TIME MLB DRAFT PICKS YEAR NAME TEAM RD. PICK 2014 Adam Martin Seattle Mariners Jeremy Null Chicago Cubs Aaron Attaway Toronto Blue Jays Julian Ridings Tampa Bay Rays Tyler White Houston Astros Ross Heffley Atlanta Braves Kyle Deese St. Louis Cardinals Matt Benedict Pittsburgh Pirates Daniel Ottone San Diego Padres Nick Liles San Francisco Giants Chris Masters Atlanta Braves Brent Greer Arizona Diamondbacks Corey Martin Chicago Cubs Tyler Sexton Baltimore Orioles Blake Murphy St. Louis Cardinals Jonathan Greene Texas Rangers Greg Holland $ Kansas City Royals Kenny Smith Texas Rangers Steven Strausbaugh New York Yankees Blake Murphy Chicago Cubs Brian McCullen Pittsburgh Pirates Ryan Basner Atlanta Braves Todd Buchanan Arizona Diamondbacks Alan Beck Baltimore Orioles Jared Burton $ Oakland A s Charles Thomas $ Atlanta Braves Eric Johnson Cleveland Indians David Pember $ Milwaukee Brewers Chris Moore Colorado Rockies Chris Davidson Baltimore Orioles Mark DiFelice $ Colorado Rockies Donnie Suttles Cleveland Indians Jeff Sziksai New York Yankees Brian Hutchinson Toronto Blue Jays Alex Tolbert Pittsburgh Pirates Jason Beverlin $ Oakland Athletics 4 93 Stephen Pritchard Milwaukee Brewers Mike Tidick Chicago White Sox Brad Tweedlie Cincinnati Reds 3 92 Phillip Grundy Kansas City Royals Dan Kyslinger Milwaukee Brewers Matt Raleigh Montreal Expos Jack Kimel Texas Rangers Kevin Bellomo San Francisco Giants Paul Menhart $ Toronto Blue Jays Tom Malchesky St. Louis Cardinals Skip Nelloms New York Yankees Dave Piela Atlanta Braves Freddie Hailey New York Yankees Ron Huntington Atlanta Braves Scott Gay New York Yankees Charlie Fonville Seattle Mariners John Pust Cleveland Indians Rick Adair Seattle Mariners Wayne Tolleson $ Texas Rangers Wayne Tolleson Pittsburgh Pirates Jerry Reed $ Philadelphia Phillies $ denotes played on a Major League club FORMER CATAMOUNTS IN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL GREG HOLLAND, Kansas City Royals: Avoided salary arbitration and agreed to an $8.25 million, one-year contract... Recorded 46 saves and a 1.44 ERA for the AL champions, striking out 90 and walking 20 in 62.1 innings. Holland had seven saves and a 0.82 ERA in the postseason, helping the Royals reach Game 7 of the World Series before losing to San Francisco last year; JARED BURTON, New York Yankees minor league contract: Spent the past three seasons pitching out of the Minnesota Twins bullpen. He posted splendid numbers from with the Twins, which included a combined ERA of 3.02 with a 8.15 K/9 rate through 128 innings pitched. After those two great seasons, Burton regressed in 2014 as he pitched to a bloated 4.36 ERA and low 6.5 K/9 rate through 64 innings. AARON ATTAWAY, Bluefield Blue Jays Rookie; MATT BENEDICT, Altoona Curve Double A ADAM MARTIN, Everett AquaSox Class A Short; JEREMY NULL, Eugene Emeralds Class A Short NOTING WCU HEAD COACH, BOBBY MORANDA: Western Carolina head coach Bobby Moranda eclipsed the 200-win mark for his career, reaching the milestone with the Friday home win over La Salle in Moranda (244) is the fifth WCU head coach to win 200-or-more games in Cullowhee Jack Leggett (302, ), Todd Raleigh (257, ), Keith LeClair (229, ), Bill Haywood (215, ); WCU s eighth-year head coach Bobby Moranda has 244 career victories to rank third all-time in program history... Moranda by-passed former Catamount great, Keith LeClair, who won 229 games in six seasons in Cullowhee ( )... With 124 career Southern Conference wins, Moranda ranks second in WCU history behind Todd Raleigh ( ) who won 132 SoCon games at the head of the Catamount program; Including two wins last year, Western Carolina has won 10 games against teams ranked in the national Top 30 under head coach Bobby Moranda... Mississippi State s No. 2 ranking was the highest squad defeated by WCU under Moranda, eclipsing fourth-ranked Georgia Tech in WCU most recently beat No. 15 Clemson at home, RECAPPING WCU S SoCon CHAMPIONSHIP IN 2014: Western Carolina claimed the 2014 Southern Conference regular season baseball championship, taking the seasonal crown for a second-consecutive season and a conferenceleading 13th time in program history... WCU matched The Citadel for the most seasonal titles in leagues history while moving ahead of the Bulldogs with 22 combined baseball championships (13 regular season, nine tournament); WCU claimed back-to-back regular season championships for the first time since the late 1980s a span of fourstraight from the Catamounts accomplished the back-to-back feat for the first time in the conference since Elon won back-to-back seasonal titles in 2008 and 2009; Western Carolina secured 30 victories in a season for the 26th time since 1977 and the 11th 30+ win season since the Catamounts posted a stellar 23-3 (.885) home record inside the friendly confines of Childress Field / Hennon Stadium, winning nine-straight games at home to conclude the season... It is the 12th time in facility history that WCU has recorded 20-or-more home wins; WCU claimed victory in 11 of its last 15 games on the regular season... All told, including a 12-game win streak along the way, the Catamounts won 26 of their last 35 games (26-9) dating back to March 22 at Elon; JULIAN RIDINGS, Bowling Green Hot Rods Class A JORDAN SMITH, GCL Tigers Rookie TYLER WHITE, Lancaster JetHawks Class A Advanced Western Carolina was ranked 52nd in RPI according to BoydsWorld.com and 53rd in RPI according to Warren- Nolan.com on Selection Monday, It is a secondstraight year the Catamounts have factored into the at-large consideration into the NCAA Field of 64; At the conclusion of 2013 and including the 2014 season the Catamounts have won 36 of their last 44 regular season Southern Conference games... The losses have come to Furman (3), Georgia Southern (2), Elon (1) and Appalachian State (1), Samford (1)... WCU has also claimed at least two wins in the trio of weekend against league foes in 14 of the last 16 conference series dating back to CATAMOUNT BASEBALL HISTORY & TRADITION: Western Carolina has only missed one SoCon tournament since the event s inception in 1984, missing the 2000 tournament under then first-year head coach Todd Raleigh. Since Bobby Moranda came to Cullowhee, the Catamounts have had 15 players drafted... Since 2000, 26 different WCU players have been drafted by Major League Baseball clubs. The Catamounts finished the 2014 season with 39 victories, recording the program s 25th 30-win season since 1984 (25, 30-win seasons over the past 30 years). ABOUT WESTERN CAROLINA S 2014 BASEBALL SCHEDULE: Western Carolina s 2015 baseball schedule includes 30 home dates, an in-season tournament at UNC Wilmington and home-and-home series with perennial power, Clemson, and mountain-rivals UNC Asheville and Appalachian State; Eight of the Catamounts games are against teams from power NCAA conferences including four against the Big Ten (Purdue, Penn State); three against the ACC (Wake Forest, Clemson); and one meeting with SEC-foe, Tennessee in Cullowhee... WCU has six games against teams that played in the 2014 NCAA post-season; WCU s schedule opens with a three-game series against Big Ten foe, Purdue, in Cullowhee Feb and concludes with the annual Southern Conference Baseball Championship May 20-24, 2015 at Riley Park in Charleston, S.C. Western Carolina opens its quest for a third-straight Southern Conference regular season crown March when the Catamounts return to UNCG for a second-consecutive season with a three-game road series... WCU swept the Spartans in the Piedmont Triad a year ago in a series where all three games were decided by just four total runs and included two, one-run affairs with one going into extra innings. PAGE 5

6 CATAMOUNTSPORTS.COM /// WCU GAME NOTES 2015 SERIES NOTES PURDUE CULLOWHEE FEB : Western Carolina took 2-of-3 in its season-opening series... the Catamounts won the season-opener, 17-6, thanks to a 5-for-5, four runs scored performance by freshman Brett Pope and a 4-for-5 showing by junior J.D. Long who drove in two in addition to matching his career-best hit tally... Danny Bermudez drove home three on a 2-for-4 showing while Matt Smith doubled and homered in the win which was earned by starter Bryan Sammons (1-0); WCU split a Saturday double-header, cruising to a 15-4 win in game one before falling in game two, Bradley Strong went 7-for-11 in the twin bill with four extra base hits including a pair of two-rbi doubles and two triples... RHP B.J. Nobles struck out a career-high 11 in six relief innings to earn the victory in game one; The loss in game two snapped an 11-game home winning streak for Western Carolina. UNC ASHEVILLE CULLOWHEE FEB. 18: Game postponed due to unfavorable playing conditions and frigid temperatures... Will be made up with a third series game added May 1-2 at UNCA with a home date the following evening. HUGHES BROS. CHALLENGE WILMINGTON, N.C. F : WCU went 1-2 at the Hughes Bros. Challenge, falling to the tournament host UNC Wilmington and Wake Forest before defeating George Mason in the tourney finale; Errors plagued WCU in the 6-4 loss to the tournament host, UNC Wilmington... Two, three-run innings by the Seahawks that were spurred by the four miscues erased WCU s early, 3-0, advantage... Starting in his hometown of Wilmington, Bryan Sammons was saddled with the loss; Western Carolina was silenced by Wake Forest in a 10-2 loss as the Demon Deacons scored all 10 of its runs in a four-inning span... WCU salvaged a victory in the finale, powering past George Mason, 14-2, as Bradley Strong drove home four runs in a 3-for-4 outing. UNC ASHEVILLE AT ASHEVILLE FEB. 25: Weather again forced the postponement of the mountainrivalry... Will be made up May 1-2 at UNCA with a home date the following day. Y0UNGSTOWN STATE CULLOWHEE F27 M1: The pattern of wintry weather and unfavorable field conditions continued, forcing the cancellation of the nonconference series between the Catamounts and Penguins... the series will not be made up. VALPARAISO CULLOWHEE MARCH 3-4: WCU dropped two nonconference games to the Crusaders in the first series meetings... Valpo escaped with a one-run, 8-7, victory in game one before taking an 18-5 victory in a game started on Tuesday and completed on Wednesday due to rain; A middle inning rally by Valpo allowed the Crusaders to erase WCU s 6-4 lead and pull out the 8-7 victory... the Catamounts committed five errors in the loss... Danny Bermudez drove in three runs on a 2-for-4 showing at the plate; In the finale, Valpo took advantage of two WCU errors, 12 walks issued and four hit batters by Catamount pitching, using two, five-run innings to pull away for the 13-run, 18-5, victory... Bradley Strong drove in two runs on three hits in the loss. HOLY CROSS CULLOWHEE MARCH 6-8: WCU claimed three of the four games in the nonconference series with Holy Cross, the first-ever meeting between the two schools in baseball; The Catamounts outscored Holy Cross, 35-to-26, in the four games, using a school single-game inning record 15 runs to win a affair in game two; Matt Smith led the squad with a 7-for-16 (.438) showing at the dish with a double, triple and home run in the series... Danny Bermudez, Reece Strong and Smith led the team with five RBI apiece; Fr. LHP Brendan Nail scored his first career win in the series finale, tossing 7.0 innings with only one run allowed. at PRESBYTERIAN CLINTON, S.C. MARCH 10: Western Carolina dropped its first-ever game in the series with Presbyterian (3-1) and first road meeting in Clinton, S.C., falling to the Blue Hose, 5-1, on Tuesday... WCU was limited to one run on just five hits; Matt Smith reached base all four times he stepped to the plate, finishing 2-for-2 with two walks... Smith had WCU s only extra base hit with a double, scoring the team s only run in the road loss; Reliever Korey Anderson struck out a career-best eight in 3.2 innings of work out of the bullpen... Was saddled with the loss after allowing two unearned runs on two hits and four walks issued. at LIBERTY INVITATIONAL LYNCHBURG, VA. MARCH 13-14: Western Carolina went 1-2 at the Liberty Baseball Invitational, defeating Penn State before dropping two against the host Flames... WCU only managed to score seven runs in three games, collecting just 15 hits including three for extra bases on just a.176 batting average; Danny Bermudez led the Catamounts in the tournament going 4-for-12 (.333) with a double and a RBI... Sophomore Bryan Sammons scored the lone victory on the mound, allowing one run on six hits in six innings of work... Freshman Corey Sikes struck out seven in two appearances. KENNESAW STATE CULLOWHEE MARCH 18: Western Carolina claimed the front-end of a midweek, nonconference home-and-home, rallying in the eighth inning to defeat Atlantic Sun preseason favorite, Kennesaw State... Teams will meet again on March 31; Four Catamounts recorded two-hit games including Danny Bermudez who belted his team-leading fourth home run of the season WCU s only extra base hit in the victory... WCU stole six bases in the victory; Freshman Corey Sikes struck out a career-high tying four in a career-long 4.2 innings in the start... Sophomore Korey Anderson secured the victory on the mound for WCU while Tyler Powell earned his fourth save of the season. at UNCG GREENSBORO, N.C. MARCH 20-22: Western Carolina dropped two of its three games in its Southern Conference-opening series at UNCG... the Catamounts dropped their opener, 17-2, before bouncing back with a 17-6 win in game two... UNCG took the final, 7-4, on Sunday afternoon. Soph. Korey Anderson picked up WCU s lone victory on the mound as the Catamount pitching staff struggled with a ERA, allowing 30 runs 29 of which were earned; Junior Reece Strong paced the Catamounts with a.556 batting average with two doubles... R-junior Kramer Ferrell hit.545 with six hits including a double, triple and a home run, driving home a team-high tying five... R-sophomore Jason Smith collected three doubles among his four hits, matching Ferrell with five RBI. CLEMSON CULLOWHEE MARCH 24: Clemson broke-open a 5-2 game with an eight-run top of the fifth inning to cruise to a 19-2 victory over WCU in the front-end of a nonconference home-and-home... the Tigers had three innings of four-or-more runs in the win; Reece Strong continued to swing a solid bat, collecting WCU s only multi-hit game with a 2-for-4, one RBI performance in the loss... Jason Smith drove home WCU s only other run on a bases loaded walk. PAGE WCU SERIES BY SERIES STATISTICS HITTING W-L Avg. R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB Purdue UNCW Trny Yngstwn St CANCELED Valpo Holy Cross Presby Penn St Liberty Kenn St UNCG Clemson The Citadel Wofford Tennessee Mercer Tenn Tech Furman App St ETSU UNCA Samford VMI PITCHING W-L ERA IP H R ER BB K Opp.Avg. Purdue UNCW Trny Yngstwn St CANCELED Valpo Holy Cross Presby Penn St Liberty Kenn St UNCG Clemson The Citadel Wofford Tennessee Mercer Tenn Tech Furman App St ETSU UNCA Samford VMI 2015 WCU SEASON HIGHS At Bats...44, PURDUE (2/13/15) Runs Scored... 22, HOLY CROSS (3/7/15) Hits... 19, twice - MR: PURDUE (2/14/15) RBIs... 18, HOLY CROSS (3/7/15 Doubles... 6, at UNCG (3/21/15) Triples... 1, five times - MR: at Kennesaw State (3/31/15) Home Runs... 2, four times Walks Drawn... 12, HOLY CROSS (3/7/15) Stolen Bases...10, vs. George Mason (2/22/15) Double Plays Turned...2, five times Errors...5, VALPARAISO (3/2/15) Runs Allowed... 19, CLEMSON (3/24/15) Earned Runs Allowed...17, twice - MR: CLEMSON (3/24/15) Hits Allowed...17, CLEMSON (3/24/15) Walks Issued...12, VALPARAISO (3/3/15) Hit Batters...4, VALPARAISO (3/3/15) Strikeouts by... 13, PURDUE (2/14/15) Homers Allowed... 3, at UNCG (3/21/15)

7 CATAMOUNTSPORTS.COM /// WCU GAME NOTES 2015 SERIES NOTES WESTERN CAROLINA IN MISC. STATISTICS HITTING STREAK: CURRENT 15 LONG CAREER Bradley Strong Brett Pope Reece Strong Danny Bermudez Matt Smith Caleb Robinson Austin Atwell Kramer Ferrell Jacob Hoyle J.D. Long Pierce Suttles Garrett Brown Jason Smith Spencer Holcomb REACHED BASE SAFELY STREAKS: CURRENT 2015 LONG Bradley Strong Matt Smith Brett Pope Austin Atwell Danny Bermudez Kramer Ferrell Reece Strong Caleb Robinson Jacob Hoyle Pierce Suttles Jason Smith J.D. Long Spencer Holcomb MULTIPLE HIT GAMES (2015 / CAREER): TOTAL Bradley Strong 5/45 4/13 1/5 0/1 10/64 Jacob Hoyle 3/47 0/11 0/2-3/60 Danny Bermudez 8/18 2/ /23 Matt Smith 8/11 1/ /14 Brett Pope 8/ /1 9/9 Kramer Ferrell 6/6 2/ /8 Reece Strong 4/6 2/ /8 J.D. Long 1/1 1/1 1/3-3/5 Jason Smith 3/ /3 Austin Atwell 2/2 1/ /3 Garrett Brown 1/ /1 Pierce Suttles 1/ /1 THE CITADEL CULLOWHEE MARCH 27-29: Western Carolina hosted The Citadel for a third-straight season at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium, sweeping the Bulldogs in the three-game SoCon series the first time since With the sweep, WCU has won seven of the last eight series games held in Cullowhee; WCU outscored The Citadel, 31-to-16, over the threegame series; Bradley Strong led WCU on the week with a.500 batting average, going 6-for-12 with a double and a home run and a.833 slugging percentage... Outfielder Austin Atwell hit.455 with a double and two home runs for a slugging percentage in the series; On the mound, B.J. Nobles, Tyler Powell and Colton Davis earned victories... Nobles struck out eight in a starting role while Korey Anderson fanned nine in a start. at KENNESAW STATE KENNESAW, GA. MARCH 31: Western Carolina dropped the backend of the midweek, nonconference home-and-home with Kennesaw State, 9-2, at Stillwell Stadium... the Owls used four, multi-run innings including three, two-run frames and a decisive three-run fifth... Down 4-0, WCU pulled back to within two, 4-2, in the top of the fifth inning only to see KSU stretch the lead back out to five in the bottom of the frame; Only two Catamounts finished with multiple hits as Jacob Hoyle drove in both WCU runs with a fifth-inning, two-run homer run... Danny Bermudez reached twice with an infield bunt single and a triple; WOFFORD CULLOWHEE, N.C. APRIL 3-5: Western Carolina hosts Wofford for a third-straight season... the first two games of the series will be broadcast on the SoCon Digital Network with the series finale to be broadcast on the American Sports Network and WMYA-TV out of Asheville; WCU has swept Wofford the past two seasons at home, and had won eight-straight series meetings against the Terriers in Cullowhee. MULTIPLE RBI GAMES (2015 / CAREER): TOTAL Bradley Strong 5/17 2/15 1/1 1/3 9/36 Jacob Hoyle 1/22 0/10 0/1 0/3 1/36 Danny Bermudez 1/3 5/5 1/1-7/9 J.D. Long 2/4 0/2-0/1 2/7 Matt Smith 3/4 1/ /5 Reece Strong 2/2 1/ /4 Kramer Ferrell 1/1 1/1-1/1 3/3 Jason Smith 3/ /3 Austin Atwell 1/1-1/1-2/2 Garrett Brown 1/ /1 Spencer Holcomb 1/ /1 Caleb Robinson 1/ /1 PAGE 7

8 CATAMOUNTSPORTS.COM /// WCU GAME NOTES PRESEASON INFO / WCU RECORDS 2015 SOCON BASEBALL PRESEASON POLLS COACHES POLL MEDIA POLL School (First)... Points School (First)...Points 1. Western Carolina (3) Western Carolina (11) Samford (3) Mercer (3) Mercer (2) Samford (2) UNCG (1) East Tennessee State East Tennessee State UNCG Furman The Citadel The Citadel Furman Wofford Wofford VMI VMI SOCON BASEBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM FIRST TEAM SECOND TEAM SP Eric Nyquist, Mercer Alex Ledford, Samford SP Ryan Clark, UNCG Andrew Woods, VMI RP Andres Gracia, Samford Skylar Hunter, The Citadel C Danny Bermudez, Western Carolina Charlie Madden, Mercer 1B Jacob Hoyle, Western Carolina Howard Joe, Mercer 2B Bradley Strong, Western Carolina Hunter King, UNCG SS Frankie Navarrete, Samford Johnathan Stokes, The Citadel 3B Chris Ohmstede, Furman Chris Cook, ETSU OF Eric Kalbfleisch, UNCG Jake Jones, Furman OF Zac MacAneney, UNCG Brandon Angus, VMI OF Heath Quinn, Samford James Plaisted, Wofford DH Jared Watson, Samford Jarrod Rickman, Furman SOUTHERN CONFERENCE PRESEASON OF THE YEAR: Jacob Hoyle, Sr., 1B, Western Carolina SOUTHERN CONFERENCE PRESEASON PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Ryan Clark, Jr., RHP, UNCG LOUISVILLE SLUGGER PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA: Jacob Hoyle, Western Carolina (Second Team) Bradley Strong, Western Carolina (Second Team) NCBWA PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA: Bradley Strong, Western Carolina (Second Team) STOPPER OF THE YEAR AWARD WATCH LIST: Tyler Powell, Sr., RHP, Western Carolina Andres Gracia, Sr., RHP, Samford Skylar Hunter, Jr., RHP, The Citadel WESTERN CAROLINA MISC. RECORDS, STATS INDIVIDUAL GAME RECORDS CATEGORY RECORD OPPONENT, YEAR Hits... 7 Mitchell Hatley...Eastern Kentucky, Tyler White...Elon (SoCon), Danny Sells... Guilford, Bob Ballance...North Georgia, 1960 Doubles... 5 Aaron Attaway...Iona, 2012 Triples... 2 Achieved 14 times... MR: Bradley Strong, vs. Rider, 2014 Home Runs... 4 Skip Nelloms... UNC Asheville, 1986 RBI... 9 Donovan Minero...N.C. A&T, 2001 Total Bases Skip Nelloms... UNC Asheville, 1985 Last Time Hit for the Cycle... Aaron Attaway... La Salle, Bradley Strong... La Salle, 2014 INDIVIDUAL GAME RECORDS PITCHING CATEGORY RECORD OPPONENT, YEAR Strikeouts...20 Wayne McCauley...Allen, 1971 Innings Pitched Don Bright...VMI, 1971 No Hitters... Greg Moore...Appalachian St., Jeff Mashburn...Appalachian St., Rick Adair... The Citadel, Jerry Reed...West Virginia St., 1976 TEAM GAME RECORDS CATEGORY RECORD OPPONENT, YEAR Hits Eastern Kentucky, Furman, 1993 Hits in an Inning...* 12...VMI, 1991 Runs Hartford, 2008 Runs in an Inning Holy Cross, Rider, VMI, VMI, 1999 Home Runs... * UNC Asheville, 1986 Stolen Bases Catawba, 1965 Strikeouts Pitching Elon (SoCon), Allen, 1971 Largest Win Margin Allen, 1971 Win Margin in a Shutout Allen, 1971 Consecutive Seasonal Wins During the 1991 season Double-digit Win Streaks MR: 12 games in 2014 Consecutive Home Wins April, 2013 through March, 2014 PAGE 8

9 CATAMOUNTSPORTS.COM /// WCU GAME NOTES CATAMOUNT AWARD WINNERS WCU S SOUTHERN CONFERENCE WEEKLY & MONTHLY AWARD WINNERS 1991 PITCHER Phillip Grundy... Week 2 Kevin Bellomo... Week 2 Todd Raleigh... Week Joey Cox... Week Phillip Grundy... Week 1 Rodney Hennon... Week 4 Phillip Grundy... Week 5 Mike Tidick... Week PITCHER Jason Beverlin... Week 1 Jason Beverlin... Week 2 Roy Hurst... Week 5 Mike Tidick... Week PITCHER Dale Pilgrim... Week 1 Clark Maxwell... Week 4 Clark Maxwell... Week 6 Mark DiFelice... Week 8 Jody Henson... Week 1 Jody Henson... Week PITCHER Clark Maxwell... Week 4 Brian Bain... Week 6 Alex Tolbert... Week PITCHER Mark DiFelice... Week 1 Jeremy Barrow... Week 5 Martin Barrow... Week Chuck Koone... Week 1 Charles Thomas... Week Charles Thomas... Week 7 Eric Johnson... Week PITCHER Jared Burton... Week PITCHER Ryan Basner... Week 5 Dan Foley... Week 12 Players Alan Beck... Week 1 Donovan Minero... Week PITCHER Jared Burton... Week 5 Ryan Schade... Week 1 Donovan Minero... Week 7 Todd Roper... Week 8 Donovan Minero... Week 9 Donovan Minero...Week PITCHER Ryan Basner... Week 4 Todd Buchanan... co-week 7 Alan Beck... co-week 7 Rod Goldston... Week 9 Alan Beck... Week PITCHER Brian McCullen... Week 13 Alex Gary... Week PITCHER Brian Barnes... Week PITCHER Tyler Sexton... Week 4 Greg Holland... Week 12 Steven Strausbaugh... Week 5 Trey McDaniel...Week 6 Jonathan Greene...Week PITCHER Greg Holland... Week 11 Chris Masters... Week 12 Tyler Sexton... Week 13 Kenny Smith...Week 2 John Ingram... Week 5 Barrett Shaft... Week 8 Kenny Smith... Week PITCHER Chris Masters... Week 6 Chris Masters... Week 10 Chris Masters... Week PITCHER Daniel Ottone...March 2 Chris Masters...March 23 Corey Martin... April 13 Chris Masters... May 4 Stephen Notaro...March PITCHER Jason Sullivan...March 8 Tyler Kirkpatrick... April Ross Heffley... February 21 Stephen Notaro... April 25 Ross Heffley... May Ross Heffley...March 12 PITCHER Jordan Smith... May Adam Martin... April 22 PITCHER Adam Curtis... February 25 Jeremy Null... April PITCHER Jeremy Null... February 17 Jeremy Null...March 31 Adam Martin... March 17 Bradley Strong...April 21 Jacob Hoyle... May PITCHER B.J. Nobles... February SoCon /PITCHER OF THE MONTH 2006 Blake Murphy...March 2007 Kenny Smith...March PITCHER Drew Saberhagen... May 2009 PITCHER Garrett Ozar... February 2014 PITCHER Jeremy Null... February Jordan Smith... April WESTERN CAROLINA S NATIONAL WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS: Feb. 18, 2002: RYAN SCHADE National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) National Hitter of the Week: Hit.692 (9-for-13) in a three-game series sweep of Wright State... Finished with four doubles and six RBI; March 27, 2006: TREY MCDANIEL Collegiate Baseball s Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week: Finished 11-for-15 in five games with three HRs, 13 runs scored and 12 RBI; March 27, 2006: BLAKE MURPHY Collegiate Baseball s Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week: Posted an 11-for-20 (.550) performance with three home runs, three doubles and collected a staggering 19 RBI; March 29, 2006: TREY MCDANIEL National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) National Hitter of the Week; May 22, 2006: JONATHAN GREENE Collegiate Baseball s Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week: Hit five home runs and two doubles in four games, finishing 13-for-18 with nine RBI, seven runs scored. March 13, 2007: JOHN INGRAM College Baseball Foundation (CBF) National Honor Roll Players of the Week: Hit.520 (13-for-25) in five games with five extra base hits including three HRs, 12 RBI and 10 runs scored. March 20, 2007: JOHN INGRAM College Baseball Foundation (CBF) National Honor Roll Players of the Week: Batted 10-for-22 (.455) with a pair of home runs and two doubles. April 3, 2007: BARRETT SHAFT College Baseball Foundation (CBF) National Honor Roll Players of the Week: Finished the week 10-for-17 (.588), accounting for 12 total runs, scoring five and driving in seven. May 14, 2007: BLAKE MURPHY Collegiate Baseball s Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week: Belted six home runs over a five-game span, finishing 10-for-18 (.556) with seven extra base hits during a 5-0 week for WCU... Finished with 12 RBI and scored 16 runs. February 18, 2013: JEREMY NULL Collegiate Baseball s Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week: Struck out a then career-high 13 in seven innings of work in an 8-5 home win over Washington State. April 22, 2013: JEREMY NULL Collegiate Baseball s Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week: Fanned a career-high 14 batters in eight innings of work in Friday s series-opening victory over GSU... WCU went on to sweep the Eagles for the first time since 2003; February 18, 2014: JEREMY NULL Collegiate Baseball s Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) National Pitcher of the Week: Struck out 12 batters in eight innings of work against second-ranked Mississippi State, scattering three hits while keeping the Bulldogs scoreless. WESTERN CAROLINA S ACADEMIC HONOREES Academic All-District 3 Selections: 2014:... Jacob Hoyle, Infield 2010:... Tyler Kirkpatrick, Infield 2008:... Tyler Sexton, Pitcher 2007:... Tyler Sexton, Pitcher 2002:... Ryan Schade, Infield Academic All-America Selections: 2002:...Ryan Schade, 1st team 1993:...Rodney Hennon, 1st team 1992:...Rodney Hennon, 1st team 1992:... Jack Kimel, 2nd team 1986:...David Hyatt, 3rd team 1983:... Greg Johnson, 1st team 1983:... David Hill, 1st team PAGE 9

10 CATAMOUNTSPORTS.COM /// CATAMOUNT BASEBALL CAREER TRACKS KEEPING TRACK OF CURRENT S IN WESTERN CAROLINA S ALL-TIME CAREER RECORD BOOKS GAMES PLAYED IN A CAREER 1. Matt Raleigh Blake Murphy Skip Nelloms Kevin Bellomo Aaron Attaway Todd Buchanan Rodney Tesh BRADLEY STRONG 2012-PRES 194 JACOB HOYLE 2012-PRES 173 GAMES STARTED IN A CAREER (Stat not kept until 1991) 1. Barrett Shaft Blake Murphy Eric Whitson Mike Tidick BRADLEY STRONG 2012-PRES 184 JACOB HOYLE 2012-PRES 161 MOST AT BATS IN A CAREER 1. Ross Heffley Blake Murphy Nick Liles Mike Carson BRADLEY STRONG 2012-PRES 729 JACOB HOYLE 2012-PRES 649 RUNS SCORED IN A CAREER 1. Matt Raleigh Aaron Attaway Alex Tolbert Todd Buchanan Keith LeClair Charles Thomas BRADLEY STRONG 2012-PRES 153 HITS IN A CAREER 1. Ross Heffley Charles Thomas Keith LeClair Blake Murphy Alex Tolbert Kevin Bellomo BRADLEY STRONG 2012-PRES 234 JACOB HOYLE 2012-PRES 206 DOUBLES IN A CAREER 1. Rod Goldston Nick Liles Todd Buchanan Todd Roper BRADLEY STRONG 2012-PRES Brent Greer Joey Cox Barrett Shaft Steven Strausbaugh Chris Davis Kevin Bellomo Martin Barrow Todd Raleigh Rodney Tesh Freddie Hailey JACOB HOYLE 2012-PRES 42 MOST TRIPLES IN A CAREER 1. BRADLEY STRONG 2012-PRES 15 Martin Barrow Danny Jones Freddie Hailey David Ball SIX S TIED MOST HOME RUNS IN A CAREER 1. Matt Raleigh Kevin Bellomo Ross Heffley Adam Martin Mike Tidick Jonathan Greene Donovan Minero Grant Brittain JACOB HOYLE 2012-PRES 31 Mark Poarch Mel Kinsey BRADLEY STRONG 2012-PRES 12 RUNS BATTED IN FOR A CAREER 1. Chris Moore Tyler White Adam Martin Mike Tidick Freddie Hailey Mel Kinsey JACOB HOYLE 2012-PRES Rod Goldston J.P. Burwell BRADLEY STRONG TOTAL BASES IN A CAREER 1. Matt Raleigh Keith LeClair Martin Barrow Aaron Attaway Nick Liles Freddie Hailey BRADLEY STRONG JACOB HOYLE BASE ON BALLS IN A CAREER 1. Matt Raleigh Mike Carson Skip Nelloms John Pust Wayne Tolleson Brian Tebo BRADLEY STRONG JACOB HOYLE HIT BY PITCHES IN A CAREER 1. Barrett Shaft Dykota Spiess Austin Schultz Mike Tidick Chris Moore BRADLEY STRONG JACOB HOYLE Rod Goldston Denver Edick DANNY BERMUDEZ STRIKE OUTS IN A CAREER 1. Matt Raleigh Blake Murphy Alex Tolbert Alan Beck Adam Martin Eric Whitson Aaron Attaway Brian Tebo JACOB HOYLE 2012-PRES 150 Cody Jones Matt Stillwell Brent Greer Grant Brittain Chris Moore BRADLEY STRONG SACRIFICE FLIES IN A CAREER Sac Flies & Sac Hits were one stat until JACOB HOYLE 2012-PRES 17 Chris Moore J.P. Burwell Tyler White Alex Tolbert Steven Strausbaugh BRADLEY STRONG 2012-PRES 12 Aaron Attaway Adam Martin Ross Heffley Blake Murphy SACRIFICE HITS IN A CAREER Sac Flies & Sac Hits were one stat until 1991 Name Years No. 1. Todd Roper Ron Huntington Barrett Shaft Stephen Notaro Chad Moore Grant Brittain Mike Carson Matt Johns Clint Fairey Skip Nelloms BRADLEY STRONG 2012-PRES 17 Robbie Gordon Dylan de Graaf Brent Greer Rodney Tesh Matt Thrasher J.D. LONG STOLEN BASES IN A CAREER Name Years No. 1. Wayne Tolleson Matt Johns Mike Tidick Martin Barrow BRADLEY STRONG 2012-PRES Eric Johnson David Hill Chuck Koone Dave McKay Nick Liles Jody Henson CAREER STOLEN BASE ATTEMPTS Name Years No. 1. Wayne Tolleson Matt Johns BRADLEY STRONG 2012-PRES Mike Tidick Martin Barrow Dave McKay Eric Johnson David Hill Chuck Koone Jody Henson PUTOUTS IN A CAREER Name Years No. 1. Todd Buchanan , Alex Tolbert , Tyler White , Marc Striker , Adam Martin , J.P. Burwell , Trey McDaniel , Roy Hurst , Don Ingle Tyler White Blake Murphy JACOB HOYLE 2012-PRES 838 MOST ASSISTS IN A CAREER Name Years No. 1. Todd Roper Chris Moore Aaron Attaway Grant Brittain Matt Raleigh Ross Heffley BRADLEY STRONG 2012-PRES Ron Huntington John Pust MOST WINS IN A CAREER 1. Mark DiFelice Brad Josey Aaron Kirby Joe Jack Sellers BRYAN SAMMONS 2014-PRES 9 APPEARANCES IN A CAREER 1. Ryan Foster Brandon Johnson Joe Camac TYLER POWELL 2012-PRES 87 Preston Hatcher Brian Barnes Daniel Ottone Jack Kimel JONATHAN WASZAK 2013-PRES 70 Corey Martin Andrew Chilcoat Clark Maxwell Gary Shamp Mark DiFelice Jeff Stevens COLTON DAVIS 2013-PRES 49 GAMES STARTED IN A CAREER 1. Jordan Smith Tyler Sexton Ryan Basner Paul Menhart BRYAN SAMMONS 2014-PRES 16 MOST SAVES IN A CAREER 1. Preston Hatcher Ryan Foster Mike Manning David Ray Robinson TYLER POWELL 2012-PRES 19 Greg Holland CAREER INNINGS PITCHED 1. Jordan Smith Scott Gay BRYAN SAMMONS 2014-PRES 94.1 TYLER POWELL 2012-PRES 93.0 JONATHAN WASZAK 2013-PRES 77.2 STRIKEOUTS IN A CAREER 1. Clark Maxwell Joe Jack Sellers Matt Benedict Stewart Keyes Dale Pilgrim Ken Hare 1980; TYLER POWELL 2012-PRES 101 BRYAN SAMMONS 2014-PRES 86 COLTON DAVIS 2013-PRES 78 PAGE 10

11 CATAMOUNTSPORTS.COM /// PROJECTED STARTING PITCHER INFORMATION #18 B.J. NOBLES RHP // SOPHOMORE // RALEIGH, N.C (SOPHOMORE): Already has a career-high with 11 appearances... Made his first collegiate start, tossing two innings in a short-start at Presbyterian... Struck out a career-high 11 in a career-long 6.0 innings in his first outing of this season against Purdue... Leads the Catamount pitching staff in strikeouts this year with 39, averaging 3.5 per outing. Earned SOUTHERN CONFERENCE PITCHER OF THE WEEK accolades after his six-inning, 11 strikeout performance against the Boilermakers back on Feb (FRESHMAN): Made nine relief appearances with four strikeouts... Collegiate debut came against No. 2 Mississippi State, tossing an inning against the Bulldogs. NOBLES CAREER PITCHING STATISTICS YEAR ERA W L APP GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER BB SO WP TOTALS B.J. NOBLES // GAME-BY-GAME PITCHING W-L IP H R ER BB K 2B 3B HR Purdue v. Wake ND v. Mason ND Valpo ND Valpo ND HolyCross HolyCross ND at Presby * ND v. PennSt ND at UNCG ND Citadel * TOTALS #32 BRYAN SAMMONS LHP // SOPHOMORE // WILMINGTON, N.C. BRYAN SAMMONS // GAME-BY-GAME 2015 (SOPHOMORE): Was tabbed preseason All-SoCon second team by College Sports Madness... Claimed his eighth career victory with the season-opening victory over Purdue... Eight of his nine wins have come at home Penn State win lone win outside of Cullowhee (FRESHMAN): Made 21 appearances on the mound including 10 starts... Finished with a 7-2 overall record with all seven of his seasonal victories coming in games played at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium... Tossed 60.0 innings, allowing 34 runs, 30 of which were earned for a 4.50 ERA, adding two saves... Earned his first career save in his first collegiate appearance, tossing the final two thirds of an inning in WCU s season-opening upset win over No. 2 Mississippi State... Scored his first career win, striking out three in three innings out of the bullpen in 32 WCU s home win over Winthrop; Scored his third victory of the season in his first career start in WCU s home win over then No. 15 Clemson in Cullowhee... Pitched around four walks with a career-high five strikeouts, surrendering four runs only three of which were earned on six hits in a career-long five innings; Named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman team... Tabbed Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team. PRIOR TO WESTERN CAROLINA: Was a three-year letter winner for two-time Mideastern Conference champion Hoggard HS, claiming Player of the Year honors in Twice earned all-area honors with an honorable mention as a sophomore... Posted a 16-1 record over his final two seasons as a prep including a 10-0 record with seven complete games as a senior... Boasted a 1.00 ERA, five shutout wins and 98 strikeouts in 63 innings in his final year as a prep, earning Wilmington StarNews All-Area Player of the Year accolades... Was a North Carolina Gatorade State Player of the Year candidate. PITCHING W-L IP H R ER BB K 2B 3B HR Purdue * at UNCW * Valpo HolyCross * ND v. PennSt * at UNCG * Clemson ND Citadel * ND TOTALS SAMMONS CAREER PITCHING STATISTICS YEAR ERA W L APP GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER BB SO WP TOTALS #22 KOREY ANDERSON RHP // SOPHOMORE // GRAYSON, GA (SOPHOMORE): Has eight appearances to date with his first collegiate start in game two of a doubleheader against Holy Cross (March 7)... Struck out a then career-high eight in 3.2 innings of relief against Presbyterian (March 10)... Tossed a career-long 7.0 innings in earning a SoCon victory at UNCG in his second career start... Career-high nine Ks vs. The Citadel (FRESHMAN): Made eight appearances, all out of the bullpen... Finished with a 4.32 ERA and a 1-0 record, tossing 8.1 relief innings... Of the 10 hits he allowed, two went for extra bases... Made his collegiate debut against La Salle (March 2), tossing two thirds of an inning... Recorded his first collegiate strikeout in a career-long, three-inning appearance against 22 nationally-ranked Clemson (April 23)... Recorded his first career victory in relief in the home sweep of Appalachian State (May 2), striking out two in an inning and a third out of the pen. PRIOR TO WESTERN CAROLINA: Was a three-year, varsity letter winner on the diamond... Finished with a 9-4 overall career record on the mound including five saves... Also hit seven career home runs... Earned first team all-region and all-county accolades as a senior after being a preseason Louisville Slugger All-America Honorable Mention... Also played football as a prep, helping his high school win the Georgia state championship as a junior with a perfect 15-0 record. KOREY ANDERSON // GAME-BY-GAME PITCHING W-L IP H R ER BB K 2B 3B HR v. Wake ND Valpo ND HolyCross * at Presby at Liberty ND KennSt at UNCG * Citadel * ND TOTALS ANDERSON S CAREER PITCHING STATISTICS YEAR ERA W L APP GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER BB SO WP TOTAL PAGE 11