Western Carolina Baseball opened up the 2013 season with an 8-5 victory over the Washington State Cougars. (Photos courtesy of Mark Haskett, WCU Public Relations)
Dykota Spiess broke a 6-6 tie with a three-run home run to lead the Catamounts to a 9-7 win over No. 24 Appalachian State to claim the series.
Bruce Johnson, who graduated from Western Carolina University in 2009, is set to return for his fourth season on staff in Cullowhee, joining as a full-time member after two seasons as the Volunteer Assistant Coach. Johnson spent the summer of 2011 coaching the Wilson Tobs of the collegiate wooden-bat Coastal Plains League.
Johnson came to WCU as an undergraduate transfer and served as both an undergraduate and volunteer assistant coach for Coach Moranda and staff over the past four years, serving as the first base coach.
Prior to making the move to Cullowhee, Johnson spent one year playing baseball at South Atlantic Conference-member, Newberry College in South Carolina and most at Pitt Community College in Greenville, N.C. As a true freshman at Newberry, Johnson hit .200 with a pair of doubles and a home run with eight RBI in 27 games.
During two of the past four summers, Johnson helped coach the Morehead City Post 46 Hurricanes American Legion baseball team. In 2008, the squad posted a team all-time best record of 29-5 which came on the heels of a 2006 American Legion State Championship and third-place finish in the south regional.
A graduate of West Carteret High School in Morehead City, N.C., Johnson hit .440 during his senior year with five home runs and 38 RBI helping his squad to a final record of 22-4. He was a two-time, all-conference selection and earned All-State accolades as a senior. In the classroom, Johnson was a member of the WCHS National Honor Society and was awarded the school's Academic Achievement Award in 2004.
